Elizabeth Lowery's Key Ideas from Better and Faster
by Jeremy Gutsche

Assumptions hold creativity hostage. They anchor thinking to existing paradigms and assumed constraints. Release assumptions to unlock fresh perspectives. Be brutally honest about current beliefs. Ask "What if?"

• Identify orthodoxies.
• Challenge sacred cows.
• Question everything.

Assumptions hide in plain sight. Expose them through reversal - assume the opposite. Reversing assumptions shakes loose hidden insights.

Prototyping accelerates learning. Don't wait for perfection. Move quickly from idea to prototype.

• Test concepts early with customers.
• Prototypes expose flaws and opportunities.
• They help fail fast and cheaply.
• Making an idea tangible reveals insights theory misses

Customers are innovation allies, not passive recipients. Include them early and often. Collaboration unlocks insights. Customer immersion builds empathy and sparks ideas.

• Ask for feedback on prototypes.
• Observe behavior.
• Co-create with lead users who live in the future.
• Leverage user communities to accelerate innovation.

Seek stimulus from analogous worlds. Adjacent spaces reveal needs and ideas. Connecting disparate domains cross-pollinates creativity.  

Zoom out and zoom in perspectives. Import ideas from other industries and contexts. Explore adjacencies beyond physical products into services, experiences and business models.

Speed trumps size. Get to market quickly with a basic offering. Launch small experiments to validate and improve. Think minimum viable product, not maximum product.

Test elements individually vs. bundled. Pursue incremental innovation once core product performs. 

Structure impacts culture. To thrive, innovation needs its own space. Protect creative teams from rigid corporate systems.  Enable innovation through independent units or teams with different processes.

Maintain connections to tap company assets. Celebrate failure as learning. Structure follows strategy - organize accordingly.

• The future favors the bold.
• Make future-focused innovation part of strategy and culture. Develop foresight.
• Explore trends and scenarios.
• Form a predictions database to guide innovation.
• Consider diverse global perspectives.
• Monitor the periphery for weak signals.
• Craft 10-year visions.
• Make futures tangible with models and experiential scenarios. Prepare for change.
• Shape the future or be shaped.