We try to use Insight at every opportunity at Ignite. It might be when we’re helping a client to frame a challenge, to set the agenda for a key piece of work. It might be in trying to stimulate ideas that will help to address a particular problem or exploit an opportunity or even in the midst of implementing a project.

There is no hard and fast rule, but some forms of Insight are particularly useful at certain stages in the Ignite innovative change process. 

• Imagery is particularly helpful in Framing the Challenge and in Illuminating as it helps unlock people’s feelings about an issue as well as the logical perspective that would ordinarily be the first mode of thought.
• Comparative and abstract insights are useful in the Creating phase as it is specifically designed to introduce fresh perspectives and good practice from other walks of life.
• Stretch insights are particularly helpful in the Stretch and Build phase as it is focussed on testing the boundaries and getting the most from a solution. (Click here if you want to know more about the Ignite change approach)

Every time we work with an issue, we’re adding something to our bank of Insight that we might draw on again at some point in the future. It takes a little practice to choose the right Insight, but having done so we find that amazing results become possible in extraordinarily short spaces of time.

What is an Insight?

In our rich and complex world, we are all surrounded by stimuli that help us to gain new perspectives on a problem or issue. Robert the Bruce and his spider, Isaac Newton and his apple, Charles Darwin and the giant tortoises of the Galapagos Islands, a parent watching a child learn a new skill, a fashion designer hanging around a shopping centre or a coffee bar picking up vibes that will inform their next collection – if our senses are open to the world around us, we will be stimulated, inspired and informed, often in most unpredictable ways.

There is scarcely an organisation under the sun that couldn’t learn from lifting up its corporate head, opening its collective eyes, listening with its many ears and taking in some of what it feels, sees and hears.

Just as a quick exercise: What thoughts would the picture of these firemen conjure for you about teamwork and coordination?  If you did not manage to get at least 15 principles out of the picture then take the opportunity to get more practice in thinking laterally.