The document discusses psychological inertia and barriers to innovation. It describes how preconceived notions, assumptions, experience and expertise can prevent new ideas from being considered. It provides tools to overcome these barriers, such as having outsiders review problems, testing small experiments, and being aware of blocks to change. The goal is to encourage discussions, questioning and developing solutions in order to drive innovation.

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2. “That is how we have always done it.”
“We tried that like 10 years ago
and it didn’t work”
“I am not paid to improve things,
just to push this button”
“That will never work here.”
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3. Psychological Inertia
“The meaning of the word "inertia" implies an indisposition to
change – a certain "stuckness" due to human programming. It
represents the inevitability of behaving in a certain way – the way
that has been indelibly inscribed somewhere in the brain. It also
represents the impossibility – as long as a person is guided by his
habits – of ever behaving in a better way.” (Kowalick, 2012)
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5. 1. Having a fixed vision (model) of the solution or the root cause.
2. False assumptions (trusting the data).
3. Language that is a strong carrier of psychological inertia.
Specific terminology carries psychological inertia.
4. Experience, expertise and reliance upon previous results.
5. Limited knowledge, hidden resources or mechanisms.
6. Inflexibility (model worship); trying to prove a specific theory,
stubbornness.
7. Reusing the same strategy. Keep thinking the same way and
you will continue to get the same results.
8. Rushing to a solution – incomplete thinking.
TRIZICS; Cameron 2010
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6. Tools to
Release
Innovation
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7. 5 Ways to Release Innovation
1. Have new (different) people check the solutions and problems,
reporting the data and what they found to the group.
2. Go to the site of the problem. Having actually witnessed the
solution and working with it will open minds. If you can’t go to
the actual location yourself, TRUST the people who work with
the problem on a steady basis, to describe what the work is and
how they feel it may be improved.
3. Enforce a method like P.R.O.P.S where people must work to
understand and reinforce the solution, before stating
alternatives.
4. Have people lead small experiments to see if the new idea may
work, and what was effective (worked well) with the
experiment.
5. When you feel and know that “innovation blocks” are
happening CALL THE GROUP on it! We often don’t even realize
it is happening. If someone is responsible for recognizing and
re-directing the group…it can help to allow new ideas to thrive.
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8. What are the success criteria, the
definition of “problem solved”?
Define what “solved” means. It is important to communicate with
all stakeholders the definition of success to avoid confusion. Clarify
whether the goal is a quantifiable measure of improvement or
complete elimination of the problem. All stakeholders should be
clear on what the “problem solved” means.
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9. http://create-learning.com/blog/team-building/quality-tools-to-discover-solutions-nine-windows
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10. Encourage discussions and ask
more questions; For example…
• What has happened for you to know
that a solution is needed?
• If I was to observe you working
through your solution how would I
know that you’re making progress?
• On a scale of 0 – 10 with 0 being you
have some idea what to do with this
situation; and 10 being you know
exactly what to do – where are you
on this scale?
• What have you already accomplished?
• Is any of your solution already
happening, even just a little bit?
• What did you do to make that
happen? Can you do more of that?
• What is one thing you can do in the
next 90 minutes that will increase
your progress?
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12. Ask, What is your next step? When
can we go-and-see?
• What is your next step?
• If you were one step closer to the goal,
how would you know?
• In the past with the success you have
already had, what could you go-and-
see that showed that you are
progressing?
• What is your next step? When can we
go-and-see?
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13. “…the ability of your company to be
competitive & survive lies in the capability of
the people in your organization to
understand a situation and
develop solutions.”
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14. The team / I have a
problem –> Who else
has problems like
ours?; When have we
had problems like
this in the past? –>
How did others solve
similar problems?;
How did we solve the
similar problems? –>
The team / I have a
solution!
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15. General General
Problem Solution
Specific Specific
Problem Solution
The team / I have a problem –>
Who else has problems like ours?; When have we had problems
like this in the past? –>
How did others solve similar problems?; How did we solve the
similar problems? –>
The team / I have a solution
http://www.triz-journal.com/archives/what_is_triz/
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17. Contact Create-Learning
mike@create-learning.com
1-716-629-3678 www.create-learning.com

18. Photo attribution in order of appearance:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pasukaru76/4307189567/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pasukaru76/3992935923/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wingtorn/7225734766/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33263856@N02/5157196328/
in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aidanmorgan/4763085590/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/calliope/5902712709/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pasukaru76/5018455914/
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