Day 22: Being in motion is being in motion

(Emotion) Observation: When out and about meeting people, seeing new things and sometimes literally smelling the roses along the way is when I really feel like I am progressing. Learning, adapting and doing.

Opportunities:

- Often small business owners can feel isolated and end up in a spiral of working too hard and becoming increasingly isolated. They get exhausted. And no one is at their best when they are exhausted. When not start an entrepreneur's walking or running club? Efficient use of time, the opportunity to get out and making sure people stay healthy too. Similar to the Hash House Harriers, we could start and end at a pub so if people want to linger, they can.

- Its amazing how the environment affects you. Hanging out in SOHO makes me want to go faster, edgier. Mayfair makes me cautious and see the value of a great board. Why not create a series of movable co-working spaces, popping up for a month, each with its own feel and strengths. Why not pitch it to a restaurant, a hotel or even a car-park that during their down-time, they cam gain extra revenue, traffic and frankly kudos with the local community. Sponsored by a 'SME friendly' bank and with the occasional talk by business people, it could work really well.

- For professional societies - have old fashioned field days. Either curated or crowd-sourced, get out there and move!

Day 21: Give me a campfire

Observation: We're still using powerpoint.

People absorb information in different ways - visual, aural and through other senses. So, it makes sense that people still have visual aids when they speak.

However, I can't help being a little disappointed when the first slide comes up, particularly at a creative event.

Next time - give me a campfire if you are going to be telling stories!

Opportunities:

- Retailers - let your suppliers in. Let them hold meetings in your aisles to show their sales team and marketers exactly how things work in store, with customers. They can't help but understand your needs and those of your customers better that way.

- Start a small business called Raconteur. Specialising in...presenting the heart of your story. Imagine, you may be the numbers guy and need to point out some key issues. These people will for a small fee give you ideas or help you put together a killer communication to highlight what you need people to act upon. It might be a video from the shop floor, a gathering in the middle of the factory with the production manager pointing to the issues. Or it might be dressing all in red to get the point across.

- Say less.

- Create a game where by people participating they understand the key issues and opportunities you need them too and end up coming back to you with key messages and solutions.

What would you do differently?

Day 20: False Claims and fashion

Observation: Old fashioned brands could claim anything.

The rules are pretty strict nowadays, particularly around health claims. But it got me thinking...when everything is new and therefore fashionable, such as many social media tools and ever more Apps...could anything be claimed because no-one is quite able to see what's real?

Admitted unlikely in our uber-transparent world where even super-injunctions no longer work.

So - here are some Real Claims that I'd like to see brands living up to:

- A real estate brand, (Bullfreemen?) - the real estate agency that only tells you the truth.

- A cereal brand (Naughty but Nice?) - a sugary treat to start the day.

- A health foods brand (Cardboard?) - all the basic super healthy ingredients that you can use to make healthy dishes, but which by themselves, taste like cardboard.

- A bank brand, called 7% - guaranteed to only ever make 7% profit. Anything else they give back to customers or re-invest in services and benefits for customers and the community.

It's fun to imagine what could be possible as brands increasingly tie their brands to Real Claims and being real is increasingly fashionable.

Some great examples include: Another Bloody Water, Honest Tea, Kashi, Patagonia and Lonely Planet.

What Real Claim brands would you like to see?

Day 19: You did what at Bingo?

Observation: This is Bingo, but not as we know it. Pumping tunes, dance floor, texta everywhere and people looking like a new breed of child tattooists have gone wild. And some seriously sexy sassy people pumping the crowd. Welcome to the Underground Rebel Bingo Club.

These fabulous people have made the ordinary, extraordinary. In main part because they have the balls to do so.

There is so much mundanity around that could be made different with creativity, courage and a little effort. But just for fun, lets look at some of THE most mundane things.

Opportunities:

- Traffic jams - What if the highway company, just for one day, hired a team of themed "entertainment staff". Whilst in traffic they would dance, walk and skip through the crowd (safely) and introduce people to others in the car next door, do a dance routine or teach people funny phrases in other languages? What if we made it an everyday thing - putting digital screens up in the lead up to the toll booths with different things - one day it could be funny quotes, one day learn an italian word - or even for one month - with prizes for people most improved at the end of it?

- Putting out the rubbish - What if just for one neighbourhood, the dustbin quietly swapped all the bins as they were emptying them with personalised ones for that family, with an art series from a local artist or left a big herb pot plant beside each bin + a card with recipes for that plant? (similar to the SpainAir great example of delighting Christmas travellers)

- Cleaning - Why not make a new type of oven cleaner that smells like just-baked apple pie? Or do a gift with purchase promotion that has music from different kinds of holidays so at least you can dream of being elsewhere and enjoy the sounds of it whilst cleaning?

What is your most mundane thing? How could you make it better?

Day 18: I see you

Observation: Sometimes those dressed in the most severe or corporate ways let it be known that they are not the people they appear. To this girl - I see you. The real you.

Opportunities:

- Marketing idea for lingerie. Many girls (I can't really talk for men) wear lingerie that expresses how they feel on that day - be it sexy, playful or just comfortable in their own skin. Do a campaign based around these truths. You are the real you underneath, no matter what uniform you need to put on.

- Business idea - Daily change wrist jewellery for men and women - stylish enough to go with work wear but different enough to be noticed by those paying attention. Easily changeable elements to reflect what you want that day or that year - be it love, confidence, strength or protection.

- Corporate organisational culture idea - have a 'this is me' day. Be it in the office or off site, have a day where people dress completely as they would on the weekend. It could be ripped jeans and rock T-shirts, their pajamas or a ball gown. Facilitating people really getting to know each other and respect it.

- Marketing idea - A coffee shop or gym that allowed for very small personal lockers for girls work / personal shoes. Rather than having to lug them in each day, they could grab them with their morning coffee. It could be on a rotating basis for loyal customers. It could also work for a shoe store - imagine a shoe store putting in a coffee machine and opening for loyal customers to swap to their work shoes. They would be exposed to the latest range and have a chance to share their passion with other shoe lovers. Everyones happy!

Day 17: Seeking a connection

- This space is intentionally left blank -

Observation: Today's observation was an emotional one. In one day meeting with a recruiter, attending a wonderful female networking event (check out Ladies at 11), meeting a new recent professional contact for drinks and strolling back to transport past several beggars, 2 out of the 3 had company, be it a puppy or a companion.

In a day I felt the swirling push and pull of contacting with others in many different facets. It makes me wonder, how can this be made easier and more positive? Or is this trying to box a multi-layered phenomenon that cannot be boxed?

This one I don't have an answer for.

What do you think - how could we help people make connections?

Day 16: Prettify, don't just stand there

Observation: Hoardings, scaffolding. Essential but often ugly. As people pass by it is like it becomes an invisible part of the landscape.

Surely the upgrade is expensive enough, without losing all value from this clearly very expensive real estate?

Opportunities:

- Hoardings as advertising medium. Cut price hoarding rental in return for use as urban advertising media. I suspect there may be reasons why this doesn't exist already but it does seem a glaring opportunity.

- Of course the number one priority is safety, but why not use the chance to get creative? If entire communities can get colourful, why can't some hoardings and structs? Could this be the point of difference and major marketing vehicle for a forward thinking construction company?

- Be the construction company leading in environmentally friendly scaffolding - use alternate materials such as the bamboo very common in Asia, add in hanging gardens at each level to provide healthy food for the workers or use environmentally friendly scaffolding covers.

- Host creative events in the scaffolding with acrobats and artists - done safely but spectacularly. A great example is this event by Target and The Standard Hotel in NYC. Imagine what the spectacle could be at night and the PR opportunity it would present for that new property?

Why not turn an invisible opportunity into a spectacular opportunity?

Day 15: That's rubbish

Observation: Be it London or New York, even if we accept that rubbish bags form part of the urban grunge landscape, they are still an eye sore.

What could we do differently?

Opportunities:

- Have an our city, our art project - with suppliers roped in to create specialist print bags, just for a time.

- Create grey coloured bags - at least they would blend in!

- Centralise bag drop off in each street, which does exist in Spain already, but make it the subject of an ongoing industrial design student project - finding the best, most useful version. Have mini composting bins and veggie gardens beside to re-use on the spot for the good of the community.

Day 14: Everyone loves a puppy

Observation: Puppies are an irresistible force of nature and people flock to them wherever they are.

Opportunities:

- Amongst inner city urbanites (particularly those of 'coupling' age), many pine for a dog but simply can't fit or commit to them. Why not have a 'puppy for a day' service - either a fully fledged rental business or in combination with the a local shelter as a revenue raiser? Surely more puppies would find a home this way too.

- Create a joint project between a pet shelter and local community / mental health groups to enable people who need to connect more to the community to take a dog for a walk, for half a day. It will gently help them interact with others in a safe way.

- Joint project with The Big Issue - creating a calendar images of homeless people and their dogs for sale. Homeless people form unique bonds with their dogs that is clear when you see them cuddled tight together, calm and together as a unit.

Day 13: In a blank space, everything is art

Observation: Strolling through an amazing exhibition at the Barbican, I noticed some of the performers' shoes beneath the stairwell. Amongst the stark background, they appeared to be making a statement all of their own.

Anything in clear space has impact.

Opportunities:

- Why not try this for your marketing communications? It could be creating a separate micro-site for a specific product, simply highlighting its uniqueness. Test it against the traffic you get on your normal site. Some of the most effective ads I have seen start with this principle, creating a visual or aural white space at the beginning of a TVC that itself creates cut-through from the clutter of the medium.

- Place your business locale where least expected (but still useful). A small village that happens to be the central point between key commercial areas, an art gallery space or a container in the middle of a dock? The space itself will help you make a statement. Where you choose frames that statement.

- Similar to the 'Blue Ocean Strategy' concept, find the clear space in your industry and go there. A great example is a friend of mine who targeted the clients no other financial advisors wanted - those with less money. He looked after these clients well, they grew wealthier and his multi-million dollar business was built on referrals.

Who is the unfashionable target in your market? Could they be your clear space?

Day 12: Selling the next step

Observation: Clothing stores selling books and home accessories.

Stores are helping people achieve the next step of someone living their brand lifestyle. In the process they bask in the reflected cool of stylish design books and gain additional revenue.

Opportunities:

- What is your next step for the lifestyle you provide? If you're a financial planner - why not (partner) to provide your clients a taste of staying in deluxe accommodation or travelling to exotic locales? If you have a cake making business why not provide cake making lessons or gorgeous party crockery to display the cakes?

- What lifestyle have you noticed people dreaming about and how can you create a business to help people experience and live it? For example, what about a millionaire for a day events business, a country estate owner weekend escape or artist retreat?

Day 11: Giving makes me like you

Observation: Giving in several forms: dog biscuits in the cafe for any puppies, a hand-written welcome given for candidates at a recruiter and a free croissant with your morning coffee at a Soho cafe.

Each of these delighted me and made me want to come back. A direct correlation from giving to ongoing business.

Opportunities: Essentially all versions of giving. It can be a word of welcome, a personal introduction, a reference, a bonus product or that extra accessory to go with an outfit.

Let me know how you go!

Day 10: Tag me

Observation: Our days are littered with little bits of paper. Some of them so close they are right beside our skin.

Be it dry cleaner tags, receipts, tickets or clothing labels...our daily life has many meaningless bits of paper. However they all have one thing in common - we physically touch them. Without thought.

Opportunities:

• Make all the small, seemingly meaningless customer touch points meaningful or distinct. Or do away with them altogether. If you are a dry cleaner, why not have tags that are colourful and make people laugh or gorgeously sleek showing the care and premium service you give? Why not surprise people with occassionally slipping in clothes care sachets or shop all with fortune-cookie like treats (this would be particularly fun for traditional Chinese-owned dry cleaners). Make a small daily transaction a meaningful brand gesture that customers will look for and enjoy, every time they come back to you.
• Run a 'golden ticket' competition - make a few of those daily touch points a potential pot of gold. People will definitely pay attention to your brand with a golden prize.

Day 9: Why does trade look like trash?

Observation: Donation or fair trade support bins are often placed near bins. In fact, they often look like one too.

One of the major issues for not for profits (NFPs) is the cost of disposing of all the rubbish and un-salable items that are placed in bins, as recently reported for donations to disaster-stricken Tokyo. This is a cost that directly reduces the positive impact of these activities. If it is a $1 per day to feed a child...and a dollar a bag to dispose of rubbish, a rough guess of 5 children don't get fed per load.

Yes, there are practicalities such as theft, commercial abuse and handling to consider, but there are opportunities too.

Opportunities:

- Start a premium donation service. It is clean, nowhere near the bins, easily accessible and really clearly branded. There are simple, positive messages to get people to do the right thing re. donations and maybe even a tracking service for people to see (roughly) where their donations end up. Potentially could work with a retailer.

- Start another tier of waste management. There is clearly a tier of waste that is perceived as too useful or too good / expensive for people to throw away that is not being addressed right now. This could be pitched as a business idea by a council, with a small grant to some bright local business students for a trial.

- Do away with bins altogether and do a deal with mail providers to ship the donations.

- Build a global street-swap party idea. It already exists as clothes swaps, car-boot sales and charity shops. Why not make it local and have one huge central table down the street, a bit of a party and a $2 donation to participate - both donating and being able to select items to take away or 'swap'.

Sounds like fun to me... :)

Observation Day 8: Multiple locations makes you hot

Observation: Many brands, such as Gap pictured here, mention location in their communications. Looking at it, for some reason it made me feel like I wanted to be a part of it. It made me feel that they are hot, happening.

Donna Karan, Jo Malone, Cath Kitson and some agencies do this. By mentioning the cities they are using the allure, the imagery of those cities applied to their brand. In addition to tapping in to a deliberate tourist dollar in high traffic cities such as London. By mentioning the cities they show scale and to some degree, sophistication.

Opportunities:

- Use the trend, but do it tongue-in-cheek. What if your locations are Stoke-on-Trent, Essex and Manchester - be proud of your anti-big city roots. Or, use your localisation - if you only serve a small town, be proud and share the pride with your customers in all your communications. If you have manufacturing in Spain, China and Thailand, why not make them the anti-heroes and get your manufacturers involved in your advertising (ok, it has risks, but could work).

- If you are looking to expand the scale of customers, how can you efficiently claim locality in their nearest city? The addition of an agent in NYC and Shanghai suddenly gives you global reach. Which would of course need to be backed by quality delivery.

- Business idea: take the serviced office idea to the next level, make it co-working spaces that extend online and inter-city as well with active encouragement to network between co-working cities. Put enough entrepreneurial people in a room and businesses will incubate themselves to a global scale.

- If you are global - you could add to the mystique and allure of being global by promotional activities - have Tokyo day in your store, arrange transfers between offices, give people a window into the other cities showing fashion shows and lifestyles in the other city - with curated city brand stories.

- My feeling is this builds on that old adage, "success breeds success". Instead of using cities, could you use growth statistics, employee promotions, number of sales, people dressed, clients served in your banners and communications. Show how hot you are - and watch people flock to it.

It's powerful.

Observation Day 7: Your normal

Observation: Walking the streaming, deliciously fragrant, multicultural and multi-coloured laneways around London's Brick Lane it becomes clear that for many there that may appear radical if placed in the heart of the trading district, this is their normal.

It's both a celebration and a chance to be one of them, if only just for one day (assuming that this isn't your normal).

Opportunities:

- Create a 'just for one day' business where people can live the life of an artist, a street vendor, a city trader or an advertising exec. Just for one day.

- Create a vertically integrated business not along production lines but amongst lifestyle lines. If your customers are middle class go-getters paying off their mortgage and supporting their children, can you add a car dealership or family holiday business. The focus (and value) is on your relationships with your customers, the expertise can be brought (or bought) in.

- Marketing idea: Are you assuming your normal is the same as others? How can you bring along new people to your view of the word, appreciating your product or service?

Photo credit: Jarek Jarosz

Observation Day 6: I never knew I wanted vintage butter dish

Observation: Hundreds of people braving biting winds and an early weekend morning to trawl through piles, tables, racks and stacks of stuff at a car boot sale.

Somehow, most people end up walking away with something they never knew they wanted. In my case, a vintage butter dish. Asking people why they loved it, they responded that it is the prospect of a bargain, the joy of finding something to add to their collection, the amusement of finding so many strange things and the slightly voyeuristic interest in seeing people's lives on sale.

There is so much to take from this simple experience - from the raving fans that hunt for years for their favourite pieces, the creation of a satisfying and inspiring hunt for a bargain and the creative inspiration that comes from the unexpected.

For now, I'll focus on one opportunity, the notion of creating a delightful rummage.

Opportunities:

- Create a virtual rummage sale. Each page is 50-100 images (a cross between google images with iPhone functionality). People can quickly scan what is available, maybe location limited, click through to price, live text-haggling and standard buy-now facilities.

- Create a virtual job-lot / car boot dump (maybe in addition to the above). People literally dump the contents of what they have to sell, take a pic, people get to 'rummage' through the images, tag what they are interested in and live-chat or email to finalise the purchase.

- Marketing idea - if you have a strong brand that people re-sell or trade, be it jeans or memorabilia, why not create a virtual meet-up or a virtual flash-sale for them all to meet and trade?

Observation Day 5: Community noticeboards are crap

Observation: Community noticeboards are in general, rubbish. Tatty, ill-maintainted, bad locations and even worse content. This is a prime example slapped to the side a a building.

By all accounts, it is healthy for the community and individuals themselves to be involved with others in the community. So how do we get to this goodness with such woeful tools?

Opportunities:

- Co-source subsidised community wi-fi for the neighbourhood, gaining discounts for people and importantly a central, literal, home page where people can organise events, lobby for change or discuss isssues.

- Have a community van. Like an old-fashioned ice cream van, it comes round with music playing, but people can come learn about things in the hood, meet with others there and it can even sell things to be self funding or more. This could be extended into a business where this concept is run across multiple councils.

- Create easily programable and extremely robust digital versions to increase engagement and updates. Could include on location at popular local bus stops.

Observation Day 4: Portion Control

Observation: Small grocers often sell using bowls, not kilograms.

It gives them a clear minimum sale, speeds up the transaction and creates a colourful and impactful display that almost becomes an impulse purchase via the enticingly easy to grab bowl.

It's smart and leaves me with the question, what else could we portion control?

Opportunities:

- Portion control your service business. No more small value, high admin transactions - make your minimum sale a day, a week, $500. If you set the terms up front and show why you are worth it, people will accept it as good business practice.

- Start a fully portion controlled restaurant / eatery - all meals served come in 100cal, 200, 400cal sizes so you can easily manage a healthy diet. Builds on the 100 calorie snack bar trend.

- Make your product or service a deliciously appealing impulse purchase. For example, add a tick box for 5 hours consulting + 1 hour free to your next invoice. Bundle your product with a complimentary one and pitch the bundle to a retailer. Examples include drinks and a snack bar for convenience outlets (a proven successful sales driver), umbrellas + tissues, ice creams + a cooler bag or perhaps you can bundle small business tax advice with doing their personal advice too.

How can you make your product a deliciously bite sized morsel?

Observation Day 3: Can my bag sit here?

Observation: Half of the seats in a cafe are taken up by bags.

Yes, this may be an effective social technique to keep some distance from others and a clean, convenient and safe spot to be able to reach it. But it also takes up seating space and is not necessarily safe.

Opportunities:

- Create a new type of chair with an extra 'shelf' under it for your Stuff.

- Create a chair that has an in-built storage box in it, similar to the old-fashioned school desk. In fact, why not make the table a hinged box similar to the old fashioned school desk? You could even leave secret messages in there for customers to find.

- Marketing / business ideas:

- Are you a high-end fashion retailer? Why not have a cafe or champagne lounge with special padded seats just for beloved handbags, or handbag dogs!

- Are you a retailer or f&b outlet near an airport or train station? Why not create a safe corral space for people's luggage so they can relax in comfort and traffic flows smoothly (and quickly, allowing you to serve more people).

- Similar concept, but in a high retail area - why not have fun with it and call it the trophy table, where people can proudly display their purchases. It could even be an elevated addition to the table where people can display their favourite purchase of the day - be it shoes, a vase, pot plants?

Imagine the PR and word of mouth opportunities it would bring.

Observation Day 2: How to shop when you can barely walk?

Observation: An old man pausing with his shopping on a bench outside the supermarket. Standing there with his eyes closed clearly marshalling himself for the next stage in the journey home.

How to get food when you can barely walk, have a tight budget and are from an era that pre-dates popular use of the net?

Opportunities:

- A meet your neighbour community programme where you get to know your elderly neighbours and once a week walk with them or drive them to get their groceries. Get sponsorship from a major retailer so you both get 10% off and they get more traffic.

- Retailers to create a specific community support programme for the seniors in their area, offering free home delivery and on pension days arranging a volunteer roster to shop and walk home with them. Heck, why not make it an outing day, going for a picnic or sight seeing once a month followed by a shop for heavier items with all people dropped off home at the end.

- Have a limited-time window concierge service each week so all those in the area with limited mobility can have a pick-up or at least a drop off with their groceries.

- Design a super-light weight, inexpensive and easy to operate shopping buggy (cross between child buggy and A frame) that requires limited finger mobility and requires limited bending over to use.

- Retailer to offer loyalty shopping carts (the fabric covered kind) for senior customers - they get a stamp per shop and from 20 stamps they get a branded cart.

Imagine the good, the publicity and the brand loyalty.

Image credit: Amelia PS

Observation Day 1: My BFF

Observation: School children always seem to walk home in twos. Girls, boys. Girls in particular start dressing like each other, doing their hair like each other.

The opportunities:

- Promotional idea - for tween brands such as fashion, make-up and media - create a BFF day, limited entry - people can only come in twos! The entire day has two for one offers. Could also be harnessed by products with more emotive moments, from cards to baking mixes and teas - why not create and then own that event each year, tied with a major media partner to make it big?

- New Business idea - A BFF market to teach younger girls and boys entrepreneurial principles, with their own in-built support team?

- Brand learnings - BFFs are great because they celebrate the person we are. How can you celebrate the person your customers are and at least go some way to them liking your brand that little bit more?

Image credit: XO laptops

Observation to creation: 30 days of new ideas

What to do with a window of opportunity? Create.

So here goes, 30 days, 30 new ideas entirely based on the day's observation. Inspired by a useful exercise recommended by IDEO to train yourself to really observe the world around you and see the opportunities for improvement all around. This is also an exercise that innovation trainers often use.

The ideas here are free for you to take and run with and ideally to act as a catalyst to see new opportunities in your own business. I hope they can be a daily spark of inspiration.

Try it and let me know what you come up with.