Question

1. Discuss each the 4 Tips for Developing Observation skills from the Innovator's DNA Tip #1: Observe customers. Tip #2: Observe companies. Tip #3: Observe whatever strikes your fancy. Tip #4: Observe with all your senses.

Answer 1

In order to be innovative and out of the box thinker, one needs to nurture the ideas and should have an open mind. Observation skills are crucial to generation of innovative ideas and thinking from different perspectives to come up with things that have been unthought of and unexplored so far. Some of the tips for development of observation skills are discussed below.

(a) Observing the customers is a window to the vivid nature of human behaviours and interpersonal interactions. As the customers differ in demography, personality traits and lifestyles, so are the reflections in their behaviors which provide a food for innovation and honing one's observation skills.

(b) Observing the companies give insight into the strategic moves that lead to growth, successful competition, maximising the efficienies under constraints, knowing their targets and retaining their loyalty. Observation of companies is a lesson in coming up with innovative survival and growth strategies.

(c) Observing unusual things that stand out from the crowd often lets you know the fine points of traits that catch the eye of observers, as such pieces often lead to valuable information.

(d) Observe something with all angles exposes multiple dimensions of the object and the facts related to it and yields more in-depth information about it rather with a plain observation.