‘How might we…’ statements Why use a ‘How might we…’ statement? A ‘How might we…’ statement (HMW) will launch you into (hopefully) generative ideation session. A HMW statement sets up coming up with solutions to the challenge in a pinpointed, optimistic way. How to use a ‘How might we…’ statement: Use your problem definition (might be a POV madlib or want ad) to generate a number of HMW statements. After you have generated a number of statements, as a team decide on which HMW statements to use to launch ideation (these statements are rich and are generative just in reading them). The best practice is just trying some of these statements out – often your team won’t know if you’ve hit a generative HMW until into your brainstorm. It is good to prepare a number of HMW statements to keep the brainstorm going. As a team, create at least 4 good HMW statements from your problem definition. An example: HMW… make healthy eating the norm? help a teenager feel the long-term affects of her everyday choices? Help a teenager feel more comfortable being herself? Make asocial risk disappear? Magnify health risks for a teenager? Make eating healthy the coolest thing to do? POV “A teenage girl with a bleak outlook needs to feel more socially accepted when eating healthy food, because in her hood asocial risks are more dangerous than a health risk.” Write your team’s 4 good HMW statements here:

This is a focusing stage

brainstorm: why? generate maximum innovation potential in a short amount of time incorporate different perspectives build excitement gain alignment

brainstorm: demo

Brainstorm:

brainstorm: best practices define the problem clearly and succinctly load and stoke the brainstorm intentionally go for volume! 100+ ideas capture everything

brainstorm: stoke first Sound ball Word at a time proverb “yes and…”

idea selection is a critical step All the creative, wild, bad, OK, and undeveloped ideas from your brainstorm When evaluated with typical “attractive” and “feasible” criteria before direct implementation Yield familiar and incremental results

we will select and develop high potential ideas All the creative, wild, bad, OK, and undeveloped ideas from your brainstorm Selected for potential Can be developed for feasibility

using these three selection criteria for today vote using these three selection criteria “most likely to succeed” place two votes on the ideas that you think are most likely to successfully address your “how might we” “most likely to delight” place two votes on the ideas that you think would delight customers (without regard for practical constraints) “most breakthrough if …” place two votes on the most breakthrough ideas (if a fatal flaw or real world constraint were to be ignored)

most likely to succeed most likely to delight most breakthrough if . . .

Adventure Series: Cozy Camp remember, as you experienced, empathy is about gaining confidence that you are working on the right problem… when you are stuck: get out, have a direct experience with the PEOPLE involved. Consider you own work and ask yourself, who can I engage? Story of how changing the framing can have great personal, and $ impact