The ability to innovate will either be the catalyst or obstacle to growth for your business. Disruptive companies emerge, seemingly from nowhere, when a problem is addressed and an innovative solution is discovered. Chances are, if you have a problem you are trying to solve, you hold some assumptions that are boxing in your thinking. Assuming that you already know or have the answer gets in the way of finding a more innovative or correct solution. Letting pride get in the way of exploration and brainstorming is the quickest way to suffocate innovation.
Coming up with innovative solutions is much easier if you challenge your assumptions and really understand the problem. Defining the problem, and not jumping to the first conclusion, is everything, if you want a truly creative solution.
Ed Shelley of (https://blog.chartmogul.com/experimentation-in-startups/) says “There are two key kinds of assumptions we all make on a day-to-day basis:
Informed assumptions
These assumptions aren’t necessarily complete guesses — they are often informed by a certain level of knowledge about a situation, e.g. “some customers said they would happily pay more”. The problem is, this makes them all the more dangerous. Our brains have a tendency to fill in gaps in a way that’s very difficult to pinpoint.
Blind assumptions
Blind assumptions are dangerous because you’re not even aware that you’re making them, and they’re not explicitly made or defined. These are often triggered by cognitive biases, and are deeply ingrained into our thought processes. The typical working day is packed with hundreds (if not thousands) of tiny micro assumptions, but they’re incredibly hard to recognize.”
There are two ways to overcome the challenges that assumptions create.
- Create a culture of experimentation.
- Bring in a diverse team with a fresh perspective.
Creating a culture of experimentation is critical to building a company with the ability to innovate. Without this, the everyday assumptions that are left unchecked can kill any creative thinking. There has to be a culture of experimentation within any organization in order to facilitate innovation. And in order to do this, a company needs to allow their employees to make mistakes.
Don’t let your company or your brand get caught resting or caught up in their own hubris. Understanding that an outside perspective may be needed to see the other side of a problem is a step towards finding breakthrough solution. At Ashcraft we work as an extension of your team to bring about a fresh perspective and innovative solutions that bring new growth and new customers. We solve problems that gets customers to notice your product and brand. We have the diverse team, ability and foresight to bring a new perspective that challenges your brands existing assumptions. Get in touch with us at [email protected] and sign up for our email newsletter below to stay up to date with fresh design and new business insight.