In response to Don Norman’s Article

Hi Mr. Norman,

Your article led me to your recent piece on the research-practice gap and as a practicing “translational developer”, your focus on that gap is spot-on crucial.

Coincidentally, I just wrote a quick piece on what I was calling the Translation of Abstraction with an example project and may serve as one potential method for creating that bridge between research and design.

In response to your column, some visionary ideas for products 10 to 20 years out for the auto industry have seen a number of success. When the output is a singular representation of a project (often labeled as a “concept car”) without a direct expectation of definitive financial results, it was easier for us to get consensus on decisions. Rather than jumping to a full-blown mass manufactured product, creating a visionary representative of a product-direction (that is believable and achievable) seems to fill in the-idea-to-product-realization-gap. Everyone from marketing, researchers, CEOs, engineers, and designers rally toward it as it becomes a beacon of light. These are developed by dedicated exploratory groups with a tangible deliverable, not necessarily a skunkworks project. The fashion world’s Haute Couture is also a catalyst for inspiration and serves the same purpose. Their work even goes to transcend the entire industry.

I’d like to make a proposal of a few ingredients to tweak those skunkworks programs out there to generate a higher success rate. These still won’t make paradigm shift as you’ve said, but it may help speed up the decade-long-adoption-rate.

1) Public Commitment (helps your ideas be earnest)
Release ideas from skunkworks project out to the public in a tangible form. With a concrete representation of an idea, and a fair amount of financial investment, every department will be vested in its success. Try not to let the internal discussion on idea-propriety hinder you. If no one hears the fallen tree, it is meaningless. The public-showing will generate excitement and the company will commit from social and market demands.
As you’ve pointed out:
FAIL = skunkworks projects > into company culture
but with an intermediary step:
SUCCESS = skunkworks projects> public (consumers) acceptance> back into the company culture

2) Kiss on the First Date (helps your ideas be heard)
Consultants at larger firms generally have a high degree of confidence. This attitude is necessary because they have to wear the badge of an ‘expert’. Though many claim it, few can own up to it. Some consultants bust-in with gun-blazing-criticisms, some come in quiet, disguising their fear with buzz-words and a success-formula. This attitude is countered by the client’s own what-do-they-know-we-know-best-attitude. Both parties live in delusional ignorance, the egos butt-heads and ideas get crushed in between. If it was a date, no one’s calling each other back. The ideas that gain momentum seems to be ones where both parties deeply understand each other’s philosophy, openly criticize each other’s shortcomings, and then cordially kiss and make-up. This seems to create avone-voice and an authentic vision for both parties. Although the thought is kind of obvious, it’s rather difficult to do with finesse.

Step 1:Openly criticize the client’s delusions
Step 2: Openly criticize the consultants ignorance
Step 3: Kiss and make-up
Step 4: Start the relationship

3) Scalable Vision (helps your ideas to cultivate)
The foundational vision of a company can be the ground which ideas are built. Employees accept ideas if it is connected or associated with a piece of an existing structure. If that basic vision has consensus and is ingrained in the mindset, anything that branches from it seems to have a much easier time resisting turbulence. Sometimes it’s difficult to create this foundation because it requires the involvement of the CEO and branding groups. If the foundation is built by the top execs though, regardless of an individual employee’s opinion, they will make it work. Eventually the hope is for everyone to fully embrace the new mindset and create a wider adoption of ideas.