Dear Creative friends,
Hello again.

Please send me any comments or suggestions that you have.

Pleasant reading,
Amir

In this issue:
(a) Announcements
(b) Creative ideas for...
(c) Creative tool - Nine Windows
(d) Recommendation of the month

(a) Creative Painting - Using my Tools in Art

My wife - Paula Elion - is a painter and artist. We sometimes discuss the possibilities of using creative tools in the field of art. Indeed, artistic breakthroughs have indeed demonstrated creativity which could be described in terms of some of the creative tools I write about. Check out Paula's new artist website to see her art and an application of some creative ideas in art. www.paulaelion.com - Paula Elion - Painting Made Personal.


Yours truly,
Amir

(c) Creative Tool: Nine Windows

Before using an innovation tool for producing new ideas, you would usually choose a subject of focus, or the scope of the innovation effort. I have demonstrated in previous issues how tools such as SCAMPER, Systematic Innovation Techniques (SIT) and others can help you produce a variety of ideas in a chosen subject. However, sometimes it is well worth while to start by asking yourself if you could and should expand the scope of your innovation. Nine Windows is a tool that helps you re-examine the scope of your innovation and your activity in general.

Here are the steps for using Nine Windows to expand the scope of your innovation, with a detailed example:

1. Draw a 3x3 grid, with the main subject in the center: Nine Windows has two axes. The horizontal axis consist of Past>>Present>>Future states, while the vertical axis consists of Sub-System>>System>>Super-System. Your product or service would be placed in the center - meaning that normally we would be looking for innovations in the product's present state and its system of operation.
   
   Example:
   If you are a programming house for computer games, you would place your game in the center of the 3x3 grid. See this diagram for clarification.
   
   
2. Add Super and Sub Systems, and Past and Future states: Now think of the product's Super-System - what is the larger environment in which it exist? What environmental conditions effect it? There could be several environments for your product or service - the environment (=Super-System) where it is used, or where it is purchased, or the market in which it competes. Fill-in the Sub-System next - the Micro environment the product can be broken down to, or its building stones. Again - you could usually identify several Sub-Systems - so chose one to begin with. Next, look at the product's previous state - how it began, its primary or early form, as well as its possible future state and how it "ends its existence" and usage. Here, too, you could vary the time span of past and future lookout.
   
   Examples:
   A. For the computer game I have chosen the super-system of its usage - the personal computer, and the sub-system of its graphical elements - game objects.
   
   B. The past state I have chosen for the game is an idea for a game, and the future or final state of a game is (hopefully) a sequel game.
   
   I have put these additions into the 3x3 grid - see this example.
   
   
3. Add Past and Future States for Super and Sub Systems: Complete the Nine Windows grid by adding the past and future states of the super and sub systems.
   
   Examples:
   A. For the super-system of the personal computer I add the past state of the ordering of a computer, and the future state of an upgrade or replacement of the personal computer to a new model. I could have also chosen a further past and future - before PC's we used the playground much more often for entertainment, and in the future we might imagine using three dimensional holographic environments.
   
   B. For the sub-system of game objects I add the past state of Drawings and Sketches, and the future state of making and selling action figures based on these game objects.
   
   Here is the full Nine Windows diagram with all these additions.
   
   
4. Innovate in any of the Nine Windows:
   
   You may now choose the wider scope for your innovation. Instead of just innovating the current state of the Computer Game itself, in the above example, you may innovate in the relationship between games and the purchasing or upgrading of a PC - creating a new business model and partnership with computer retailers or manufacturers (the Super-System), or you could innovate in the way you get ideas for new games (past state), or perhaps do something unique with the sketches for the game objects or the merchandising of action figures based on the game objects (the sub-system).