A process called choice mapping helps you apply constraints that can uncover novel solutions to problems.
August 24, 2023
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Ever since the late 1990s, social psychologists have known a surprising truth: If you want to maximize someone’s satisfaction with a choice, don’t give them unlimited options. Instead, you should give themsome choice but with clear constraints. This added structure is crucial for picking a desired option with confidence. This research also translates to innovation, which often results from 1) identifying a big problem to solve; 2) breaking it down into sub-problems; 3) identifying how those subproblems had been previously solved; and 4) combining the subproblem solutions in a unique and novel way. This process, which the author calls “choice mapping,” adds helpful constraints to your process.
While history would like you to believe breakthroughs are the result of genius inspiration, or divine intervention, the truth is far more prosaic. Whether it’s the invention of basketball or an organization-wide system for learning and innovation, our greatest minds have arrived at theirEureka!moments by way of clever choosing. That is, they identified their big problem, broke it down into several subproblems, searched to find options for how each subproblem had been previously solved, and combined those options in unique ways to arrive at a novel solution.
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Sheena S. Iyengar is the S.T. Lee Professor of Business at Columbia Business School and a world expert on choice, innovation, and creativity. She is the best-selling author of The Art of Choosing (Haschette (Twelve), 2010) and the author of Think Bigger: How to Innovate (Columbia University Business Press, 2023). A top management thinker (ranked by Thinkers50 in 2019, 2021) and educator, her TED talks (2010, 2014) have received a collective 7 million views.
New!
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Innovation and Creativity Course
Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Innovation and Creativity. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
Unlock your team’s curiosity and willingness to take smart risks.
