New value creators, innovators and user experience designers often talk about the user mental models, but we rarely discuss our own tacit belief systems, and ways of doing things that affect how we innovate. Mental models form a deep structure of our thinking, and in that they go often unexamined. They are important, because they determine what we practice rather than what we preach. They define what is possible, and what is not, what is desirable, and what is important. Your mental model will determine your vision for your venture, and affect the steps you take towards it. I call this book a toolkit, because I see it as a platform to share best practices, successful new value creators live by, and that includes some core vlues and personal knowledge systems. The personal knowledge system of effective performers in any field includes: (1) a stance, which is a generalization of how you believe the world works; (2) a set of heuristics, which are the conceptual tools with which you get the work done; and finally (3) practical experience of working on real problems. Stance according to the former dean of the Rotman School of Business, Roger Martin “is how you see the world around you, but it’s also how you see yourself in that world.” Your stance is your philosophy and the theory of how you think your going to succeed in your life and your work. All great innovators share some common beliefs. I will dedicate large part of this introduction to covering these universal core principles. Your stance will help you to select the right projects, and the heuristics, or conceptual tools to achieve your goals. Tools are the second critial part of the innovator’s mental model. Tools help you organize your thinking, probe the world for actionable insights, ideate your solutions, build and test your prototypes, and diffuse your innovation. They may be based on formal theories or practical experience, and include established processes, and rules of thumb. I will share many conceptual tools in all categories in this toolkit. Experience is the third critical component of new value creation. I hope that by applying the basic principles contained in this book in various projects you will develop your own unique experience as a change maker. Perfect practice will make you, if not perfect, at least better equipped to make confident decisions in the field. Acquiring experience in creating new value and solving new problems will help you to develop a capacity to deal with conditions that appear either too complex or too similar, and apply appropriate tools in any situation. As you employ conceptual tools to your own projects, you will develop skills and a capacity to carry out transformation in a way that consistently produces the desired result.
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