An inside story

"I see that you are excited about the cover design for your book. Who designed this for you? How did you go about creating this design?

"Don't you like the design Prasna*? Tell me what you think."

"I don't answer questions. I ask them. Would it make you happy if I said, your excitement is legitimate? Enough of that. Tell me how did you go about this? How did this design happen? What is the inside story? Is there one?"

"There is indeed a story. First Krish, (my creative director friend and former colleague from Ogilvy) & I decided that we will not use any 'a for apple' kind of visuals to interpret the title of the book."

"What does that mean?"

"The title of the book is 'Unlock The Real Power of Ideation'. We did not want to get into interpreting 'unlock' with keys, locks, etc. Real power smashing walls etc. Alternatively, ideation with idea bulbs. So both of us knew what we did not want to do."

"What did you do then?"

"Krish was kind enough to say 'I am starting work. In the meanwhile, if you have any thoughts feel free to share them.' I had always been fascinated by the playdoh. I use it in my workshop, with my grandchildren. It is so much fun. It seems to help people unwind and become more open. I told Krish that it would be great to use playdoh on the cover. Perhaps a playdoh brain. Maybe a playdoh brain with a keyhole..."

"Does the book cover show playdoh?"

"Yes."

"So you had your way. What does it show?"

"It shows a colourful human brain with a keyhole in it."

"Did Krish accept your idea immediately?"

"I am not sure. However, I was so sold on it. So he agreed to try that as one option."

"So he did that, and you got a nice cover design. You are claiming credit for it. Is that it?"

"Stop being so cynical Prasna. I found the entire process involving and exciting. To start with it was challenging. How do you create a 3D Human Brain using playdoh? This was Krish's first major challenge. He and his daughter Haripriya grappled with getting the right base material to start with. They went around in Chennai looking for 3D brain models. It was raining incessantly, and parts of Chennai were flooded. That did not stop Krish. Finally, they located 3D models of the human brain in a shop selling teaching aids for schools. "

"And that is the story?"

"Then began the challenge of creating the human brain using playdoh by placing it on the model brain. Playdoh would not stick on it. They had to redo the model thrice before creating the final model. Each effort took several hours of patient, focused work."

"How long did they take to get a model ready?"

"Perhaps three days. They had an additional challenge of creating a keyhole in the brain. I had suggested that Krish could do it using photoshop. He would have none of it. 'It would not look real' was his firm belief."

"What did he do?"

"He and his daughter Haripriya created and sent me this masterpiece. They had carefully created the keyhole too. Clearly a piece of art."

"I must say this is outstanding. What did you do?"

"I was, of course, thrilled. I told them how excited I was. Then my mind went on an overdrive. In my excitement, I did something stupid. Something unthinkable."

"Why am I not surprised! What did you do?"

"I scribbled a few layouts for the cover design indicating the placement of the brain visual and book title."

"What happened?"

"Krish maintained a dignified silence. He proceeded to complete the design and sent me this option. He gently reminded me of a David Ogilvy quote."

"What was that quote?"

"Why have a dog and bark yourself! David Ogilvy used to tell clients to let the agency do the work for which they were hired. Clients had the habit of meddling with designs and copy. So Krish was gently asking me to back off. And I did. He sent me the following cover design."

"How did you react to it?"

"I liked the design a lot. I thought the way he created the key with the words from the book title was particularly smart. One reservation I had was that the ring of the key was partially covering the brain visual. So I shared my observation with Krish. In the meanwhile, Krish did some discrete checking around. So did I."

"How did you check the design?"

"Krish showed it to a senior creative person whose opinion both of us valued. I shared it with my daughter. She has a knack of isolating key issues. In both cases, the concept of the book title forming the shape of the key did not come through. It became evident only after a prompt."

"You must have panicked. Did you?"

"No. Krish & I discussed it and realised that it is not a risk worth taking. What if the person is attracted by the visual but could not figure out the title?"

"So did you ask Krish to show you several alternatives?"

"No. He did it himself. Here is what he created as options."

"Which one did you choose for the cover of your book?"

"Krish & I decided on this one"

"Good. Now, what is the current status of the book production?"

"Text composition should be completed by the first week of February."

"Who cares, Sridhar? When will you have the book ready for people to buy?"

"Free digital samples will be ready by end February. Final Printed copies (Print and Digital) by end of March. Ready for sale latest by April 15th, 2017."

"Sridhar, you are putting the cart before the horse. If I don't know what your book is all about why should I bother about a digital sample? First tell me about the book. What is it all about?

"Oops! I am getting carried away. Thanks, Prasna. The book is about facilitating ideation sessions and ensuring you get the results you want."

"So what do you talk about in your book? What do you share with the readers?"

"Over the last 16 years, I have facilitated over 400 Ideation sessions. The most effective ideation sessions follow 7 key steps.

The 7 key steps are:

1. Define what you want ideas for
2. Choose the right people for the task
3. Design a robust process for divergent and convergent thinking
4. Use a bouquet of tools and techniques
5. Use a smart selection process
6. Commit money, resources and time
7. Make things happen

"What does your free digital sample have? Will it be useful by itself?"

"I knew you are going to ask me this. The sample gives a complete list of all chapters and what each chapter covers. In addition, it outlines the 7 Keys to use, to get a productive ideation session that delivers results. Chapter 1 is about asking the right questions to arrive at challenge statement - defining what you what ideas for."

"So the digital sample is not a promo piece and you think it will be useful by itself?"

"Yes indeed. Most people do not spend enough time to define a challenge. That is the foundation step. Chapter 1 shows you how to define what you want ideas for. I call it the master key."

"How can people get your free digital sample?"

"They just have to CLICK here. And I will send them the sample as soon as it is ready."

"Do you think you have you got a blockbuster?"

"No idea Prasna. I know I have a good book that will be useful for the reader."

"Not good enough Sridhar. I know you are playing it close to your chest. So I will let it pass for now."

*Prasna Rao is an unusual friend. He appears every time I start writing something. He asks questions that are razor sharp and often makes me uncomfortable. He is relentless till I answer his questions in simple, clear terms. You might find that he is most of the times asking questions that you want to. Therefore he is on your side, while he is putting me in the dock. I call him my Uninvited Coach

Click here to get your free digital copy of the Prelude and Chapter 1 of my forthcoming book "Unlock The Real Power Of Ideation."