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Eureka!: This little-Ranch-that-could teaches you to "win more, lose less, and make more money" - Creative problem solving

Training & Development, Dec, 2001 by Eva Kaplan-Leiserson

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After the session, you wander around talking to other participants. On the whole, reactions are positive. People are fired up--ready to jump back into their business and try the laws. It seems that the Ranch met its goal of exceeding attendees' expectations. Trish Taylor, staff resource director for the YMCA in Charlotte, North Carolina, tells you later that she arrived at the Ranch thinking that it had been a mistake for her company to send her. An organized, analytical, and structured person, she was out of her comfort zone and wished "someone with a little more creativity" had been sent in her place. But as the session went on, she was amazed at how the unrelated stimuli generated concrete ideas for products and services. "Everyone can be creative and innovative, even me," she says. "I'm glad I attended."

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But a couple of people mention that the references to Merwyn and the Inventing sessions throughout the training made them feel as if they were being marketed to. Mike and the Eureka staff see the three services as supporting each other, however, calling them "very complementary."

If participants' enjoyment of the session can be calculated by the amount of time they linger after it ends, the day was a success. You stay an hour mingling and chatting, and people are still hanging out when you leave. They're playing pool and video games or just chatting at the bar. When Mike invites everyone to a happy hour later at the Ranch, you wonder whether any of the Johnny Walker is left.

So, will visiting the Eureka Ranch or reading Doug Hall's new book guarantee the success of your business, product, or concept? Yes and no. How you implement the ideas is crucial. Take for example the case of one soft drink product idea that the Ranch gave a 70 percent probability of success. When the actual drink was placed on the market, it bombed. What was the problem? It didn't taste good, says Mike.

Hall explains that although he guarantees (with no fine print) that the Ranch will exceed clients' expectations, "their ability to execute... that's beyond my scope." He goes on to say, "What I do promise is that if you listen to the laws and to the advice Merwyn gives you...we will increase your odds of success. Anybody who's promising more than that, they're on serious drugs."

The odds must be pretty good. More than 80 percent of the Ranch's business is from repeat clients. TD

Eva Kaplan-Leiserson is T+D's trends and technology

RELATED ARTICLE: Three Laws of Marketing Physics To recap, when evaluating the chance of success of a product, marketing effort, or business strategy, ask yourself these questions:

T+D associate editor and author of the creativity article 'Eureka!" Eva Kaplan-Leiserson says her favorite creativity tools are her Slinky, which she fidgets with when she's lost in thought (or just spacing out), and her pack of smelly markers, especially the grape one.

* What's in it for the customer (overt benefit)?

* Why should the customer believe you'll deliver on your promise (reason to believe)?

Eureka!: This little-Ranch-that-could teaches you to "win more, lose less, and make more money" - Creative problem solving

Training & Development, Dec, 2001 by Eva Kaplan-Leiserson

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