Igniting Innovation

Igniting Innovation
Thinking Differently to Drive Change and Create New Value
futurethink
www.getfuturethink.com
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Think Differently
Change one thing to make this
equation work:
IX = VI
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Think Differently
Change one thing to make this
equation work:
SIX = VI
IX ≠ VI
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Think Differently
Move one circle so that there
are 4 circles in just two rows:
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Think Differently
Move one circle so that there
are 4 circles in two rows:
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Think Differently
How could you reduce the
number of parking violations
for 2 hour parking spots?
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Think Differently
How could you reduce the number of
parking violations for 2 hour parking
spots?
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THE PROBLEM WITH PROBLEM SOLVING
“understanding the problem, is the solution” - anonymous
“When we all think alike,
then no one is thinking.”
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Top CEOs agree that creativity is the most
important leadership quality
•Creativity listed as most
important leadership quality
for the next five years.
Top Leadership Qualities
•Given current economy,
"creativity itself has been
elevated to a leadership
style”.
Source: IBM Global Chief Executive Officer Study, 2010
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Creative CEO’s score higher on innovation capabilities
• IBM found creative leaders to be much more prepared to
innovate
• Creative CEO’s were between 10-20% more likely to pursue
innovation through business model change – not incremental
improvements.
+17%
Source: IBM Global Chief Executive Officer Study, 2010
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Too Much Focus on BAU
Most companies don’t have the time or tools to look
at what’s next for their business.
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Innovation Is About Striking a Balance
Really innovative companies know they need to
think about innovation along a spectrum….
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Innovation Is About Striking a Balance
Exploit
Explore
Really innovative companies know they need to
think about innovation along a spectrum….
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Leaders Know Creativity and Innovation Are Critical
Involves
Everyone
Innovation
They
a high tolerance for risk and change—
not everything is a winner
should be involved—internally and externally
is a strategic priority – not an event or contest.
expect people to think differently.
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Develop a stream
of original ideas
tied to real
business needs
1. Forward Thinking: Think Forward, Think BIG
2. Collaborative Thinking: Partnering to Get Better Ideas
to Market Faster
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Develop a stream
of original ideas
tied to real
business needs
1. Forward Thinking: Think Forward, Think BIG
2. Collaborative Thinking: Partnering to Get Better Ideas
to Market Faster
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“The best way to predict the future is to
create it.”
– Alan Kay
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FORWARD THINKING
“If I’d asked people what
they wanted, they would
have told me a faster horse.”
--Henry Ford, founder Ford Motor Company
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Role Model – Think Forward, Think Big
Siemens’ Pictures of the Future utilizes
scenario planning to look far into the
future to determine Siemens’ place within
Are
it. As
you
part of the
open
effort, Siemens
to
publishes
magazines and reports with in-depth
studies and predictions
BIG ideas?
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Jet Engine
Pointy Thing
Propeller
Wing
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Yes/And, Yeah/But, What Else?
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Jet Engine
Pointy Thing
Propeller
Wing
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Discuss.
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―This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be
seriously considered as a means of communication.
The device is inherently of no value to us.‖
– Western Union internal memo, 1876
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Develop a stream
of original ideas
tied to real
business needs
1. Forward Thinking: Think Forward, Think BIG
2. Collaborative Thinking: Partnering to Get Better Ideas
to Market Faster
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Role Model: Collaborative Thinking
Internal ‘Tagging’ Systems
to Find Company Zeigeist!
Video Communication
Oracle Sun
Smart Grid
economy
solar
Retirement
Tag Cloud
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Role Model: Collaborative Thinking
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Discuss:
In what ways could you better
collaborate?
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SHARE AN IDEA
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You are the IRS.
How can you become the most innovative
department within the US government?
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You are Starbucks.
How can you expand your business to
appeal to pet owners?
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You are Porsche.
How can you become the
‘healthiest’ car company?
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Share an Idea
As a group, determine
your top idea
Generate a Great Idea
You have 7 minutes
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Building On and Improving the Great Idea
As a group, build on the
idea to make it more
successful
ROTATE: Improve on It
You have 7
minutes
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Final Thoughts…
As a group, reading
through the input so far,
list any additional
thoughts to enhance
this idea
Final Thoughts
You have 5
minutes
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Discuss:
What was it like to share your ideas?
Was it easy or hard to give them up?
To inherit them?
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Incremental Thinking
Small improvements can make a big difference
“Anyone that thinks small
improvements can’t make a
big difference should
remove the cup holders
from their car.”
--Engineer, General Motors
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40 NEW OPPORTUNITIES
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ENHANCE ACTIVITY
40 OPPORTUNITIES
• Instructions:
1) Look at your flipchart and the Opportunity assigned to you
2) Grab handful of BLUE post-its
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YOU OWN A
MOVIE THEATER
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HOW CAN YOU
CREATE MORE
VALUE FOR
YOUR BUSINESS?
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1. Alternative Uses:
• What else can we do with a theater?
• How do we use our ‗unused‘ capacity to make money?
• How can we better use less popular times for other things?
2. Self-Service:
• What opportunities exist for customers to self-serve?
• What can we stop controlling?
• What parts of the process can be ‗do it yourself‘?
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GREAT IDEAS
5 Min.
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No Rules
Ideas
5 Min.
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OUTRAGEOUS
FUN
Ideas
5 Min.
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PICK TOP 2
2 Min.
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Ideas!!!
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Alternative/Off-Season Uses
Lowes Cinemas runs a Reel Moms program to allow new mothers to bring their
babies (free of charge) to the movies during the day, when regular
attendance is low.
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Alternative/Off-Season Uses
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IDEAS
Push it!
Push it further!
TIME
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Develop a stream
of original ideas
tied to real
business needs
1. Forward Thinking: Think Forward, Think BIG
2. Collaborative Thinking: Partnering to Get Better Ideas
to Market Faster
55

How innovative are you?
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How innovative are you?
How many questions can you answer “YES” to?
1. We’re continually coming up with or seeking out new ideas.
2. We seek out innovative ideas from all levels & divisions of my organization.
3. We try to partner with people/firms outside the company to develop new ideas.
4. I encourage myself and my team to try new things when it comes to our innovation efforts.
5. My team knows where to go to learn more about innovation and trends.
6. We often look at what other industries are doing to learn from them.
7. We actively support a culture of curiosity and open dialogue within our company.
8. We have the tools in place to better collaborate and get ideas to market faster.
9. People in our organization are encouraged to take risks within certain boundaries, and
they/we know what those boundaries are.
10. (I) Leadership actively participates in finding the future (not just talking about it)
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How innovative are you?
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How innovative are you?
How many questions can you answer “YES” to?
1. We’re continually coming up with or seeking out new ideas.
2. We seek out innovative ideas from all levels & divisions of my organization.
3. We try to partner with people/firms outside the company to develop new ideas.
4. I encourage myself and my team to try new things when it comes to our innovation efforts.
5. My team knows where to go to learn more about innovation and trends.
6. We often look at what other industries are doing to learn from them.
7. We actively support a culture of curiosity and open dialogue within our company.
8. We have the tools in place to better collaborate and get ideas to market faster.
9. People in our organization are encouraged to take risks within certain boundaries, and
they/we know what those boundaries are.
10. (I) Leadership actively participates in finding the future (not just talking about it)
59

How innovative are you?
How many questions can you answer “YES” to?
1. We’re continually coming up with or seeking out new ideas.
2. We seek out innovative ideas from all levels & divisions of my organization.
3. We try to partner with people/firms outside the company to develop new ideas.
4. I encourage myself and my team to try new things when it comes to our innovation efforts.
5. My team knows where to go to learn more about innovation and trends.
How will you improve your score by 2?
6. We often look at what other industries are doing to learn from them.
7. We actively support a culture of curiosity and open dialogue within our company.
8. We have the tools in place to better collaborate and get ideas to market faster.
9. People in our organization are encouraged to take risks within certain boundaries, and they/w
know what those boundaries are.
10. (I) Leadership actively participates in finding the future (not just talking about it)
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Tips & Tricks to Get You Started
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Innovation Resources and Tips
Google the Future
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Think About:
What topic or industry would you search on?
What time horizon would you use?
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Innovation Resources and Tips
What are you reading?
Cast a wider net if you want to start thinking differently.
• Trendhunter.com
• Trendwatching.com
• futurethinking
• Springwise.com
• Innovationwatch.com
• Longbets.org
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Think About:
What 2 new resources will you start to scan
to learn new things?
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Innovation Resources and Tips
Look to different (or even unrelated) industries
• Research a topic you know nothing about and connect the dots to your own
business: What ideas come to mind?
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Think About:
What unrelated industry could inspire new thinking
for your business or group?
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Innovation Resources and Tips
Create an Innovation Advisory Board
• Pick 3 people from outside
• Set up an online forum to centralize discussion
• Create a Topics Calendar to fuel the interaction
•
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Think About:
What 3 people or organizations would you put on your
innovation advisory board?
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Innovation Resources and Tips
Find a Younger Mentor
Learn about their world, their technology, their ‘communities’.
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Think About:
Who do you know that could teach you something NEW?
What would you want to learn?
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Innovation Resources and Tips
• Visit a new store, different coffee shop – do something out of the ordinary to
discover the extraordinary
Be the Accidental Tourist
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What is an Innovative Company?
Think About:
Discuss:
What habits can
•Who
you
are today’s
change
leading
to experience
innovators?
something
different?
•What makes a company innovative?
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Innovation Resources and Tips
Identify Rules to Break or Change
“Kill a Stupid Rule” -- Challenges teams to identify “stupid” banking rules
that fail to satisfy people’s needs
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Innovation Resources and Tips
Nielsen Research
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What is an Innovative Company?
Think About:
Discuss:
What one rule would you love to
•Who are today’s leading innovators?
KILL •What or CHANGE makes a company in your innovative? company?
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Innovation Resources and Tips
Kill the Company (or Product)
To beat the competition, think like them. Take time with our team to
brainstorm what keeps your competitors up at night. How are they going to
beat you?
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What is an Innovative Company?
Think About:
Discuss:
If you were your
•Who
competitor,
are today’s
what
leading
two
innovators?
things would you do
to put you out of business?
•What makes a company innovative?
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Innovation Resources and Tips
Listen.
Establish a listening day where you
make an effort to minimize speaking and
just listen
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What is an Innovative Company?
Think About:
Discuss:
What can you personally start doing tomorrow to
•Who are today’s leading innovators?
create change?
•What makes a company innovative?
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Which tip will you use
first?
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How will you think differently to handle change?
futurethink
www.getfuturethink.com
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Thank you.
Questions?
Visit: www.getfuturethink.com
Email: lbodell@getfuturethink.com
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BIGGEST takeaway?
Which examples INSPIRED you?
Which TOOL will you use first?
• Yes/And, Yeah But, What else?
• 40 Opportunities
• Share an Idea
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Develop a stream
of original ideas
tied to real
business needs
1. Forward Thinking: Think Forward, Think BIG
2. Incremental Thinking: Enhance Current Offerings
3. Collaborative Thinking: Partnering to Get Better Ideas
to Market faster
86

“I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas.
I'm frightened of the old ones.”
– John Cage
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