Communicating The New: Methods to Shape and Accelerate Innovation

A practical toolkit for using communication at every step of the innovation process Many creators of The New are paying attention to the growing body of methods and frameworks for managing innovation. But among innovation management methods, what is missing is an equally considered and robust playbook for how to explain that work—to ourselves, to our teammates, and to others—and for how to engage others in advancing new ideas into organizations and markets. Communicating The New reframes the role of communication in the innovation process as a powerful integrative tool for individuals and teams. It introduces core concepts and methods that help manage complexity; accelerate synthesis; and clarify and diffuse important knowledge for the people who need to act on it. To do so, it presents a framework and methods to help innovators address five distinct moments in which communication methods can advance the development process. Along the way, the book outlines a new communication mission for innovators, one that prioritizes the engagement, alignment and judgment of the many human beings involved in the work, so that communicating The New and creating The New become inseparable acts. This innovative guide: Reveals how to use communication to tame and frame the inherent complexity of creating The New Offers robust methods for making the innovation process clear, coherent, and accessible to others Presents a collaborative approach that brings together people from different disciplines to explore new ideas effectively Applies to the creation of new products, environments, processes, policies, experiences, and more

Introduction: The Mission and the Mess 1 Challenges of communicating The New 3 What’s in our way? Three communication myths 4 Reconceiving the role of communication 7 Five ways communication methods accelerate innovation 11 1 Finding the Conceptual Center 16 Models and frameworks: Thinking with our eyes 19 How to make models work 28 Build–to–think prototypes: Thinking with our hands 42 Lists and open–ended writing: Thinking with words 50 The Takeaway: Five big ideas when seeking the conceptual center 62 2 Framing the Work 64 Metaphors 69 Mantras and catchphrases 84 Contrast 92 Stories 98 Artifacts and images 108 How (and why) to use multiple frames to greater effect 112 The Takeaway: Five big ideas when framing the work 114 3 Targeting Your Constituents 118 The communication plan 126 Mental model and orthodoxy analysis 129 Quad A diagnostic 135 The “Organization as Culture” framework 137 Segmenting and targeting constituents 141 The Takeaway: Four big ideas when targeting constituents 144 4 Introduce New Thinking 146 Exploratory experiences 155 Immersion experiences 160 Interaction experiences 165 Application experiences 172 Extension experiences 176 The Takeaway: Five big ideas when introducing new thinking 180 5 Expand the Conversation 184 Communication systems: Give them something rich and relevant 188 Performative presentations: Give them something to talk about 198 Demonstration artifacts: Give them something to show and share 208 The Takeaway: Five big ideas when expanding the conversation 228 Conclusion 230 Five big shifts in thinking (and doing) 231 Advancing the methods base 234 Under the hood: Theories, writers and references 236 Index 253

KIM ERWIN is an Assistant Professor at the IIT Institute of Design. She comes to academia after fifteen years in the design planning field. In her professional practice, Kim specializes in the information-intensive areas of the planning process, focusing on the communication of user research and strategy for innovation, and has done so for such companies as Motorola, Texas Instruments, Alamo Rent A Car, and other innovation-curious firms.