Chapter 1- Illumination– 
Getting to the Essence of InnovativeThinking

Discovering the essence illuminates innovative solutions for any threat or opportunity.

Richard’s Chicken Noodle Soup Reci​pe

Richard’s Chicken Noodle Soup Reci​pe

Richard’s Ham & Potato Soup Recipe

Richard’s Ham & Potato Soup Recipe

Steps Ingredients Steps Ingredients
1 Sauté 1 diced medium onion in 
2 tbsp of olive oil 		Sauté 1 diced medium onion in 
2 tbsp of olive oil
2 Add 1 quart of low-sodium chicken broth Add 1 quart of low-sodium chicken broth
3 Add (Optional) 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes Add (Optional) 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
4 Add 1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken thighs Add 1 lb. of diced ham
5 Add ½ lb. of sliced carrots and 
½ lb. of string beans cut into bite-size pieces 		Add ½ lb. of sliced carrots and 
½ lb. of string beans cut into bite-size pieces
6 Add 2 cups of wide noodles Add 1 lb of diced new potatoes
7 Add Dried spices such as rosemary and thyme Add Dried spices such as rosemary and thyme
8 Bring to Boil Bring to Boil
9 Remove thighs, shred,& return
10 Cover and Simmer 20 minutes Cover and Simmer 20 minutes
11 Season With fresh herbs such as rosemary and thyme Season With fresh herbs such as rosemary and thyme
12 Season To taste with salt & pepper  Season To taste with salt & pepper 

Richard’s Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

Steps Ingredients
1 Sauté 1 diced medium onion in 
2 tbsp of olive oil
2 Add 1 quart of low-sodium chicken broth
3 Add (Optional) 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
4 Add 1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken thighs
5 Add ½ lb. of sliced carrots and 
½ lb. of string beans cut into bite-size pieces
6 Add 2 cups of wide noodles
7 Add Dried spices such as rosemary and thyme
8 Bring to Boil
9 Remove thighs, shred,& return
10 Cover and Simmer 20 minutes
11 Season With fresh herbs such as rosemary and thyme
12 Season To taste with salt & pepper 

Richard’s Ham & Potato Soup Recipe

Steps Ingredients
1 Sauté 1 diced medium onion in 
2 tbsp of olive oil
2 Add 1 quart of low-sodium chicken broth
3 Add (Optional) 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
4 Add 1 lb. of diced ham
5 Add ½ lb. of sliced carrots and 
½ lb. of string beans cut into bite-size pieces
6 Add 1 lb of diced new potatoes
7 Add Dried spices such as rosemary and thyme
8 Bring to Boil
9
10 Cover and Simmer 20 minutes
11 Season With fresh herbs such as rosemary and thyme
12 Season To taste with salt & pepper 
Inspired by Pam Anderson's How to Cook without a Book

Richard contends that if you know the essential nature of cooking soup, you can make any soup by following the same pattern. 

Essential Nature- Cooking Supper Soup Pattern
Steps Ingredients
1 Sauté Aromatics in 2 tbsp of fat
2 Add 1 quart of liquid (optionally flavored)
3 Add 28 oz crushed tomatoes (optional)
4 Add 1 lb. of bite-size protein (or shed while cooking)
5 Add 1 lb. of firm bite-size vegetables
6 Add 2 cups (or 1 lb.) of starch (carbohydrates )
7 Add Dried spices
8 Bring to boil
9 Break up or shred Meat or fish if it the protein or otherwise used
10 Cover &  Simmer 20 minutes
11 Season With fresh herbs
12 Season To taste with salt, pepper, and other flavorings
Inspired by Pam Anderson's How to Cook without a Book
Illumination in the Way We Work:

As with cooking, if you can get to the essential nature of work, eliminating preconceived notions and biases, you have the greatest opportunity to maximize patterns and free your mind to come up with unique, innovative ideas. 

Henry Ford said, “ If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.” 

We learn by studying and researching. We get better by repeating and gaining dexterity. We reach illumination by seeing and understanding the essential nature of how things can be applied in multiple ways. 

Karl Benz, inventor of the automobile,  let go of the preconceived notion that only horses could get people from one place to another.  He may have thought about it like below, ‘Evolution of a Car.’ Furthermore, Henry Ford let go of the preconceived notion that workers had to go fetch parts to build a car. He realized it would be more efficient for the parts to be brought to them. Thus, inventing the assembly line and making cars affordable for the masses.

In essence, Benz combined a motorized bike with a horse carriage.

Your Turn. Look at something you do. What is its essential nature? Can it be improved?

Advanced Strategies Problem-Solving and Innovation workshops highlight how to get to the essence, overcome biases, and, through a problem-solving process,  open our minds to creative, optimized solutions.