How a simple analogy and some innovative thinking changed an industry
Key Insights
In 2003, Dr. Allan Goldman and Prof. Martin Elliot used inspiration from watching a Ferrari Team pit stop in the FormulaOne to reimagine and redesign operating room procedures in their hospital.
Brainstorming with a team of similar mindsets creates limited results, which results in no real impact on problems.
Exploring analogies between different environments inspires new ideas or angles of thought. This is called Analogous Thinking.
The ‘further’ removed the analogy from the original context, the more radical and provoking the discussion and ideas generated become.
There are three different approaches to putting analogous thinking into practice.
From an F1 pit stop to the operating theatre
In 2003, Dr Allan Goldman, a head ICU doctor, and Prof Martin Elliot, heart surgeon, sat down in front of a tv to catch their breath. They had just performed a marathon, complex congenital heart operation at one of Britain’s largest children’s hospitals. This type of surgery had been plagued by very high mortality rates, with the journey from the operating room to the ICU known to be of critical risk. On the TV played a Formula One race . They watched in awe as the Ferrari Team performed a mid-race pit stop with ultimate precision. And it struck them: What if there was a way to take that level of efficiency, and bring it into their own theatre room? They noted similarities with the handover process their teams undertook moving patients between surgery and intensive care.
And so began the transformation.
The pit-stop in Formula One motor racing was seen as a model example of how a multi-professional team comes together as single unit to effectively perform a complex task (change four tyres and fill with fuel) under huge time pressure (approx 7s) with minimal error. Working closely with the Ferrari team, a set of new patient handover protocols were developed that reduced errors and improved information transfer, without comprising the timeframe. The number of patient errors that could be attributed to equipment and information dropped from 30% to just 10%.
Is this what they mean by ‘thinking outside the box’?
We’ve all experienced Dr Goldman’s scenario in some shape or form. We’ve identified a challenge or opportunity and began brainstorming ideas to address it. The trouble is, if everyone in the room is part of the same team with pretty similar life experiences, you end up with a pretty narrow frame of reference - often limited by the constraints of your own industry. The consequence is ideas that are limited, similar and predictable. Which means, no real impact. In disciplines like art, architecture and even science, borrowing from the work of others or the environment around you is encouraged. Who can forget the invention of velcro - George de Mestral, a Swiss inventor, first discovered the tiny hook pattern on the burdock burrs that kept sticking to his dog’s fur. We aren’t talking about plagiarism here, but of taking inspiration and cues from style, form or approach. Using analogies in the context of innovation is no different. When faced with a challenge, we draw on ‘analogies’ to reframe our thinking. We analyse a familiar challenge from within a different domain. It’s known as Analogous Thinking. And it’s a powerful tool to inspire new ideas or angles of thought. This is particularly useful when you are trying to break an impasse or challenge existing assumptions. Why reinvent the wheel, when the same challenge has already been solved by someone else?
Developing your own analogies
Whilst Dr Goldman and his team stumbled across the Formula One analogy and saw potential to improve their patient handover, we can bring a more intentional approach. This is termed ‘Analogous Exploration’. Jeremy Utley provides a neat overview:
Further is better
We know that some analogies are closer to your own context whilst others are further away, and this influences the potential to generate new thinking. When we are looking at near analogies - where the situation appears the same on the surface (e.g. looking at waste disposal in two different cities) - it can be immediately understood and analysed, but is likely to only stimulate ideas that are incrementally different. When we look at far analogies - where the similarities exist down at the structural level (e.g. comparing a city’s waste disposal with the ocean’s regenerative life cycle) - more exploration is required, but the potential for unique ideas is greater. The further away the analogy is from the subject, the more radical and provoking the discussion becomes.
To use analogous thinking in practice - here are three different approaches. If we want to explore our situation in all its different facets we can take a broad a) structural approach. If we already have an attribute in mind we can b) focus on an emotion or behaviour. For a structured approach to exploring new markets for products or services, try the c) Six Paths Framework.
a) Structural approach
If I'm a local council looking at managing traffic more efficiently through the main street, I might identify ‘distribution of demand’ as the key structural element I'm designing for. A near analogy might be looking at the way air traffic control manages incoming and outgoing flights (they are still vehicles moving around a physical environment). A far analogy might be looking at how online ticketing vendors manage big events. In this way we are now looking at managing demand in an entirely different context through the lens of managing customers buying a consumer good online.
b) Focus on an emotion or behaviour
A product team working on a new banking experience might identify ‘personalisation’ as an attribute that customers are looking for. A near example would be looking to the apps of the new neobanks, like Up bank, leading the way on digital-first experiences for younger consumers. A far example might be to explore the way skincare brand Aesop personalise their experiences with striking, textural fit-outs they tailor to each city across different parts of the world. IDEO’s ‘Explore Analogous Inspiration’ template provides a step-by-step guide.
c) The Six Paths Framework
The Six Paths Framework, developed by Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, provides a structured process to shift our thinking from a focus on industry competition to exploring ‘blue ocean’ possibilities by redrawing traditional boundaries. Get started with Blue Ocean’s Six Path Framework.
Our current challenges, demand new ways of thinking
Whether it is trying to decarbonise our economy, increase access to affordable housing, support declining mental health or encourage ethics in social media - there is a laundry list of epic problems we are facing right now. And they require new ways of thinking. Analogies can reframe and offer more familiar solutions to these challenges that seem so intractable. Here’s a last thought to leave you with, a little closer to home. A challenge that all businesses are facing right now across Australia. How do leaders attract and retain good people in their team? Could modern dating apps inspire new ways to make recruitment more human and responsive? Or perhaps we could learn from the mental model we use to decide on the right GP to visit? Either way, you don’t have to be a surgeon to learn how to come up with innovative ideas.
Mackenzie is a curious human, passionate about using the participatory power of design to reimagine services and the way we deliver them. With a background working on the strategic side of Federal Government, he is always looking for new ways to put the community at the forefront of decision-making.
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