The document discusses protecting absurd ideas. It provides tools to protect "absurdity turtle" ideas from enemies within companies that discourage non-logical thinking. The tools include understanding critics' perspectives, giving ideas fixed spaces and timelines, finding ideas' underlying purpose, and nurturing playful thinking through rituals. The goal is to encourage out-of-the-box ideas that can drive innovation in business.

2. PROTECT YOUR
ABSURDITY!
Year of the Monkey Conference 2016
Silke Facilides & Steffen Fischer
Grabarz & Partner

3. HUMANS HAVE THE PRIVILEGE TO
BEHAVE ABSURDLY.
BESIDES MONKEYS WHICH THROW
STONES AGAINST TREES
WITHOUT ANY OBVIOUS REASON!

4. Synonyms:
crazy
unreasonable
silly
ABSURDITY IS A GREAT
COUNTERCURRENT TO LOGIC.
Antonyms:
logical
reasonable
realistic
Picture credit: yasmary; James

5. ABSURDITY OPENED UP LITERATURE
FOR NEW FORMS OF STORYTELLING.
Picture credit: Ian, Production Photos for Samuel Beckett's Play at the University of Calgary.

6. ABSURDITY WAS THE DECISIVE
IMPULSE FOR ART TO BE MORE THAN A
REFLECTION OF THE PRESENT.
Picture credit: Jorge Jorquera.

7. ABSURDITY IS NOT
ONLY INTERESTING
IN ARTS, BUT ALSO
IN COMMUNICATION
AND BUSINESS.

8. IN ADVERTISING:
THE CADBURY GORILLA.
Picture credit: Kate. Get the picture
 12+ Mio. views
 +20% people
looking favourably
on the brand
 +9% rise of sales

9. IN ACTIVATION:
THE ICEBUCKET CHALLENGE.
Picture credit: Anthony Quintano
 > 220 Mio. US$
donations globally
 17 Mio. videos with
> 1 billion views
 > 1000 prominent
participants

10. IN START-UPS:
UBER FOUNDED A TAXI COMPANY
WITHOUT A SINGLE CAR.
Picture credit: Núcleo Editorial
 > 1,5 billion US$
revenue
 6700 employees
 507 cities in 66
countries

11. IN PRODUCT INNOVATION:
DYSON CREATED A VACCUUM
CLEANER WITHOUT A VACUUM BAG.
Picture credit: rc!
 Revenue > 1,74
billion GB£
 Profit 448 Mio. GB£
 > 3000 patents for
> 500 inventions

12. CREATIVE THINKERS LOVE ABSURDITY.
COMPANIES USUALLY DON‘T.
CONTROLEXPLORATION
Picture credit: urbanartcore.eu, UW Health

13. THE CHALLENGE AND
GOAL FOR TODAY:
PROTECT YOUR
ABSURDITY.

14. PROTECT YOUR SEEMINGLY
ABSURD IDEAS:
PROTECT YOUR ABSURD IDEA
TURTLE.
Picture credit: misheal pascual

15. THE TURTLE HAS SOME NATURAL ENEMIES.
Picture credit: misheal pascual

16. TOOL I:
GET TO KNOW
THE ENEMY.
5 WHYS.

17. WORKSHOP:
WHAT IS THE ENEMY?
WHY IS THE ENEMY
TRYING TO KILL YOUR
ABSURD IDEA TURTLE?
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?

18. IF INSECURITY IS AN ISSUE,
OFFER SAFETY WITH NEW FACTS.
e.g. Facial expression
Frowning
Heartbeat
Skin conductance
e.g. Distress
Confidence
Sympathy
Closeness
New forms of market research
Small groups to prove results
Picture credits: Webvideopreis Deutschland; Heart.facts; IPA Source; eye dropper; Annie Mole,
Use reliable numbers
Cases from other industries

19. TOOL II:
CALM DOWN THE ENEMY
WITH A FENCED
PLAYGROUND.

20. GIVE ABSURDITY A FIXED
> TIME
> SPACE
> BUDGET
> AND CONTEXT.
PLAYGROUND
FOR YOUR
TURTLE
Picture credit: Helen Taylor

21. KEEP IT SMALL!
EXPERIMENTS BECOME MORE
DIFFICULT WHEN THEY‘RE BIGGER.
Picture credit: ChemieVerbände BadenBaden

22. ABSURDITY SPACE ABSURDITY TIME
ABSURDITY BUDGET ABSURDITY CONTEXT
…
…
e.g. dedicated Twitter Account
…
…
e.g. Friday morning?
…
…
e.g. 0,5% of R&D spendings
…
…
e.g. Brand Vision
TOOL II: FINDING & DEFINING
PLAYGROUNDS.

23. TOOL III:
PROTECT YOUR TURTLE
FROM THE INSIDE –
AND FIND YOUR
TURTLE‘S PURPOSE.

24. THE GOLDEN CIRCLE DEFINES THE
DIRECTION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF
ABSURD IDEAS.
Simon Simek
WHY
HOW
WHAT
What is the product / service of
the company? How do they
earn their money?
How does the company so
what they are doing? Do they
have a specific way of doing
it?
Why is a company doing what
they are doing?
What is the purpose of the
company´s existence?

25. STARBUCKS:
IT´S NOT ABOUT THE COFFEE.
WHY
HOW
WHAT
Coffee and snacks in cities all over the
world
Coffee know-how and specialties, free
WiFi, comfy chairs, lounge atmosphere,
power outlets, music entertainment
Starbucks is „the third place“,
something between home and work

26. TESLA:
FAR MORE THAN ELECTRIC CARS.
WHY
HOW
WHAT
Electric vehicles and energy storage
devices
Highest standards on design, innovation
leadership, easy to use products / high
usability
Accelerating the change to a
sustainable usage of energy

27. WORKSHOP:
SEARCH FOR
THE WHY OF
FAMOUS
BRANDS.

28. WHAT IS THE WHY OF THESE BRANDS?
WHY
HOW
WHAT
Private sleeping and living
places all around the world
Connecting people through a
community market place
?
WHY
HOW
WHAT
Caring and beauty products
?
WHY
HOW
WHAT
Search engine, g-mail, Maps,
Play, Google+…
Consumer centric,
data-driven/ranked
?
WHY
HOW
WHAT
Trading with affordable DIY-
furniture and home accessoires
Broad assortment, modern
design, swedishness, work-
sharing, price optimization,
experience orientation
?
Breaking with the categories
beauty, „Free being me“
Program, Partnership wagggs

29. WHY
HOW
WHAT
Private sleeping and living places
all around the world
Connecting people through a
community market place
?

30. WHY
HOW
WHAT Caring and beauty products
Breaking with the categories beauty
definition, „Free being me“
Program, Partnership wagggs
?

31. WHY
HOW
WHAT
Search engine, g-mail, Maps, Play,
Google+…
Consumer centric,
data-driven/ranked
?

32. WHY
HOW
WHAT Trading with affordable DIY-furniture and
home accessoires
Broad assortment, modern design,
swedishness, work-sharing, price
optimization, experience orientation
?

33. WHAT IS THE WHY OF THESE BRANDS?
WHY
HOW
WHAT
Private sleeping and living
places all around the world
Connecting people through a
community market place
?
WHY
HOW
WHAT
Caring and beauty products
?
WHY
HOW
WHAT
Search engine, g-mail, Maps,
Play, Google+…
Consumer centric,
data-driven/ranked
?
WHY
HOW
WHAT
Trading with affordable DIY-
furniture and home accessoires
Broad assortment, modern
design, swedishness, work-
sharing, price optimization,
experience orientation
?
Breaking with the categories
beauty, „Free being me“
Program, Partnership wagggs

34. TOOL IV:
NURSE THE ABSURD
TURTLE INSTINCTS.

35. WHO OF YOU HAVE
A FOOTBALL TABLE
AT THEIR WORKPLACE?
Picture credit: Maik Meid

36. A FOOTBALL TABLE IS GREAT. BUT:
DO YOU HAVE A RITUAL OR SPACE
WHERE ABSURDITY IS ENCOURAGED?
Picture credit: Ann-Kathrin

37. Picture credit: Susanne Nilsson
SHOW GREAT
ABSURD IDEAS!
INVITE OR VISIT
SPECIALISTS
OF ABSURDITY!
CELEBRATE THE
„MISUSE“
OF YOUR
PRODUCT!
MAKE ABSURDITY
PART OF
EVERY WORKDAY!

38. WORKSHOP:
WHAT COULD BE YOUR
ABSURDITY RITUAL?

39. YOUR ABSURDITY PROTECTION TOOLS.

40. TAKE ABSURDITY
OWNERSHIP:
YOU HAVE TO FEED,
ATTEND TO & PROTECT
YOUR ABSURD TURTLE.

41. MAKE YOURSELF
THE ABSURD
TURTLE
PROTECTOR!

42. CHANGAHO!