p.2 Interestingly, when presented with a simple, obvious strategy, many clients are not impressed.
They are often looking for some clever, not-so-obvious idea. What I often hear is something like, "That's something
we already know. Is the solution that simple?"... Updegraff [in his book Obvious Adams] warned of this reaction when
he wrote, "The trouble is, the obvious is apt to be so simple and commonplace that it has no appeal to the imagination.
We all like clever ideas and ingenious plans that make good lunch-table talk at the club. There is something
about the obvious that is - well, so very obvious!"
p.2-5 Five Tests of Obviousness...
The first test... This problem when solved will be simple. The obvious is nearly
always simple - so simple that sometimes a whole generation of men and women have looked at it without even seeing
it...
The second test... Does it check with human nature? ...
The third test... Put it on paper... No idea or plan, no program or project is obvious
unless it can be understood and worked by people of average intelligence...
The fourth test... Does it EXPLODE in people's minds? ... If an idea or proposal does not
"explode," if it requires lengthy explanation, and involves hours of argument, either it is not obvious, or you have
not thought it through yourself and reduced it to obvious simplicity...
The fifth test... Is the time ripe?
p.6-7 Abraham Lincoln offered some brilliant advice on figuring out what to do: "You must draw on language,
logic, and simple common sense to determine essential issues and establish a concrete course of action."
p.8 Leonardo da Vinci saw the human mind as a laboratory for gathering material from the eyes, ears, and
other organs of perception - material that was then channeled through the organ of common sense. In other words, common sense
is a sort of super sense that rides herd over our other senses. It's a super sense that many in business refuse to trust.
p.10 To think in simple, commonsense and obvious terms, you must begin to follow these four guidelines:
1. Get your ego out of the situation...
2. Avoid wishful thinking...
3... Common sense by definition is based on what others think...
4. Be a little cynical... Good common sense is based on the experience of many, not the
wishful thinking of some.
p.12 Success or failure is all about perceptual problems and opportunities in the marketplace.
And it's all about understanding that the perceptions in the mind of the customer are where you win and lose.
p.19 We have become a world of reactors, not thinkers, at a time when good thinking is
so desperately needed... So what's to be done?
p.20 The best weapon we all have against too much information is our common sense. Trust
it and use it. If you follow this advice, you'll find that solving the problems will get easier.
p.23 What you really want to get is a quick snapshot of the perceptions that exist in the mind.
Not deep thoughts, not suggestions. What you're after are the perceptual strengths and weaknesses...
p.27 The first challenge is to acknowledge that you can't absorb everything you think you need to know.
p.73 an idea is not enough. To complete the process, you need to turn the idea into a strategy.
What's a strategy? A strategy is not a goal. Like life itself, a strategy ought to focus
on the journey, not the goal. Top-down thinkers are goal-oriented. They first determine what it is they want to achieve,
and then they try to devise ways and means to achieve their goals.
p.74-75 A strategy is coherent in the sense that it is focused on the idea that has been selected...
The purpose of the strategy is to mobilize your resources... By committing all your resources to
one strategic direction, you maximize the exploitation of the idea without the limitation that the existence of a
goal implies.
p.77 humans all like clever ideas but the obvious idea is the one most likely to work well.
p.83 In the book The Reengineering Revolution, MIT professor-turned-consultant Michael Hammer calls
human beings' innate resistance to change "the most perplexing, annoying, distressing, and confusing part" of reengineering.
p.86 Competitive strategy is about being different... The essence of strategy is
in the activities - choosing to perform activities differently or to perform different activities than rivals.
p.96 the key to survival is to start... with your competition in mind. It's not what you want to
do. It's what your competition will let you do... I'll give you survival tips in your search for an obvious
strategy.
p.97 Avoid a Competitor's Strength and Exploit Their Weakness
p.102-103, 105 When problems arise, whether they are in marketing, politics, or life, everyone looks
for a solution. We have all been programmed to solve problems with solutions.
Interestingly, my many years of being in the problem-solving business have led me to believe that
often looking for a solution is a fool's errand. There is no easy solution for complex problems. What there is instead
is an obvious direction. The reason is that often there are too many variables in a situation...
A longer-term direction is a lot more flexible because it gives you some maneuvering room to deal with change and unpredictable
events. Often just knowing where you are going is the best you can do in a difficult situation. It also is the essence
of a good strategy... But, hey, what do I know, I'm only a marketing guy trying to encourage good directions instead
of just solutions.
p.115 [Thomas Edison's advice] Your idea needs to be original only in its adaptation to the problem
you are currently working on... The simplest way to solve a problem is to borrow an existing idea.
p.116 You can increase your odds of solving a problem by becoming a collector. When you come across
a nifty notion or a savvy strategy, save it. Start a journal, a clipping file, and a computer file... When you're
trying to find a solution to something, dip into your collection. Then use the following blueprint to make the most of an
existing idea...
1. Substitute... 2. Combine... 3. Adapt... 4. Magnify or minimize... 5. Put it to other uses... 6. Eliminate...
7. Reverse or rearrange... 8. Shift audiences.
p.137 The perception is the reality. Everything else is an illusion.
p.138 The only reality you can be sure about is in your own perceptions.
p.141 In your search for the obvious, only one move will produce substantial results. You do not have the
luxury of picking from a selection of ideas.
p.187 A search for the obvious is about today, not tomorrow. You cannot predict the future and you
should never try.
p.193 The best way to deal with these natural fears is to focus on the problem... Needless to say, you
have to recognize the right problem on which to focus.
p.194 If you are willing to use your common sense and keep things simple, you should be able to
reach that obvious solution.
