
The dazzling definitive list of questions asked to an innovation guide
- January 2021
- Tim Selders
- 3 mins read
‘Somewhere on the crossroads of business, innovation, design and the future’ is the place where I work. But where do crossroads start and end? A philosopher might know the answer. So do my past and present clients…
Who doesn’t specialise becomes redundant – I firmly believe in that. Focus was my main drive during a great part of my working life. In spite of my efforts, I always got presented challenges from a very broad range of areas. A phrase I’ve heard over and over: “We want to go forward but we can’t figure out how.”
My previous clients didn’t care much about labelling their challenge. They just wanted it solved.
Not rarely do I know nothing about the industry at hand. But on a strategic level, generic skills like problem solving, scenario thinking, structuring and visualisation, have often proved applicable. If focus was my aim, this is how well I did at it.
The dazzling list of questions asked to me in the past years:
“What is the best agency to design our LEGO House experience?”
“How to bring long-term consumer thinking in developing real estate?”
“What is a workable model for explaining our design choices to BMW top management?”
“What is the vision for a sustainability center in Eindhoven?”
“How can we speed up our B&O innovation process?”
“What is the future of education?”
“What role should our bugaboo owner/designer play in the our fast growing company?”
“What is the best team setup for innovation at The Royal Airforce?”
“How to build a new design language at Grundfos?”
“What is the future of our Raichle skiing shoes?”
“How to convince our Danfoss board to invest in design?”
“What could be the future of our KPN cloud services?”
“How to reorganise the Rainforest Alliances innovation team into transformational Innovation?
“How to truly bring sustainability into a fast-moving retail environment?”
“How to involve architects in the future of Lafarge rooftiles?”
“What is the best way to train design thinking to our HP engineers?”
“What is the future of driving motorcycles?”
“How to innovate 100 million+ euro yachts differently?”
“How can we build a brand disconnected from Philips?”
“How to grow concepting power amongst our engineers in Permasteelisa?”
“What is the best way to visualise our Samsonite innovation strategy for our investors?”
“How to make our agile way of working more visionary at ZorgDomein?”
“How to grow the relevancy and importance of our Niko design function?”
“How can Roca become design and innovation leader in our sanitary industry?”
So, can I help you too?
And is your challenge exactly at the crossroads of design, innovation, business and the future? It usually takes one phone call to find out.
My previous clients didn’t care much about labelling their challenge. They just wanted it solved. I see a wonderful starting point in that…