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Clarify, Standardize, Review Results, Isolate, Analyze, Set Target, Design, and Revise are the 8 ideas that embody the höktagon. Idea or Problem is in the middle. The höktagon is a rough and tumble process paradigm. It makes weak ideas tap the floor, providing solid outcomes. Why is eight enough? Buddhists believe that eight implies completion and the Chinese believe that eight means "whole." To Christians eight is the number of regeneration and rebirth. Islam believes that there are eight angels who hold the reins of heaven and earth. The Japanese believe that eight is the number of plenty and abundance. Plato said that there are eight spheres of various colours that surround the pillars of heaven. In the 80s TV show Eight is Enough Tom Bradford (Dick Van Patten) struggled to handle eight kids and work at the same time. That's enough evidence for me. I conclude that eight is a special number. A 12-step process is too many steps If you work in communications, you are probably aware of Alcoholics Anonymous. They use a twelve step program to get alcoholics to sobriety. It seems to work, but frankly I'm really busy. For my paradigm, I wanted to drop that number down. So the höktagon uses eight steps. It's four less steps than AA. Less is more. Standardization is not the enemy of creativity People often take the view that standardization is the enemy of creativity. But I think that standards actually help make creativity possible. Process standards allow for an idea infrastructure, which then leads to entrepreneurialism, creativity, and competitiveness. The mechanics of making ideas happen, make ideas happen. Creative solutions come from looking for alternatives A large part of innovation is welcoming difference. You have to be open to the unusual. A lot of people see something unusual and assume that it's wrong. Innovation is the ability to see something unusual and recognize that the answer may lie in its difference.