Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Bran Ferren is the cofounder and CEO of Applied Minds , which delivers innovation through technology, design and engineering. getty Every company strives to be excellent in innovation and execution. It’s a lofty goal that too often is not achieved.
There are “Big Ideas” people who come up with a vision or something never before thought of, and then there are “Requirements” people who can bring it to life. This is generally how ideas come to life in businesses today. Getting these two kinds of people to work together is a constant struggle in businesses, but it is possible with a clearly defined set of rules that says who gets what voice and when in the process.
The Importance Of Collaboration Between Big Ideas People And Requirements People When I led research and development for the Walt Disney Company and was president of creative technology for the Imagineering team and R&D companywide, we had a five-step process that strategically addressed some of the most critical elements of this collaboration. This provided the framework from creative ideation through design and engineering and execution. I received several important takeaways from this process that I still find crucial today.
For the first step, known as “Blue Sky,” the notion that no idea should be immediately rejected as a bad idea is a guiding factor. For the initial brainstorming process, consider fostering an approach where team members dream big.
