This talk was held at the Commonwealth Club of SF on March 23, 2011. It challenges the notion that company cultures must be dry, static, inhuman and impersonal to be professional. The Creative Culture Blueprint shows what elements create, feed and support a creative culture. Also included are examples of activities that can be used to unlock static cultures to be more creative.

1. Building engagement in your organization
Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
e Commonwealth Club
March 23, 2011
#creativecultureblueprint
Kate Rutter, Adaptive Path
www.intelleto.com | www.adaptivepath.com
twitter : @katerutter | @adaptivepath

2. Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
I’m a designer and strategist. Designing delightful experiences makes me
tick. Making things visual and visible makes my heart sing.
Over the past few years I’ve been exploring what makes creative cultures
tick, with a goal of ensuring that everyone can bring their most inspired
self to work each and every day.
Adaptive Path is a User Experience strategy and design consultancy.
Our mission is to help companies make products and services that
deliver great experiences that improve people’s lives.
Adaptive Path
Hi, I’m Kate.

3. Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011

4. Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
Every individual
has the right and
responsibility to do work
that is interesting, fun &
meaningful. Every company
has the responsibility to
create a space where people
can do their best work
openly and effectively.
I believe...

5. Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
...and the us/them divide
is artificial and damaging
to the human spirit.
Companies are
made of people.
And we are those
people.
And I believe...

6. Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
How did he get there?
possibilities create! opportunities become! responsibilities dependencieslead to!
LOBOTOMIES!
spirals
into!

7. Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
But it’s not isolated.

8. Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
What if...
possibilities opportunities responsibilities dependenciescreate! become! lead to!

9. Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
What if it looked
like this?
become!
responsibilities
dependencies
lead to!
possibilitiesthat!
inspire!
opportunities
create!

10. Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
LOBOTOMIES!

11. Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
Meanwhile...

12. Enter this book
and this article.
Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011

13. a cultural landscape
Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011

14. WHAT CREATES IT?!
WHAT FEEDS IT?!
WHAT SUPPORTS IT?!
Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
e blueprint is a guide for a creative culture.

15. WHAT CREATES IT?!
WHAT FEEDS IT?!
WHAT SUPPORTS IT?!
Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
e blueprint is a guide for a creative culture.

16. Expertise!
Motivation!
Challenge!
Freedom!
Resources!
Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
Workgroup features!
Supervisory encouragement!
Leadership support!
Creative thinking skills!
e blueprint is a guide for a creative culture.

17. Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
WHAT CREATES IT?!
Expertise!
Motivation!
 Knowledge
• tactical
• procedural
• intellectual
 Acquired by
• formal education,
• professional experience
• interactions with
colleagues & peers
 Intellectual space for
problem-solving and
solution-finding
 Ability to look across
intellectual spaces for ideas
 Capacity to combine ideas
in new ways
 Ability to depart from
the status quo
 Perseverance
 Intrinsic
• passion
• interest
• challenge
 Extrinsic
• carrot &stick
Creative thinking skills!
Brown
Bags

18. Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
In Brown Bags the team gathers to get exposed to different ideas and
discusses topics related to our work. Tuesdays from 12-1 is set aside, but if
there is a lot going on, Brown Bags can happen more often.
Anyone can host a Brown Bag, and they often feature special guests. We've
heard from futurists, software developers, people doing cool research, and
seen demos of digital or design tools. If there’s not a guest, we’ve watched
TED talks.
Internal brown bags have included staff portfolio sharing, focused
discussions of internal projects and ad-hoc working sessions on a wide
variety of topics.
WHAT CREATES IT?!
Brown
Bags

19. Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
WHAT FEEDS IT?!
Challenge!
Freedom! Resources!
 Ability to define “how”:
sense of ownership,
autonomy
 Decide the best fit of the
approach & expertise
 Clearly defined goals that
don’t shift
 Space: a place to focus, a
place to explore, tools
 Culture: open & honest
 Money: legitimate, fair and
an appropriate amount
 Time: realistic and real
deadlines, time for
exploration
 Match people with work
 Know people: interests,
skills, expertise
Open Design
Sessions

20. Open design sessions are one-hour sessions where a project team opens up
participation to others. During the hour the team has access to fresh
perspectives, ideas and experiences to help think through a problem and give
feedback on the work.
This open working style encourages the free sharing of ideas and approaches
and serves as cross-project pollination. Working together enables people who
don’t frequently work together to collaborate.
Getting exposure to each other’s interests, skills and expertise smoothes the
path for people working together in the future, and knits the culture together
through sharing ideas.
Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
WHAT FEEDS IT?!
Open Design
Sessions

21. Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
WHAT SUPPORTS IT?!
Workgroup features!
 Mutual support
 Diverse perspectives
 Willingness to help in difficult times
 Shared excitement
Supervisory encouragement!
 Communicate that the work matters
 Meet ideas with an open mind
 Banish negative bias
 Guard against a culture of fear
 Celebrate failure
 Discuss ideas promptly
 Reward participation in a timely manner
 Recognize the creative work5-minute
Madness

22. Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
At the monthly all-hand meeting, we have 5-minute sessions where
someone can make a statement that they don’t know is true, or that they
think may not be true.
Then the group discusses it for 5 minutes (time-enforced.)
This helps us say things that we’re not sure of, encourages people to speak
up about things that feel unformed, keeps us uncomfortable, and keeps us
open to being wrong in service to sharing ideas.
This in turn helps us keep our creative thinking skills honed because it
encourages departing from the status quo. It reinforces the importance of
diverse perspectives in our workgroups.
And it supports open communication, meeting ideas with an open mind
and taking risks.
WHAT SUPPORTS IT?!
5-minute
Madness

23. Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
WHAT SUPPORTS IT?!
Leadership support!
 Mandate information-sharing
 Implement creative principles
 Promote open & clear communication
 Ensure political problems don’t fester
 Encourage sharing outside the
organization
Guerilla
Collaboration

24. Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
Why wait for Leadership support?
DIY culture change at a large
non-profit
WHAT SUPPORTS IT?!
Guerilla
Collaboration
Freedom!
 Ability to define “how”: sense
of ownership, autonomy
Resources!
 Space: a place to focus,
a place to explore, tools
 Diverse perspectives
 Willingness to help in difficult
times
 Shared excitement
Workgroup features!
 Meet ideas with an open mind
Supervisory encouragement! Leadership support!
 Mandate information-sharing
 Implement creative principles
 Promote open & clear communication
Expertise!
 Knowledge from interactions
with colleagues
 Intellectual space for problem-
solving and solution-finding
Motivation!
 Intrinsic
• passion
• interest
• challenge
 Ability to depart from the
status quo
 Perseverance
Creative thinking skills!

25. As an assessment tool…
What are we already doing to
foster a creative culture?
What are we missing?
Think about how your organization
functions…what areas of the creative
blueprint are already in play?
! What specific elements are present?
! What activities promote or reinforce these
elements?
! What elements are not yet part of your
organizational behavior?
! What kind of activities, processes or
behaviors could help fill the gaps?
As an inspiration tool…
How can we build more creative
thinking into our culture?
What could that look like?
What areas & elements of the creative
blueprint are most interesting to you?
! What are 2-3 ideas for activities that could
introduce the element?
! How could these activities be introduced?
! What are some ways to observe the impact?
Putting the blueprint to work
Creative
/ (krē-āˈtĭv) / –adjective
Characterized by originality and
expressiveness; imaginative.
Culture
/ (kŭlˈchər) / –noun
The predominating attitudes and behavior
that characterize the functioning of a
group or organization.
Blueprint
/ (blo͞oˈprĭnt) / –noun
A detailed plan of action.
A model or prototype.
Sample activities include : casual interactions
! processes ! meetings ! physical space !
tools ! policies ! behaviors ! routines
! workshops ! retreats ! celebrations
?
!?
Creative thinking is the fuel that powers new
ideas, exploration, invention and progress in
the world. Staying fresh and engaged is
crucial to making this happen. But it takes a
team approach to create and foster a culture
that thrives on creativity.
How does workplace culture support creative
thinking? What activities do people and
organizations do to foster curiosity, collective
engagement and making ideas happen?
This creative culture blueprint is a way to
assess your culture, to understand why some
activities promote inventive thinking (and why
some kill it), and to envision & build a culture
where creativity is appropriate, useful and
sustaining.
What makes a creative culture?
Digital versions of the blueprint are available for download at : http://www.adaptivepath.com/ideas/essays/archives/001192.php
For assessment & inspiration
Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011

26. Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
Putting it to work

27. Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
2
what is one thing you do that you want to stop
doing, but that others depend on you for?
1
1
something you are passionate about.2
2
on the card, write down... 1 minute

28. Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
~ Heraclitus
“! “!A wonderful harmony is
created when we join
together the seemingly
unconnected.

29. What is one thing you do that you want to
stop doing, but that others depend on you for?
Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
1
Something you are passionate about.2
2
1
2
3
3
What is one idea for
how you can satisfy
both?
on the card, write down... 2 minutes

30. Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
4
Now share your great idea with the person sitting next to you.
3 minutes

31. Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
Your toolkit:
A model for awareness, so you
know when it’s time to
envision new possibilities.
A blueprint for how to create,
feed and support a creative
culture.
A personal starting point to
put into practice.

32. Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
Talk to 2 new people about your work.
Actively listen for and write down possibilities.
your challenge
Pilot a 5-minute madness one time.
See where it takes you.
Host a Brown Bag or a collaborative
problem-solving session.
Bring new ideas into your environment.

33. Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
a future vision...
Companies are made
of people who are open,
inspired and who support
each other in envisioning
and building positive
futures. We claim
our own power,
and use it.
Every company
is a place where we can do
our best work openly and
effectively.

34. Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
Each and every one of us
uses our creative mojo in work
that is interesting, fun &
meaningful.
a future vision...

35. Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011

36. Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
LOBOTOMIES!
and best of all...

37. Blueprint for a Creative Culture | March 2011
Shout-outs to...
 Dr. Teresa Amabile for her catalyzing article
 HBR for publishing awesome stuff
 Leah Buley for sharing a few of her sketches
 the folks at Adaptive Path for the everyday
activities that create, feed and support a
creative environment!
you!
thanks!
Kate Rutter, Adaptive Path
http://www.intelleto.com
twitter : @katerutter

39. opportunities
responsibilities
dependencies
create!
become!
lead to!
possibilitiesthat!
inspire!