Course Content

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In the business world, when we think about the future, we hope for the future of problem solving .. meaning the changes/solutions being envisioned are transformative in nature and have the best chance of succeeding. The types of changes take on two forms. Horizontal changes (extending/improving what is already there) means adapting things that may not work or only partially work demonstrated as going from 1-n (on the horizontal line in the above diagram. Horizontal change is less ‘wicked’ is relatively easier to implement because we already know what the current situation it looks like.

On the other hand, vertical (intensive) changes means creating something new and the solutions might not be binary in nature.. meaning that there are confounds and no one consideration or proposed solutions might be correct or ‘best’ — going from 0 to 1 on the vertical axis. Vertical change/solution finding is harder to imagine (and harder to implement and gain acceptance) because it requires doing something that perhaps nobody else has ever done (i.e., asking those questions that no one is asking in design thinking).

According to Thiel (2014), if you invent a new version of an existing product you can replicate 100s of times. A vertical type change might not be replicable based on the circumstance.

For example, if you make a better mousetrap, you are making horizontal progress. If you invent a word processor that replaces the typewriter, you are making vertical progress. In macro economics, horizontal progress equates to the concept of globalization… taking something that already works and then making it work anywhere and everywhere.

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Thiel (2014) takes the horizontal versus vertical progress to another level. He equates horizontal progress to globalization/generalizability (i.e., extending what is already there to a larger population) and refers to vertical progress as ‘technology’ (i.e., inventing new tools to ‘extend man’s capabilities). Taken at this level, the concept of technology takes on an extended meaning. Remember this new, expanded connotation of technology as it will serve you well and we will be using it quite often in our discussions.
 

These views about technology’s and its capabilities to extend man’s existential ‘being’ did not happen overnight. For about 10,000 years (since the invention of the wheel) it was mostly horizontal… a zero sum gain. Then came the mid to late 1900s and technology seemed to move more rapidly. But to some it was still not enough. For example, we still do not vacation on the moon, the four day work week is still a fringe idea. We have not changed our environment, which still grows in linear fashion.

Surely, computers and communications technologies have expanded but our common everyday experience remain (and in some cases have made it worse). Our challenge is to both imagine and create the new technologies to change our existence for the better.

In summary, a horizontal genius is one who invents new technology but does not invent a new industry.

Do This

Recall our your final project case.

 

• Is/are The suggested solution(s) horizontal or vertical on nature?
• think sustainability and resiliency.

• How do you make incremental changes using formative assessment techniques?
• Stay lean and flexible .. over-planning is overrated … try things out, iterate and treat design research as what Thiel refers to as ‘agnostic experimentation”
• Improve on your desired solutions – start with first principles thinking and think about other solutions that have been tried.
• Focus on solving the problem as well as diffusion. technology is not only about solving the problem but also about implementation…. think also ‘true cost economics’ in our sustainability model. what unintended negative consequences may arise.
• think appropriate technology both if a digital solution but also if you are using the concept of ‘technology’ in the connotation we present here.
• what data are you going to use and how are you going to store it, report on it and transform it into something useful.

• Explain your answer to the question and explain what you perceive to be lessons learned in this follow-up lesson on change.
• Post your response in the text area of the Drop Box provided in Canvas

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