Just Effing Make It!

Posted on 6th February 2024 By Deirdre Cross

There’s no shortage of good ideas. Unfortunately, there’s also no shortage of uninformed opinions. We’ve all been in a room full of people pontificating about something they’ve never seen or experienced. Without manifesting it, a good idea can die too early, or a bad idea can get too far down the road, and you run out of time to iterate. Frustrating, right?

At Prospero Hall, we live by the motto ‘Just Effing Make It’ or JFMI. It’s more than a slogan; it’s our approach to creating a crude prototype that we can test, understand and use to truly inform the conversation. When inventing new physical products, making the thing informs success or failure very quickly. JFMI lets you…

CREATE A SAFE SPACE FOR EXPLORATION
To innovate, we need a creative environment that allows for experimentation and exploration without fear of judgment. Think of these rapid prototypes as a starting point, not the final incarnation of an idea. Researcher, Dr. Brené Brown promotes ‘Sh*tty First Drafts’ in her organisation – this is their code for creating a crude approximation of the final product, one that’s just ‘okay’. We encourage our team to bring the prototype to the table not to critique as if it were final, but to inform the discourse and move more efficiently towards the right answers.

Deirdre Cross, Mojo Nation 100

ENCOURAGE DECISION MAKING
In the creative process, imperfections are not setbacks; they’re steppingstones. Embrace the journey, make something imperfect – and help it evolve into something extraordinary… In your next creative brainstorm, remember: JFMI!

EMBRACE IMPERFECTION
David Kelley, founder of IDEO, is credited with the slogan: ‘Fail faster, succeed sooner.’ That’s the heart of JFMI. Creating tangible prototypes or products can reveal insights and potential shortcomings early in the process. We’ve witnessed this first-hand; quick iterations and prototypes often lead to successful outcomes. Years ago, we even used this method to prototype interactive video games for a AAA video game publisher using 30-foot-long rolls of butcher paper!

So… If you have an idea for a new product, make it crude and make it fast: JFMI! Want to know what your audience thinks? JFMI – and show them! If you have a brilliant packaging concept, don’t debate it in the abstract – JFMI! Sales pitch strategy to explore? JFMI! Breathe a bit of life into your idea and see what shakes out…

Just Effing Make It!

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