Pay close attention to the small elements of a problem.
By focusing in on specific elements we can pick apart a problem or highlight a feature. We can use what we find to highlight the strengths of an idea, or identify possible areas for future development.
Take a project you are working on and imagine you are a newcomer trying to gain a thorough understanding of it.
Zooming in on the details of our projects or subject matter brings into focus new and interesting details, previously overlooked. These details can provide fresh stimulus and insight to provoke new ideas and solve problems.
This approach can also be useful to create ideas for communicating an idea or project. By emphasising components, ingredients and fundamentals we can demonstrate the depth of an idea or the variety of angles to its appeal.
Use this technique to break down unwieldy problems or complex subjects. Tackling specific elements can seem more manageable and take the pressure off.
“The details are not the details. They make the design.” - Charles Eames
By focusing in on specific elements we can pick apart a problem or highlight a feature. We can use what we find to highlight the strengths of an idea, or identify possible areas for future development.
After a quick introduction of the concept and its use, you can let people get straight into it. They can either work individually or in small groups.
I often like to introduce this exercise with a few examples of how you can use details to provide an extra dimension to something bigger.
For example, the Wimbledon tennis tournament is a key selling moment for British strawberries, with the tournament expecting to sell 140,000 punnets of berries, which it traditionally serves with cream, across the fortnight. This makes for up to 38 tonnes of strawberries and over 7,000 litres of fresh cream.
Or, in a Formula One Grand Prix, drivers spray roughly 30 to 45 bottles of champagne across the podium celebrations during a race weekend. Teams use roughly 3,000 to 5,000 bottles of sparkling wine or champagne across the entire event. This includes paddock hospitality, VIP yachts, and team garages. There's a significant cost to this: official podium Jeroboams (3-litre bottles) cost roughly £250 to £500 each. Therefore the total weekend bubbly budget for hospitality easily exceeds £150,000.
After explaining these examples, you can invite participants to identify a few interesting details related to their organisation.
Have people work through the worksheet, or just have a simple discussion and ask them to try and identify some interesting or insightful details that might either take their thinking into new areas or make for an interesting story to share.
They could even create a mind map to explore the different components, giving each one a separate branch as they break it down into ever smaller elements.
Best used as part of a creative thinking or problem-solving workshop. It can also be used effectively in an ideation workshop for a marketing or events team.
Using this tool with a skilled facilitator means that discussions are focused, time is used efficiently, and the group moves toward consensus, making the session productive and impactful.
