Innovation Series Part 1- Stating Your Purpose

Welcome to the Be a Kitchen Innovator Blog Series on The Knickerbocker Glory. This post is the first post in the series and covers the all important first step of innovation – writing a statement of purpose. The post will explore creating a statement of purpose and understanding scope.

Stating Your Purpose

Before we can create something new we have to decide what we want to do – what problem we will solve, what process we will improve, what dish we want to bring to the next level. Part of this is deciding what we want to focus on and what we do not want to focus on, in other words setting the scope of our innovation effort. Stating what is in and out of scope is a good thing. It may not seem like it, but limits are good for the innovator because they help focus energy and reduce ambiguity.

The First Step
The first step then is to create a statement of purpose. A statement of purpose should be both simple and specific. It should indicate exactly what you are trying to accomplish. We will put a twist on this to make the statement of purpose even more powerful soon. Let’s start by creating a few statements of purpose.

1. Create new layered desserts.
2. Reduce cycle time for product development 50%.
3. Create a new social dating website.
4. Create a new model to teach innovation.
5. Create a new breadless line of sandwiches

These statements of purpose are pretty straight forward and reasonably specific while at the same time giving some focus to the innovation effort. They can also help determine what will be included in the innovation effort and what will not.

The Scope

Knowing what will not be included is equally important to what will be included. This helps steer the idea generation in the correct direction. Let’s make an illustrative list of what will be included and what won’t be included for these statements of purpose.

Create New Layered Desserts
Included	Not Included
Desserts Sweet goodsOnly Multi layered desserts (more than 3) Vegetarian Vegan For a sophisticated palate	Main Courses Lunch Dishes Savory Items Meats Children’s Orientation

Reduce Cycle Time for Product Development 50%
Included	Not Included
Concept Development Time Idea to protocept time Formulation Completion Scale Up	Plant Production Other functional input – marketing, quality, operations.

Create A New Social Dating Website
Included	Not Included
User to User Interface Graphic Design Better Matchmaking Tools Sensory Engagement	Questionnaires Eligibility Content Topics Web Security

Create a New Model to Teach Innovation
Included	Not Included
The Steps of Innovation Structure of an Innovation Session How Sessions are Facilitated The Different Materials Needed for Sessions	Graphic Designs or Logos Business Models Potential Customers Marketing Topics for Innovation

Create a New Breadless Line of Sandwiches
Included	Not Included
Savory Items Meats Based Opportunities Cheese Based Opportunities Potato Based Opportunities Rice Based Opportunities Bean Based Opportunities	Sweet Bread Replacers Grain Based Opportunities Synthetic Fibers Based Opportunities Gelatins Pasta Based Opportunities

Understanding what will and will not be included does 2 things. First, as stated above, it helps provide some limitations on what is to be accomplished – this is good for innovation. Second, it helps inform us about what types of new information we will need to create new ideas (more on this later in Lesson 2) This information will be inspiration for creating new ideas, so any help choosing the right information or stimulus will be helpful.

hmmm…that is interesting!

Give Them A Twist
The statements of purpose are not done. It is a good idea to give your statement of purpose a twist or give it a different angle from which to consider the purpose. If done right, this can bring some extra energy and be both inspirational and motivational. It is meant to make people say “hmmm….that is interesting”. It will also have the added effect of giving further direction on the type of new information we will need to create new ideas (more on this later!).

Here are a few examples based on the statements above…

1. Create new layered desserts that pay homage to Canadian culture.
2. Reduce cycle time for product development 50% using techniques from the auto racing industry.
3. Create a new social dating website that mimics the experience of dining out.
4. Create a new model to teach innovation that uses culinary arts as a guide.
5. Create a new breadless line of sandwiches inspired by Jazz musicians.

Putting together statements of purpose takes practice. Remember, be simple and clear, give focus and give it a twist.

In the next post, one week from Today on January 22, 2014, we will discuss collecting information that will help us create new ideas.

Keep Eating! Keep Innovating!

Do you have questions? Do you have a statement of purpose you would like to share? Let us know all about it in the comments or on Facebook.

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