‘How might we…?’ Generating ideas in the second week of Edventure Frome’s Start-Up Course.
Written by Abigail – Student Blogger (Abi’s Lost Threads – ethical fashion blog)
What makes a good question?
The week began with a communications workshop led by Amelia and Judy Barber (Author of the book – ‘Good Question’). We learnt how to use an open questioning method to quickly develop ideas. By asking ‘clean’ questions, which focus on the person you are talking to Amelia and Judy demonstrated how we can enable others to see their goals more clearly, simply by reflecting their ideas back to them.
3 day design challenge:
Start an enterprise which…
- Works with the theme of repair and repurposing
- Utilises the workshop space at the Welsh Mill Hub
- Generates revenue and helps to grow a repairing economy in Frome
We began by considering the problems related to repair and then asked the question ‘how might we…?’ address them.
On the second day we began to visualise the workshop with expert carpenter Thomas who helped us define our ideas by asking the questions;
- Why do we need it?
- What is it’s purpose?
- Who is going to use it?
After a final session with Dominic (fellow Hub user and owner of a Tech Start-Up) on user stories we were ready to present.
Our Vision
On the third day we presented our initial vision for the project to a team of local entrepreneurs.
To create an open and accessible workspace and online network which enables skill sharing, engages the community and fosters an ethic of creative repair.
The presentation went well (Josh even managed to fix our flip chart during the pitch!) and we received valuable feedback to work on next week.
Who holds the power?
The week ended with a session on group dynamics led by Lauren and Joana (past Edventure participants). The day began with a team challenge, which we then analysed together. Lauren and Joana encouraged us to think about how engaged we felt, how much we contributed and whether we felt we had power and influence within the group. This brought up a lot of interesting questions that allowed us to be more honest with each other. Louis summed up the feeling of the day by reminding us…
We all hold the influence and power when we feel empowered as individuals.
Something to take away…
Our six tools for developing ideas;
- Start with the problem
- Find Experts
- Be open to creative chaos
- Fail Often
- Stick to time restraints
- Have Fun!
