Buckminster Fuller Called for a Design Revolution

Over the last 20+ years InnovationLabs has worked with large groups to accelerate and enhance their ability to learn, collaborate, and produce results. This work increases the productivity of the group - often accomplishing weeks, months, or years worth of work in a matter of days. 

When we do this work we think of ourselves as designers. We often refer to the process we use with groups as a design process. 

Buckminster Fuller realized during the last century that human beings had acquired the necessary knowledge and know-how to raise the standard of living for all the people on the planet. What was simply required, according to Bucky, was a design revolution. He put his mind to thinking about - and re-thinking - many of the things that were common at the time. This short video shows how, in the early 1930's, Bucky re-thought what was then the 'dominant design' for the car. This 'car' (called the dymaxion car) was designed using materials and ideas from what was then a industry - the airline industry. This vehicle could comfortably seat 11 people, turn on a dime, and reach greater speeds then what was currently being made (as evidenced by the speeding ticket shown in the video). 

In Bucky's mind the idea of design revolution went beyond everyday products and services. Bucky suggested we needed to apply design thinking to all of humanities challenges. 

Another example of his way of thinking can be seen in his re-conceiving the map of the world - called the Dymaxion Map. Bucky realized through this re-conceiving that, until that time, there was no map of the world that displayed the continents in their correct proportions (and no other map clearly showed the earth as 'one island in one ocean'). 

In our work we apply design thinking to strategy, innovation, and process design - as well as new product and service development. We think this type of thinking can be applied to just about any type of challenge or issue facing organizations in todays environment. Applying design thinking to the work of any type of organization can enhance the capability for innovation to become 'a way of working' that all partake in. 

Is it time for a design revolution in your company? If it is, where should you start? That depends, of course - but one place you can start is with the things within your control - within your sphere of influence. Then, as others notice the improvements and innovations you create they can be brought in to collaborate on larger projects and initiatives. 

Crowdsourcing

You've heard of outsourcing. You've heard of the concept of opensource for things like software development (the browser - Firefox - and the operating system I'm using - OSX - to write this post are both opensource). Now, there is a developing movement called Crowdsourcing (which is still emerging and being defined). The general idea is that a 'crowd' of generalists can make better decisions than a single expert.

Some companies are using crowdsourcing as a way to engage large groups of people in the innovation process.

The following model is being developed by Sami Viitamaki from Finland. It is an attempt to explain the idea of crowdsourcing from the point of view of a company that wants to engage in collaboration with customers or customer collectives.


Most of the models evolving around crowdsourcing involve digital and/or virtual interactions - to engage people from disparate parts of the world in what we call 'different time, different place' collaboration. A good example of a company doing this is Cambrian House. Cambrian House defines Crowdsourcing as:

Crowdsourcing is when people gather via the Internet to create something and share in the profit – often without ever meeting each other in person. The products of these collaborations are referred to as crowdsourced.

In our work we still recommend and use 'same time, same place' collaboration for groups of up to 100s of people. This intensive, face-to-face collaboration can accelerate the interactions and solutions generated by a group.

In Sami's model he refers to the need for specific facilities where the collaboration can takes place. He is referring to virtual facilities. We also see the need for specific facilities where collaboration can take place. The following is an example of a physical environment designed specifically for high level collaboration.

If we combine the power of the internet and virtual collaboration with the power of live, face-to-face collaboration in specifically designed interactions and engagements the potential for developing breakthrough products and services is enormous.

To read about Sami's model in more detail click here.

Fast Cycle Times

Talk about shrinking cycle times. This small company used a trade show floor to generate product ideas from passers-by (or potential customers) and then used online tools to vote for the best idea - then product prototypes. All in 4 days. Now the top products are going into production.

Racing from idea to prototype at Macworld
Mophie, which makes a line of iPod cases, used a good chunk of its booth to solicit attendees' designs. The company got 150 ideas in about four hours at its booth. A quick round of online voting helped the company choose three finalists. By Friday, the last day of Macworld, the company had marketing pitches and rough, but working, implementations of all three finalists.

Wisdom of Crowds - Writing Books

This could be a very significant change in the way books are written - if it works. To date, almost all books have been written by one person or several people collaborating on an effort. A few books have been written as compilations of individual author's essays.

MIT and Wharton are experimenting with having up to a million people write a book on how community process influences and changes business. What's amazing about this so far is that people participating are not only writing the book but they are changing the software being used to write the book.



If you would like to contribute to this book go to We are Smarter than Me.