A New Model for Innovating Organizational Innovation

1. A New Model for Innovating Organizational Innovation William “Bud” Wurtz, PhD ASTDps Employee Learning Week December 2012

2. About Today Session Roadmap Expected Session Outcomes • Describe how the five factor model is used to diagnose the current /future state of a more innovative organization • Outline the application of the five factor model for organizational change to foster more innovation • Explain why "organizational helpfulness" is a key factor of an innovative organization • Identify one or more action steps to take back at work to move toward making their organization more innovative • Introductions/Getting Started – Non-Trivial Pursuit game • Personal creativity assessment • Five-Factor model • Helpfulness exercise • Case study • Close

3. Creativity and Innovation Defined "Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovationis doing new things.” – Theodore Levitt

4. Why Creativity and InnovationAre Important “Powering the great ongoing changes of our time is the rise of human creativity as the defining feature of economic life. Creativity has come to be valued … because new technologies, new industries, new wealth and all other good economic things flow from it. And as a result, our lives and society have begun to resonate with a creative … spirit … It is our commitment to creativity in its varied dimensions that forms the underlying spirit of our age.” – From “Rise of the Creative Class” by Richard Florida

5. Why Creativity and InnovationAre Important • National Innovation Initiative, U.S. Council on Competitiveness • “Innovation will be the principal driver of economic growth, standard of living and national competitive advantage in the 21st Century.”

6. Why Creativity and InnovationAre Important "The learning function can and SHOULD play a critical role in developing and sustaining the innovative culture that is the hallmark of successful organizations.” -- “Learning to Innovate”, National ASTD white paper, 2011

7. Why Creativity and InnovationAre Important • State Economic Development Plan • “Make Washington [State] the most attractive, creative and fertile environment for innovation in the world as a means of achieving long-term global competitiveness, prosperity and economic opportunity for all the state citizens.”

8. The Non-Trivial Pursuit of Creativity

9. How To Increase Your Creativity A Informal Guide and Assessment

10. The 5 Factors Organizational Practices Cultural Norms Creativity Management Process THE INNOVATIVE ORGANIZATION Idea Stimulators Organizational Helpfulness

11. Creativity Management Process • Management from the top down focuses on innovation as the way business is done through ... • –Constantly communicating innovation’s pivotal role • –Tracking mew ideas • –Putting policies in place to support innovation (e.g., 15% of time for own research) • –Promoting and rewarding those with a track record of successful innovation

12. The Old-Fashioned Suggestion Boxas a Guide to Idea Management • Research shows: • Most (>80%) systems fail within 2 years • Those that survive have these characteristics • Strong management support – process supervised by respected executive • Rapid acknowledgement of receipt of idea • Thorough consideration of and response to each idea • In addition to good ideas, process produces business knowledge and worker trust

13. Creative Management ProcessGroup Activity • In small group, focus on one member’s organization • Design high-level idea management proces with specific bullet points • Be prepared to make group report when facilitator calls time

14. Organizational Practices • Innovative organizations observe useful practices • – There is a bias for action, not analysis paralysis • – Job rotation and skills development fostered • – Facilities are set up to encourage idea sharing

15. Essentials for Creating an Idea Room-- Center for Creative Leadership • Low-tech and high-tech media • Various art and lots of it • Customizable arrangement and embellishment– easily-moved, wheeled furniture to suit group’s needs • Coves and caves • “Shoes of our customers’ features” • Corporate DNA

17. Organizational PracticesGroup Activity • In small group, focus on one member’s organization • Use (or not) preceding creativity lab design for inspiration, and create an idea room for the organization. • Be prepared to make group report when facilitator calls time

18. Cultural Norms • Innovative culture requires … • Everyone is expected to be creative • Ideas can come from anywhere • There is a spirit of “bottom up” experimentation

19. Beyond Brainstorming • Background of the controversy • Brainstorming created by A Osborne in 1930s • One part of CPSI – creative problem-solving model • Highly popular with business groups • Rules of brainstorming • Quantity of ideas preferred over quality • Evaluation prohibited • Build on others’ ideas • Go for wild ideas

20. Beyond Brainstorming • What the research says • “Decades of research have consistently shown that brainstorming groups think of far fewer ideas than the same number of people who work alone and later pool their ideas.” – Keith Sawyer • “Our findings show that debate and criticism do not inhibit ideas but, rather, stimulate them relative to every other condition.” – CharlanNemeth

21. Beyond Brainstorming • More research by Brian Uzzi: • Broadway musical is creative collaboration model • Q measures industry relationships; reliable predictor of production success or failure • Failure when people don’t know one another (low Q) and when they know one another too well (high Q)

22. Cultural NormsGroup Activity • “Killer Phrases” • “It’s not in the budget,”; “We’ve tried that before”. • In your small group, generate as long as list as possible of “killer phrases”

23. Cultural NormsGroup Activity • In small group, focus on all members’ experience • The group is to use its creativity to devise what it believes are the “new rules” that will define robust, creative conversations and other relevant culture norms to drive our organizations to a more innovative future • Be prepared to make group report when facilitator calls time

24. Idea Stimulators To be more innovative encourage Ideas to percolate everywhere. – Organizational boundaries flexible, permeable; different people talk together … • Employees/customers • Employees/suppliers • Employees/employees (from different parts of the organization)

25. Idea StimulatorsGroup Activity • In small group, focus on one member’s organization • Conduct force-field analysis: what is driving organization toward innovative future, what is restraining it • Be prepared to make group report when facilitator calls time • Template: • Driver >< Restrainer Ex: Lean, flat structure >< “Only purchasing talks to vendors” • Driver >< Restrainer • Driver >< Restrainer

26. Organizational Helpfulness • One factor stood out by itself in the research … helpfulness. • Simple act of aiding coworkers with creative efforts is vital. • But we live and work in an individualistic and competitive culture … so a simple idea may not be so simple in practice.

27. Organizational Helpfulness Help is (or looks like) this … “Not help” or hindrance is (or looks like) this …

28. “The Bridge to Innovation” Experiencing Helpfulness

29. Case Study “The Rental Riddle” Organization Innovation Survey Property Management Co. (n=117) Current State Future State

30. Thank you for attending and participating! William “Bud” Wurtz, PhD william.wurtz@coachingforcreativity.com 425-999-1943