Welcome to Fluid Thinking Part 3
In this article we introduce two new patterns for exploring and playing with conceptual structures. We will show how these facilitate innovation, and how they shed light on business model innovations that you can transfer to other products, services, sectors and industries.
At the end of Part Two we mentioned a concrete solution to the bridge problem set at the end of Part One (real concrete not a metaphor). Let’s begin exploring the two new patterns of thinking by looking at this solution.
Indonesian Living Root Bridge Solution From Part Two
Concrete Bridge Built From Two Trees, Within the Rules
The first new pattern we look at moves our thinking in the opposite direction to ‘parts of’ pattern of thinking introduced in Part 2.
Applying types of thinking
Instead of stepping down a layer in a conceptual structure and identifying parts of a tree - roots, branches, leaves etc.‘types of’ thinking looks across the same or higher conceptual level. In this pattern we ask the questions - What are examples of “…..” or, What are types of “….”. In this case what are types of tree?
One answer to this question is - a fruit tree.
Does that spark an idea?
Many people who have engaged with this challenge think about growing more trees for more wood to build the bridge, but how long could that have taken? How many harvests of fruit could you have during that time? Enough to sell them and buy some concrete? With no trees cut down in the making of the bridge, you could grow more fruit trees and have a sustainable resource, and some fruit juice to drink while you’re building the bridge.
A harvest of apples for - building a bridge!
Applying changes over time thinking
The second pattern of thinking, that may have also primed the fruit tree solution, is to think about - What changes over time? How does “…..” change over time? This thinking is implicit in thinking about growing more trees for more wood, but application of this pattern is about being more deliberate and detailed. If you think about a tree over time, it will include bud, leaves, blossom, fruit, seeds, fallen leaves, saplings etc.
Explicit Conceptual Map is Getting Richer
Accepted, you may have been thinking about a spruce tree so not thought about fruit, but you may have noticed the roots grow and stretch out and so may have innovated a root bridge.
Whichever way you make explicit and enrich your conceptual map, it will only provide more opportunities to notice innovation opportunities. Let’s take an example from a workshop we recently facilitated - the topic was travel (sorry if you’re reading this during Covid restrictions, but then again no better time to step back and explore conceptual structures and develop innovations to help with the situation, or be ready to bring new innovations to the market and contribute to a bounce back).
Applying changes over time thinking to travel
This example emerged from a workshop that was using fluid thinking to reverse engineer airbnb’s business model innovation. We look at airbnb’s business model innovation later. Before that, let’s look at the results from one participant spending his lunch hour going off piste, and applying different forms of thinking to the conceptual map of travel his team was building.
During lunch, he took one part of the conceptual model - luggage - and first asked, what are the parts of luggage? His initial map:
His next step was to ask how these parts change over time? with someone who is on touring holiday that includes stop offs at multiple airbnb’s in mind. Below is just part of the map he quickly produced:
Having created this map, ideas and needs came into view, partially based on his own prior experiences that he had never considered as points for innovation, until now. Looking at the map his new ideal luggage included 3 innovations:
A liquid proof compartment for toiletries (some bags have attempts at this)
A set of sealable compartments that can vary in size as the trip progressed (a clean clothes compartment, a dirty clothes compartment and a wet compartment)
With the wet compartment having the possibility for air flow to assist drying, or to be sealed to ensure other luggage doesn’t get wet.
[Interestingly a quick bit of research identified materials that could absorb moisture and so assist drying. Therefore a lining that could then be taken out and dried over night]
The first step we take when we identify a potential innovation in a workshop is to see if it’s already been created, but we are unaware of it. In this ‘case’ we found there are luggage pouches or cubes you can buy separately, but they suffer the problem of fixed size, so by mid trip none are the right size! The second step is a quick assessment to see if people want the innovation, and would pay a premium for it, the answer was yes.
We don’t know if the idea is being taken forward, that’s not the point of the workshops, they are facilitated to explore fluid thinking and show how ideas arise without a random search for inspiration. [but I hope they do take it forward, as I want one!]
Types of thinking - business model innovation
Through reverse engineering airbnb’s form of business model innovation, we will look at a second version of types of thinking. Like the IKEA example in the previous article, we will start with the typical parts of conceptual map of the hotel industry. Below is a very quick brainstorm from the workshop, it doesn’t matter that all concepts aren’t at the same level, all we need is a good place to start. From here we can always expand or deepen the conceptual map using the various forms of fluid thinking.
Now contrast the above to what airbnb constructed as a business model, and you will begin to see the nature of the innovation that you can borrow. Hotel owners are types of property owners, hotel rooms are types of empty bedrooms, hotels are types of accommodation buildings, marketing and booking sites are types of customer acquisition. By asking the question what is an hotel owner a type of you expand a conceptual map by stepping up to and including the next level category/concept.
Looking at the map below the innovations strategy becomes transparent, generalise to the next level (types of thinking) and look to see where else does that/they exist as un or under-utilised capacity.
From this perspective the airbnb model employ’s the same form of innovation as Uber, or visa versa. A taxi firm is a type of car owner…etc.Where else have you seen this? - empty legs on private jets? using peoples driveways close to rail stations as bookable car parking during the day…? This form of innovation isn’t exhausted, two new ones popped up in our last workshop, and won’t be the last.
Airbnb’s business model innovation was there in plain sight before they did it. You could have been there first if you applied this form of thinking to what some boarding schools have been doing for decades. They looked at their dorms as empty bedrooms - like those in hotels, and rented them out over summer and easter breaks.
Summary and Next Time
Remember Fluid Thinking is ultimately about making implicit conceptual structures explicit and then enriching and creatively playing with them to innovate. In this article we have added two forms of thinking that can be used to expand conceptual maps ‘changes through time’’ and ‘types of’ thinking.
In the next article we will also introduce the final two forms of fluid thinking in our model and look at other innovation examples including a snowboarding innovation identified through fluid thinking, one that is now out there and one still to be produced.