TRIM – From Future Faker to Future Maker

Get the story in your inbox

For more info, contact

Jörgen Jedbratt

Senior Partner, Consumer, Markets & Innovation

The future belongs to those that are masters of Aha!s. But Aha!s don’t just pop up like that. They require inspiration and provocation. Although most large companies have some kind of process to handle new ideas, very few have a systematic process to produce new ideas. Still, many companies complain they have too few good ideas.

The model we’ve been working with for more than 15 years is called TRIM – trend and idea management. It is based on our well-proven method for foresight driven strategy and innovation – TAIDA.

In a TRIM design we turn the ad-hoc innovation projects into an annual process where trends and consumer insight are used to systematically induce strategic as well as incremental innovation, and where the process is linked to the business planning cycle and innovation management process. The result is a significantly improved innovation capability, increased quality and numbers of “within-line” innovation, as well as disruptive innovations.

The process starts with a series of activities where we together with the client define the area of interest and the most promising or challenging trends or uncertainties that the company needs to benefit from or produce responses to. Based on that future map, we organize a series of idea generation workshops and activities where consequences are scrutinized, and ideas generated and evaluated. After an iterative process where ideas are ranked, selected and passed forward, the results from the activities are integrated into already existing planning processes. The future map, as well as the progress of initiatives emanating from the process, are continuously tracked and updated.

Normally, an engagement also includes activities where we support the client with designing an organization to handle the TRIM-process, training people, setting up technical support platforms, selecting news sources, etc.

The TRIM-process is an annual process, normally linked to the business planning cycle.