Hiring 100 monkeys then putting them into a room with 100 typewriters and expecting the works of Shakespeare seems a little far fetched. We would never use this type of method to write movies or hit song, yet when it comes to real problems we put “monkeys” into a room and call it Brain Storming.
Intuitive based process improvement (brain storming) is great if Einstein, Tesla, Edison, and Westinghouse work for you. If not, then you need a different approach. Inventive-problem-solving or TRIZ (Teoriya Resheniya Izobretatelskikh Zadatch) has been around for over 60 years and is the creation of Genrich Altshuller and his colleagues TRIZ is a simple process that starts with a known problem, defines an ideal outcome, compares it to 39 basic problems, and solves it using 40 possible solutions.
Example 1:
Known Problem:
Cleaning and washing soiled cloth baby diapers!
Ideal Outcome:
Not having to clean dirty baby diapers.
Compare this problem to the 39 basic problems and you come up with:
#34-“Repairability
Repairing/Cleaning the dirty old diaper is distasteful and diapers are too expensive to throw away.
Using TRIZ’s 40 Possible Solutions we find an answer to our dilemma in:
Principle 27: Use Cheap (sometimes short-living) Replacement Events/Parts
Solution:
Make a diaper out of cheap material so it can be thrown away.
A simple solution to a simple problem answered in seconds instead of years.
Example 2:
My favorite military example of applying a TRIZ principle is very easy to understand.
Known Problem:
Recruit will not get out of bed!
Ideal Outcome:
Recruit will be out of bed ready to face the day.
Compare this problem to the 39 basic problems and you come up with:
#2- Weight of nonmoving object
The Recruit is not getting out of bed and is therefore an unmoving weight.
Using TRIZ’s 40 Possible Solutions we find an answer to our dilemma in:
Principle 8: Counterweight Compensate for the object's weight by joining with another object that has a lifting force
Solution:
Scream at the Recruit to get his/her lazy but out of bed.
Drill Instructors have been students of TRIZ for as long as there was a military. Just as every inventor uses TRIZ, they just did not know what to call it.
By applying the principles that Genrich Altshuller discovered you can find a solution that would have had to rely on someone just thinking of it on their own. TRIZ can be applied to any principle in your business no matter what it is. TRIZ is now being translated from engineering to small businesses, social, marketing, and other models.
If you are lucky enough to have geniuses in your employ, imagine the benefit to your company by focusing their minds down the path of innovation. For those who have to deal with normal humans you can turn your workforce into a team of innovative geniuses who are well equipped to solve all problems they face.
