Spark Innovation with These 3 Words

11 years, 3 months ago - December 27, 2012
Spark Innovation with These 3 Words
Say it with me: How might we? This is the phrase that today’s most successful companies use when they want to tackle challenges creatively. How might we improve X ... or completely re-imagine Y... or find a new way to accomplish Z?

This approach to innovation ensures that you’re asking the right questions, and steering clear of more limiting inquiries like “How can we?” or “How should we?” which imply judgment. Instead, “How might we” helps people think of options more freely and opens up possibilities. The “how” assumes there are solutions out there — it provides creative confidence. “Might” implies that it’s OK to put any idea out there — it might work and it might not. And the “we” signals that you are all going to work together and build on one another’s ideas.

 

Text by Harvard Business School Publishing

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