Ideation: First Step Towards Innovation

A definition of innovation is presented with a following discussion on why it matters. Then, the focus is set on the first stage of innovation, that is ideation. One can distinguish three pillars to enable a creative culture: people, organization and processes. Each of them is succinctly introduced. The last part of the talk contained some remarks that might be perceived as a bit tendentious. For example, the currently very fashionable "design thinking workshops" are questioned—not the concept of design thinking itself, but how too often it is implemented through sporadic off-site workshops without a well-honed problem statement and without subsequent follow-up.

Note: this talk was delivered during a "brownbag" lunch, where the lunch consisted of pre-cut pizza—hence slide #2.