The first step to innovation is taking a spark and gently shaping it into a testable concept. But we don’t usually take that step, and often for good reason. For innovators working inside healthcare, we see endless number of gaps and opportunities to help patients and caregivers and providers. But our spark, our good idea, just may not fit. If we work inside of institutions that deliver services and products for health and healthcare we understand both the problem and the inherent limitations involved in addressing that problem. We decide that our sparks just won’t cut it within the constraints or the processes or the mission of the institution we work for, and so we dismiss what might be a “really good idea.”
We mull. Mulling over a spark is part of the innovation process. At some point in the hours or days of mulling, driving down the road and thinking, “hey, this might just work” and “well, that might be something useful,” we determine that it’s worth taking the step of moving from spark to testable concept.
How do we do it? I use a simple one-page concept sheet. The one-page format forces an innovator to be concise. The one-pager includes three parts: a “tweet-length” concept statement, a paragraph or two describing the problem, and a paragraph or two describing the solution.
Let’s talk about the problem. The problem is typically shared. It’s the patient’s problem. It’s the payer’s problem, the family and/or caregivers problem. It’s a financial problem. But when we refer to the patient (or healthcare consumer, if you wish), I assert that it is important to term a problem statement in terms of both functional needs (access to services, healthcare professionals, etc) and emotional needs. I would argue that most of the most important innovative ideas that have changed our relationship as consumers to healthcare have been equally about filling a need for better access to information and filling a need to have a deeper, more empowered connection to our experience of managing and dealing with our health. Furthermore, I would suggest that well conceived concept statements are ones that consider the patient journey and recognize where the innovation intercedes in that journey. We create solutions that both fit within people’s lives, and in some small way alter the way that we do what we do.
Yes, there is a lot riding on the one-page concept sheet. Innovators have write something that is both true to the “aha kernel” contained in the spark, but also need to be clear, concise and insightful regarding needs and solutions. Given this, we usually go through a few iterations of writing and rewriting our one-page concept sheet. The rewrites are preceded by meetings and calls and research. The process of validating an initial concept is fraught with danger because it is likely that the spark will get trampled upon as you are writing your concept sheet. You see something that feels like a giant barrier. Or you realize that your great big unique idea isn’t so unique as you thought. Or you realize that there is no way that the idea is going to fly within the constraints of environment that it will need to live –- namely you are going to have an impossible idea of selling it to champions.
So, be gentle with your sparks as you develop them into concepts. Be careful with who you describe your ideas to. Don’t let them get knocked around too badly, but give yourself permission to change your thinking while holding on to the kernel that made the idea worthwhile in the first place. If that spark is linked to a gap in the patient journey – a gap punctuated by an emotional need, then you can more easily hold firm to the spark as you move forward into concept development.
