. . .that’s the name and the message of a video from IDEO founder David Kelley.

I recently helped an organization re-envision a technology-enabled product. We began our conversation with this video. In it, David, who also founded Stanford’s d.School (design school), encourages people to make something tangible so other people can touch it and have opinions about it—a little movie of the future we envision, a prototype of the product we imagine, a blueprint of the new process we see. That’s what engages other people and helps us act on something real.

With that same team, we had another challenge: using technology as a better way do things ‘the old way’, instead of creating the best solution. We used Seth Godin’s insights about digitized parking meters as a metaphor for what not to do when considering new technology-enabled products and services.

Our team also had success using OpenIdeo’s collaborative process for getting new products into motion: a simple vetted design process based on Ideo’s world-renowned design thinking.

The next time you’re looking for new ways to make an idea concrete, find the best solution (not a better way to do it ‘the old way’) and/or  get your idea in motion, consider using David’s advice, Seth’s insights and OpenIdeo’s process. We’ve made it easy with these step-by-step slides: Stop Talking, Start Making – Four Steps to Better Solutions.