SIT – Systematic Inventive Thinking
SIT has unlocked the DNA of innovation – and SIT is part the Bold’s DNA.
> Principles of Systematic Inventive Thinking
In 2002, Ralph J. Rettler read about Prof. Jacob Goldenberg, the developer of the SIT methodology. Ralph was fascinated by the fact that successful innovative ideas can be explained by only a few patterns, and that these were eventually translated into a set of powerful tools to help companies innovate.
Ralph opened SIT Germany as a franchise of SIT Ltd. in Tel Aviv, and worked with SIT Ltd. successfully for many years. With great proud, we are looking back to an exciting and fun time with SIT where we ran hundreds of successful SIT projects in many industries and more than 30 countries. In the beginning we started off with traditional innovation/ideation projects where the SIT method was used to make a difference in the quality of results. In 2015 we started to feel that the environment was changing.
Why it works
In the last 15 years in the innovation business, we validated that SIT was the most powerful method to come up with solutions that make a real difference. But what is so unique about SIT? Couldn’t you just do a brainstorming workshop instead?
Well, it is the methodology’s ability to unlock hidden potential, unveiling the not-so-obvious and surprising. The methodology helps us to think in directions that we usually wouldn’t. Henry Ford’s iconic quote “If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” is coming to life in SIT. The methodology forces you to think rather pro-active than re-active. SIT thinking leads you through a process of provocation, challenging your existing assumptions with the goal to create ideas that surprise you.
And SIT is not something someone invented to make people think. SIT has a scientific background. In a vast research on successful innovations, strong patterns were identified that re-occurred over and over again. These patterns were translated into powerful tools and principles that together form the SIT methodology
Principles of Systematic Inventive Thinking
Function follows form
Instead of looking for a need or an obvious solution to a need we manipulate the status quo and systematically screen for hidden benefits
Inside the box
We start the thinking process from within. The closer the idea is to your existing world, the easier it will be to implement it.
SIT Tools – The 5 patterns of innovation
Subtraction
Removing essential components from a product, process, or business model (examples: Amazon, iPod Shuffle, Dyson Vacuum Cleaner).
Multiplication
Adding existing components to a system and giving them a twist (examples: Gillette razors, double-glass window, noise cancelling headphones)
Task Unification
Assigning new tasks to existing resources (examples: MacGyver, mobile phone camera, automatic watch movement)
Attribute Dependency
Changing variables in a running system (examples: adaptive curve light, airline booking classes, happy hour)
Division
Dividing in space and time (examples: Leki ski-poles, differed payment credit, remote control)
Our SIT Competence
We were part of SIT for many years and we used the SIT methodology in hundreds of projects. Today, the SIT way of thinking has become an integrated part of our DNA, our daily work and our way of thinking. In all our consulting projects we use the methodology in one way or the other, sometimes you wouldn’t even notice.