This document discusses ways to foster creativity and innovation in organizations and teams. It outlines elements that contribute to a creative culture at both the individual and system level, including committed individuals from diverse backgrounds and an environment that frames failure as a learning opportunity. It also discusses the importance of customer-focused innovation, leadership that supports new ideas, and using sustainability as a driver for innovation. The document provides tips for running experiments, dealing with perceived barriers to creativity, and creating conditions where innovative teams and individuals can thrive.

1. Becoming more creative & innovativeby Toronto Training and HR January 2011

2. 3-4 Introduction to Toronto Training and HR5-7 Elements contributing to a creative and innovative culture8-10 Customer-focused innovation11-14 Leaders of innovation and managing innovation15-17 Sustainability as a driver of innovation18-19 Coaching and creativity20-22 Become a better creative strategist23-24 Rules for running experiments25-28 Increased creativity and innovation29-30 Bold innovation31-32 Myths of innovation33-34 Innovative teams35-36 Ways to kill innovation37-38 Creating a climate for innovation39-40 Conditions for innovation41-43 Conditions for creativity44-45 Creative work environments46-47 Drill A48-49 Drill B50-51 Conclusion and questionsContentsPage 2

3. Page 3Introduction

4. Page 4Introduction to Toronto Training and HRToronto Training and HRis a specialist training and human resources consultancy headed by Timothy Holden 10 years in banking10 years in training and human resourcesFreelance practitioner since 2006The core services provided by Toronto Training and HR are:Training course design

5. Training course delivery- Reducing costsSaving time

6. Improving employee engagement & morale

7. Services for job seekersPage 5Elements contributing to a creative and innovative culture

8. Page 6Elements contributing to a creative and innovative culture 1 of 2INDIVIDUAL ELEMENTSA few committed individuals from diverse sectors and unusual partnershipsIndividuals who are comfortable living outside of silos and/or systemsIndividuals with an entrepreneurial and network mind-setIndividuals with passion who persevere in the face of resistance

9. Page 7Elements contributing to a creative and innovative culture 2 of 2SYSTEM ELEMENTSA collaborative and/or networked funding culture that frames failure as learning and an opportunity for the re-invention of an ideaAn awareness of three spaces where the system is connected or fragmentedFostering critical connectionsAn interdisciplinary environment that crosses traditional boundariesIncubators that provide opportunities to create ideas Learning and thinking globally while acting locally

10. Page 8Customer-focused innovation

11. Page 9Customer-focused innovation 1 of 2Creating your company’s future requires being in the right marketsCreating your company’s future requires contemplating the futureCreating your company’s future requires anticipatory and proactive managementCreating your company’s future requires breakthrough strategiesCreating your company’s future requires breakthrough thinking

12. Page 10Customer-focused innovation 2 of 2Creating your company’s future requires numerous other capabilitiesBifocal managementBreakthrough executionSpeed and agilityBeing a learning organizationNot falling prey to the paradox of successIt all comes down to people

13. Page 11Leaders of innovation and managing innovation

14. Page 12Leaders of innovation and managing innovation 1 of 3LEADERS OF INNOVATIONGood knowledge of the area in which they workMission-definition perspectivesSupport for followersSkills of resource acquisition and resource distributionEvaluative feedbackAbility to induce structure where it is not well definedOrganizational outreach

15. Page 13Leaders of innovation and managing innovation 2 of 3MANAGING INNOVATIONOrganization models and structureOperational processesOrganizational alignmentKnowledge managementManagement style and leadershipIndividual employees

16. Page 14Leaders of innovation and managing innovation 3 of 3MANAGEMENT INNOVATIONTransparent financial dataOpen and honest feedbackService level agreementsOpen evaluationsMy BluePrintEmployee first councils

17. Page 15Sustainability as a driver for innovation

18. Page 16Sustainability as a driver for innovation 1 of 2Viewing compliance as opportunityMaking value chains sustainableDesigning sustainable products and servicesDeveloping new business modelsCreating next-practice platforms

19. Page 17Sustainability as a driver for innovation 2 of 2BECOMING MORE SUSTAINABLEDon’t start from the presentEnsure that learning precedes investmentsStay wedded to the goal while constantly adjusting tacticsBuild collaborative capacityUse a global presence to experiment

20. Page 18Coaching and creativity

21. Page 19Coaching and creativityWhat is coaching?Encouraging creativity and the introduction of new ideasHonouring and supporting work-life balanceEngagement and support of employees through effective employee assistanceCreating and maintaining a civil work environment

22. Page 20Become a better creative strategist

23. Page 21Become a better creative strategist 1 of 2Do not think that your domain experts--your operations people, accountants, or statisticians--cannot contribute innovative ideas to other areas of your business. Block out time for creative exploration throughout the day. In every meeting, no matter how tight its schedule, set aside a little time to explore creative ideas. Tell your people, "Let's think about how many different ways we could solve this problem." This expands the innovative capacity of your people and may lead to breakthrough ideas.

24. Page 22Become a better creative strategist 2 of 2Encourage your kids to think. Asking "Why?” is a good thing. Encourage your people to keep asking why. Don't let them be satisfied by the accepted solution.

25. Page 23Rules for running experiments

26. Page 24Rules for running experimentsFocus on individuals and think short termKeep it simpleStart with a proof-of-concept testWhen the results come in, slice the dataTry out-of the-box thinkingMeasure everything that mattersLook for natural experiments

27. Page 25Increased creativity and innovation

28. Page 26Increased creativity and innovation 1 of 3Ignore everybodyThe idea doesn’t have to be big…it just has to change the worldPut the hours inIf your business plan depends on you being ‘discovered’ by some big shot, your plan will probably failYou are responsible for your own experienceEveryone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergartenKeep your day jobWorrying about ‘commercial’ v ‘artistic’ is a waste of time

29. Page 27Increased creativity and innovation 2 of 3Organizations that squelch creativity can no longer compete with organizations that champion creativityEverybody has their own private Mount Everest they were put in this earth to climbThe more talented someone is the less they need the propsDon’t try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds full stopIf you accept the pain, it cannot hurt youNever compare your inside with somebody else’s outsideDying young is overratedNobody cares, do it for yourselfWrite from the heart

30. Page 28Increased creativity and innovation 3 of 3The most important thing a creative person can learn, professionally, is to where to draw the red line that separates what you are willing to do from what you are notThe world is changingMerit can be bought, passion can’t Avoid the Water cooler GangSing in your own voiceThe choice of media is irrelevantSelling out is harder than it looksDon’t worry about finding inspiration, it comes eventuallyYou have to find your own shtick

31. Page 29Bold innovation

32. Page 30Bold innovationIn established firms, it’s impossible to start from scratch and hazardous to move too quicklyRadically-minded management innovators don’t have the benefit of a roadmapWe’re talking about people, not widgets

33. Page 31Myths of innovation

34. Page 32Myths of innovationThe ‘eureka’ momentThere is a clear path to innovationPeople dig new ideasThe lone inventor“I’m not really that creative”You’ll know innovation when you see itThe best ideas winInnovation is always good

35. Page 33Innovative teams

36. Page 34Innovative teamscreator- high-level thinker, extremely “wacky”ideascatalyst- a ‘connector’ who recognizes thoseideas and connects them to solutionschampion- paves through the nay-sayers toget the idea to market

37. Page 35Ways to kill innovation

38. Page 36Ways to kill innovation more management layers (hierarchies)paperwork, reports & reviewsover planningcompetitionfavouring the go-gettersrisk aversionskewing to high-level thinkingvaluing deadlines over doing it rightdemanding consensus

39. Page 37Creating a climate for innovation

40. Page 38Creating a climate for innovationMake innovation a priorityTake an outside-in perspectiveCreate a process for innovationDefine the big levers and pull themDrive out fearCreate trustRecognise both successful and unsuccessful innovators

41. Page 39Conditions for innovation

42. Page 40Conditions for innovationA motivation or directionCreative thinking / experimenter mentalityAbility to convert dead ends into new motivations /directionsDesire to challenge (or sometimes ignorance of) the status quoThreshold for risk & comfort w/uncertaintyTime + $$$ for work

43. Page 41Conditions for creativity

44. Page 42Conditions for creativity 1 of 2a safe space (ability to say potentially ‘dumb’things)start from simple, move to difficult – game flowmoving from personal to communalintroducing different perspectivesexperimentationcelebration of risk-takingtransparency and openness

45. Page 43Conditions for creativity 2 of 2change of environmentfun, laughter & enjoyment of activityclear understanding of rewardsoodles of encouragement

46. Page 44Creative work environments

47. Page 45Creative work environmentsopen spacesroom for personalizationclose to parks, coffee shops etc.healthy snacks and drinksout in the open meeting spacescreation of personal connections

48. Page 46Drill A

49. Page 47Drill A

50. Page 48Drill B

51. Page 49Drill B