THE STORY

Kate Warne was America's first ever female detective. According to her, she could "worm out secrets in many places to which it was impossible for male detectives to gain access". She would befriend the wives of thieves and persuade them to divulge the location of the stolen cash.

Or masquerade as a fortune teller to extract information from bragging criminals. But her most famous case was the Baltimore case where she helped foil the assassination plot against Abraham Lincoln. Warne went undercover at secessionist parties, posing as a very convincing Mrs Cherry, and to all appearances, she was "a rich Southern lady with a thick Southern accent".

Having pieced together the puzzle to foil the plot, she disguised herself as Lincoln's caregiver and sister. Warne then accompanied the president when he posed as an invalid on a night train back to the relative safety of Washington D.C.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

There are two key lessons we can extract from the Kate Warne story:

Firstly, in order to develop hypotheses or spot BIG ideas, you often need to gather information from a number of disparate sources by digging deep and wide. It's the pattern of collected evidence that points the way towards the solution.

Secondly, there is no substitute for trying to get as close as possible to your customers and competitors. The more you are able to observe them first-hand in their "natural habitat", the more likely it is you will uncover some surprisingly powerful and useful insights that you can use in the development of new ideas.

YOUR CHALLENGE

1. Put yourself in the shoes of your brand's target customer. Identify three different kinds of activities that they perform during the week. This could be reading their favourite newspaper, watching a TV programme they usually watch, shopping where they normally shop. Dig deep into their daily routines.

2. Collect observations and insights. During the course of the week, try and extract any useful nuggets of information from these activities, connect them together and use this as a springboard to develop one or two new ideas for your brand.