Infusing your work with creativity and innovation€¦ · Lifecycle of innovation, Tom Fishburne What is often lacking is not creativity in the idea-creating sense but innovation

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Infusing your workwith creativity andinnovation

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- -Copyright 2014 The North Highland Company. All Rights Reserved.

Session Objectives

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Baseline some perspectivesWhat’s a useful definition of creativity andinnovation? What are some examples?

Increase awareness of the dominate thinkingapproaches in the workplace todayWhat’s come before, what creates the workplacewe have today.

Provide 3 things you can do differentlyWays you can challenge your own thinking, andthat of others around you.


Creativity and Innovation – which is which?

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The Huffington Post, Scott Kaufman, PhDLifecycle of innovation, Tom Fishburne

What is often lacking is not creativity in the idea-creating sense but innovation in theaction-producing sense, i.e. putting ideas to work.Theodore Levitt


Just a couple of definitions….

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Photo credit: Dr. Julie Williamson

Innovation: A new matchbetween a need and a solution(Terwiesch and Ulrich, 2010)

Creativity: the ability to transcendtraditional thoughts, rules,patterns, and relationships and tocreate meaningful interpretations.

Tend to focus on themanagement of all ideas,not on the generation of

great ideas


Innovation in History

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If I’d asked people what they wanted, they would have asked for faster horses.Henry Ford, 1920s

Source: The Atlantic, November 2013, Fallowshttp://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/11/innovations-list/309536/


Innovation in History

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If I’d asked people what they wanted, they would have asked for faster horses.Henry Ford, 1920s

Source: The Atlantic, November 2013, Fallowshttp://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/11/innovations-list/309536/


Innovation Last YearTime Magazine ranks the 25 best inventions of 2013

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http://techland.time.com/2013/11/14/the-25-best-inventions-of-the-year-2013

Categories• Wildly entertaining• Extremely fun• Compelling• Interesting• Totally cool• A Major Deal• World Changing


Some can change the world….

The GravityLightGravityLight produces 25 minutesof light from just the forceexerted by the weight of a bagof stones, sand or water—-anything heavy.

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Deciwatt is a product developmentinitiative with a mission to explore

how ‘to do more with less’.


Others are slightly unnerving…..

The Edible Password Pill from Motorola(aka Google)Swallowed once daily, the pill consists of atiny chip that uses the acid in your stomachto power it on. Once activated, it emits aspecific 18-bit EKG-like signal that can bedetected by your phone or computer,essentially turning your body into apassword.

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Motorola Solutions centers onproduct development and

spends ~$1B on R&D


But, for many, workplace innovation remains elusive

We know that the nation that goes all-in on innovation todaywill own the global economy tomorrow.

This is an edge America cannot surrender.

State of the Union Address, January 28, 2014

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What’s Going on Here?

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Scientific Management1. Replace loose approaches and experimentation with

methods based on scientific study of tasks2. Remove ‘learning by doing’, replace with scientific selection,

training, and development of employees3. Create detailed documentation, instructions, and supervision

for each worker and their discrete tasks4. Division of labor requires managers to plan the work, workers

to do the work, and planning the work requires scientificmanagement principles

F. Taylor, 1856 - 1915

predictable, efficient,organized, specialized, unemotional


The Rise of Scientific Management

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So what do we do about it?

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What sparks ideas?ObstaclesProblemsCompetitionDesireAmbitionJoyChallengesInteractionTime pressure

What does it “look” like?ExperimentalIterativeMessyUnpredictableDisruptiveCombativeAnnoyingFrustratingSatisfyingPassionateConviction


Challenge This

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Consider the Anti-Cubicle Environment Think about a workplace refresh that creates natural interactions – break down

the walls literally and figuratively. Consider doing “sprints” offsite to get people out of their normal environment. Design space to express creatively in acceptable ways – idea walls, personal

profiles, problem solving spaces, design labs, etc. Encourage curiosity and health. Build it into the plan, create time and space

for it. Time is the determining factor!

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Magnatag.comPhoto credit: Dr. Julie Williamson

S2S Treadmill Desk


Challenge This

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Gut Check for Sameness

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Low Trust High Trust

Low

Div

ersi

tyH

igh

Div

ersi

ty

Creative solutions abound,new solutions are producedorganically from the groupdynamic

Work gets done, change ishard to envision, new ideasdon’t emerge, threats maygo undetected

Individual focus, conflicthappens, communication is‘need to know’, innovation issilo-ed and secretive

Similar thinkers don’tcollaborate or share, lowtrust prevents a collective‘aha’, innovation suffers

Wildcatters Innovators

Steady ProducersLone Rangers


Challenge This

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http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/pfd-process-flow-diagram-d_465.html


Expand the Thinking Paradigm

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Standardize to createpredictable outcomes.

Create opportunities to discover new matchesbetween needs and solutions.

Be efficient and move quickly.Build in time for people to explore optionsand to think critically.

Separate specialties to focus onspecific areas.

Support integrative thinking, createopportunities for experts to connect.

People only need to understandtheir immediate tasks.

People need to interact with others whohave different skills and challenges.

Eliminate questions by documentingeverything.

Encourage questions and interaction withothers, learning by doing.

Systems Thinking Design ThinkingStart by analyzing the processand collecting data.

Start by understanding the people andcontext in which the challenge exists


Recognize the Value of Both

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Systems Thinking Design Thinking

Tim Brown, CEO of Ideo

Fredrick Taylor,Father of ScientificManagement


Three Things You Can Do

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The Anti-CubicleEnvironment• Does your environment

encourage creativity?• Are there ways you can

try differentenvironments?

Gut Check for Sameness

• Do you have high trustwith people who thinkdifferently from you?

• Do you need to developsome relationships thatpush you?

Expand how you think andsolve• Integrative thinking• Experiment and iterate• Include different voices• Reframe the problem• Learn by building and

doing


Following UpIf you have questions, comments, thoughts, or would like todiscuss further, please feel free to reach out!

Contact information:

JULIE WILLIAMSON, Ph.D

[email protected]://www.linkedin.com/in/juliewilliamsonwww.whathappensthen.com

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Infusing your work with creativity and innovation€¦ · Lifecycle of innovation, Tom Fishburne What is often lacking is not creativity in the idea-creating sense but innovation