INNOVATION
PARKOUR

@mmilan

@normativedesign

@michaeldila

+ +

Today

1. Ramble about Innovation
2. Ramble about Parkour
3. Make some not-too-spurious connections
4. Talk about the seeds of a practice
5. Interview a practicing “innovation parkour-ist”
6. Five minutes of madness (co-creation)

INNOVATION IS FUN

BULLSHIT

INNOVATION HURTS

A LOT

The premise of
Innovation Parkour
is the assertion that we
can learn to innovate

that we can get better at
innovating by practicing it

DUH.

What is innovation?

@skap5
Saul says: innovation creates a
better way to deliver value.

3 MYTHS

Innovation is expensive

Innovation takes
a long time

Innovation can only be
done by special kinds
of people

INSIGHT

What is Parkour?

FLOW

DISCIPLINE

NO OBSTACLES

NO OBSTACLES

USE OBSTACLES

‘There are no limits. There are plateaus, but
you must not stay there, you must go beyond
them. A man must constantly exceed his level.’
Bruce Lee

INNOVATIONPARKOUR

A PEDAGOGY
FOR VOLITILITY

INNOVATIONPARKOUR
IS
SOCIAL SOFTWARE

YOU ARE THE CODE

Man is born free, but
everywhere he is in
chains

Routinized work
produces efficient and
predictable outcomes

What happens when
things become
unpredictable?

How likely is it that
people will not panic in
such circumstances?

2 STORIES

PILOTS

1983AC143
The Gimli Glider

2009US1549

How did this happen?

Why didn’t Sully panic?

“The training provides pilots with important
technical skills -- they can practice flying
crippled planes -- but it also teaches them
something more important: how to draw on
an optimal blend of reason and emotion.
They learn how to ignore their fear when
fear isn't useful and how to make quick,
complicated decisions in the most fraught
situations.”

“Flight crews don't
panic because they've
practiced staying
calm.”

“He who handles the quickest rate
of change survives”

60 Second MacGuffin

http://www.dubberly.com/articles/what-is-interaction.html

I thought Cybernetics
was freezing dead
people...
with apologies to Paul Pangaro

Is innovation a
conversation with
constraints?

Parkour is not about
running & climbing. PA
U
Parkour is about
navigating uncertainty
in real-time.

How do we
get there?

How do we
get there?

How do we
innovate?

LADDER
OF SKILLS

Unconscious Incompetence
Conscious Incompetence
Conscious Competence
Unconscious Competence

What lies beyond
Unconscious
Competence?

MASTERY

PROPOSITION:
Innovation favors
the prepared mind

The prepared mind
allows us to
navigate uncertainty

Tennis drills are repetitive
and relentless. They teach
the body to think, so the
mind can do strategy.

There is nothing secret
about yoga. The poses
are well established
across many styles.
But it is a bottomless
practice

Each of these
practices is about
the synthesis of
flow & repertoire

A KINO-
COGNITIVE
MODEL

flow+
repertoire=
innovationinsight

Innovation is cheap

Innovation can
be done quickly

Innovation can only be
done by anyone

But we must practice

How do you practice
innovation?

Beginning a
practice

THE
UNFINISHED
KERNEL

VISUALIZATION

PRACTICE SEEING

COLLABORATION

PRACTICE TRUST

PARTICIPATION

PRACTICE
OPENNESS

INNOVATION

PRACTICE
FREEDOM

INNOVATIONPARKOUR

A PRACTICE FOR
GENERATING INSIGHT
ON-DEMAND

Prototyping
in the wild

Practice freedom by
embracing obstacles

6 Teams
1 Hour
1 Experience
Teach the Body to Think

Tonight’s Special Guest:
Dennis Schleicher Jr

Tonight’s Musical Guest:
You.

The + +
Future is
Unfinished

http://innovationparkour.com/
matthew@normativedesign.com
michael@torchpartnership.com