This document discusses four phases of innovation: generate ideas, imagine new uses for existing ideas, frame non-industry ideas for your field, and test ideas. It provides examples of how innovators have applied ideas from other fields, such as using designs from nature to improve armor and buildings. The key is generating many ideas, including from novices without experience in the field, and combining ideas in novel ways, like applying wartime technology to civilians. Innovation happens through an iterative process of generating, imagining, framing, and testing ideas.
Work+: Presentation at Futures Festival 2018Daniel Kaplan
As a proof of concept of how arts and fiction can broaden the scope of "thinkable futures", project WORK+ has collaboratively gathered 150+ fictional and artistic “fragments” on the futures of work. These include science fiction, visual and performing arts, speculative design, video games, utopias and manifestos, performances, and so on.
Based on this material, WORK+ has designed an open-source method to help groups and organizations kickstart collaborative thinking on the futures of work. The challenge:
• Use fiction and arts as leverage to embrace change
• Move away from conventional thinking on the future of work
• Dare invent more diverse futures and project oneself in them
This presentation presents the methodology, the content, and the takeaways of the first workshops.
When a car gets stuck in the snow, people instantly start pushing in the same direction to get it out of the snow. But when people's personal lives or their companies get stuck, not everyone is pushing in the same direction. In fact most of the effort goes to cancelling out the work of others.
The Statasphere is a brilliant new tool that instantly shows you where your purposes are misaligned.
Its one simple tool, but it will make you far more efficient and give you a significant competitive edge over your competition. In addition, it will help put your entire life back into perspective?
The most successful people in the world all have their own secret tools that give them an edge, so why not you?
Yes, at times the chaos around us makes us crazy. The Internet Bubble, 9-11, Iraq, Afghanistan, $4 gallon gas, subprime mortgages, the Great Recession, credit crisis, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, i-pod, i- phone/ Smartphone ... -- and we are not even 9 years into the new millennium.
Clearly it is a whole new world out there, and we need a whole new way of working with it. That's where the Statasphere comes in.
Work+: Presentation at Futures Festival 2018Daniel Kaplan
As a proof of concept of how arts and fiction can broaden the scope of "thinkable futures", project WORK+ has collaboratively gathered 150+ fictional and artistic “fragments” on the futures of work. These include science fiction, visual and performing arts, speculative design, video games, utopias and manifestos, performances, and so on.
Based on this material, WORK+ has designed an open-source method to help groups and organizations kickstart collaborative thinking on the futures of work. The challenge:
• Use fiction and arts as leverage to embrace change
• Move away from conventional thinking on the future of work
• Dare invent more diverse futures and project oneself in them
This presentation presents the methodology, the content, and the takeaways of the first workshops.
When a car gets stuck in the snow, people instantly start pushing in the same direction to get it out of the snow. But when people's personal lives or their companies get stuck, not everyone is pushing in the same direction. In fact most of the effort goes to cancelling out the work of others.
The Statasphere is a brilliant new tool that instantly shows you where your purposes are misaligned.
Its one simple tool, but it will make you far more efficient and give you a significant competitive edge over your competition. In addition, it will help put your entire life back into perspective?
The most successful people in the world all have their own secret tools that give them an edge, so why not you?
Yes, at times the chaos around us makes us crazy. The Internet Bubble, 9-11, Iraq, Afghanistan, $4 gallon gas, subprime mortgages, the Great Recession, credit crisis, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, i-pod, i- phone/ Smartphone ... -- and we are not even 9 years into the new millennium.
Clearly it is a whole new world out there, and we need a whole new way of working with it. That's where the Statasphere comes in.
Breeding environments for Open Innovation (2007) / paper for ICE ConferenceIlkka Kakko
This is an old (published 2007) but still a valid paper describing netWork Oasis project in terms of U-theory by Otto Scharmer. Co-writer Tatiana Glotova worked with me at that time in Joensuu Science Park.
Design for debate, an introduction to design fiction and my research topic (T...Max Mollon
Mollon, M. (2013 Mar. 19th). Design for debate, an introduction to my research topic. Presented at Pôle supérieur de design, DSAA Interaction Design program, Villefontaine (38), France. – http://www.designvillefontaine.com/
We all have heard the word, innovation. Everyone is talking about it like a commodity.
樂 But what is innovation, really? How do we unfold the meaning of this popular yet abstract word? What makes a successful innovator?
If there is a secret ingredient for innovation, don't you want to know it?
Come and join us to discover some answers to these questions in this engaging and inspiring talk.
In this presentation you'll learn:
The core elements of innovation
Tools to guide your innovation journey
Practical examples innovators have used in the history of innovation
The SECRET ingredient to innovate
Bhandari 1
Bhandari 1
Bhandari 3
Name
Professor
ENGL-1302
Date Comment by Randall Unruh: Need to incorporate or spell out for MLA formatting. Make sure cover page is not required and that all is done according to what instructor wants in the instructions of the essay.Creation and Invention of Ideas
The article, Educating with Creativity elaborates more on the sociocultural construction of creativity among individuals and also reflects more on how persons comprehend and educate the creative potentials (Glaveanu). Based on the historical analysis of creative related concepts, like talents and genius from antiquity onwards, I can determine various prototypical means of defining creativity and invention of ideas. The first and foremost one is the expounding of the legacy on Romanticism and Renaissance, which mainly associates creativity with arts and explains more the importance of originality, diverse thinking, and expressions. The second is all about the ideas of enlightenment, all of which connects the creation and invention of ideas among individuals to the discovery and bringing up both its functional and problem-solving aspect. Postmodernity is also another concept that entails new metaphors concerning metaphors, an idea that invites individuals to think about their everyday dynamics (Glăveanu, 2018). An example is the case of craftsmen who are always ready to mix and match to experiment and reflect more on the role of tradition and character in the creation and invention of ideas among individuals. As such, each of these ideas requires the proper understanding of what individuals can do with new ideas and what it really means by the definition of creation and invention of something. Comment by Randall Unruh: Begin with a general statement. Comment by Randall Unruh: Make sure that all is in MLA format. Comment by Randall Unruh: Leave out "I" and say it in an inclusive way.
The from all forms of human intellectual and mental activities, often intentional but sometimes accidental. I believe that the creation and invention of ideas is the main activity that impacts human knowledge and enhances individuals' well-being by either understanding somethings or utilizing practical ways. Individuals usually engage in various activities that our minds can become conscious of based on the new idea resulting from working on a problem like trying t determine a new good in business or in the home area. While individuals engage in various activities, they mostly experience new insights into something familiar whilst looking at or examining some new aspects revealed to us. Comment by Randall Unruh: Add transition. Comment by Randall Unruh: No need to say, just add with "The creation" Comment by Randall Unruh: Two words? Check for clarification.
The thoughts are usually new ideas, a specific product of determination. If the thought is presumed as being a new awareness of anything that initially existed but is unknown, the idea of persons becoming conscious ...
Seminar for undergrads at Parsons New School.
How does one identify opportunities to create new things, services, experiences? Are all innovations good? What is the history of innovation and how are innovative ideas and practices integrated in cultural practices? This course explores classic texts on entrepreneurship and innovation while also considering the role of the artist and design as an agent of change, and the nature and promise of technology in the creation of our possible future(s).
The “Course Topics” series from Manage Train Learn and Slide Topics is a collection of over 4000 slides that will help you master a wide range of management and personal development skills. The 202 PowerPoints in this series offer you a complete and in-depth study of each topic. This presentation is on "Innovation".
The main focus of education should not be purely vocational but rather in nurturing interests, skills, and knowledge across an array of topics that are personally meaningful and individualized to each student. The ultimate goal education should be to prepare students for life in all its complexities - creative learning is a key element in achieving this goal.
The aim of this research paper is to investigate how space and landscape provide tangible (i.e. shared resources) and intangible (i.e. shared sense of community) benefits for entrepreneurs. The research question I would like to explore is why are entrepreneurs attracted to and participate in shared space? What benefits does these spaces provide? What are the similar environmental conditions within the physical space? Ultimately, this paper will seek to understand how communal working and co-creation necessary (or not) for innovation.
Should Intelligent Design replace the Darwinian Theory of Evolution? - Contraghostexorcist
This was a slide that I created for my anthropology capstone course. This particular debate was whether Intelligent Design (a.k.a. Creationism) should replace the Theory of Evolution via Natural Selection. I represented the Con side. I could have added more, but I was under a time constraint. I talked about other things not mentioned in the slide.
Breeding environments for Open Innovation (2007) / paper for ICE ConferenceIlkka Kakko
This is an old (published 2007) but still a valid paper describing netWork Oasis project in terms of U-theory by Otto Scharmer. Co-writer Tatiana Glotova worked with me at that time in Joensuu Science Park.
Design for debate, an introduction to design fiction and my research topic (T...Max Mollon
Mollon, M. (2013 Mar. 19th). Design for debate, an introduction to my research topic. Presented at Pôle supérieur de design, DSAA Interaction Design program, Villefontaine (38), France. – http://www.designvillefontaine.com/
We all have heard the word, innovation. Everyone is talking about it like a commodity.
樂 But what is innovation, really? How do we unfold the meaning of this popular yet abstract word? What makes a successful innovator?
If there is a secret ingredient for innovation, don't you want to know it?
Come and join us to discover some answers to these questions in this engaging and inspiring talk.
In this presentation you'll learn:
The core elements of innovation
Tools to guide your innovation journey
Practical examples innovators have used in the history of innovation
The SECRET ingredient to innovate
Bhandari 1
Bhandari 1
Bhandari 3
Name
Professor
ENGL-1302
Date Comment by Randall Unruh: Need to incorporate or spell out for MLA formatting. Make sure cover page is not required and that all is done according to what instructor wants in the instructions of the essay.Creation and Invention of Ideas
The article, Educating with Creativity elaborates more on the sociocultural construction of creativity among individuals and also reflects more on how persons comprehend and educate the creative potentials (Glaveanu). Based on the historical analysis of creative related concepts, like talents and genius from antiquity onwards, I can determine various prototypical means of defining creativity and invention of ideas. The first and foremost one is the expounding of the legacy on Romanticism and Renaissance, which mainly associates creativity with arts and explains more the importance of originality, diverse thinking, and expressions. The second is all about the ideas of enlightenment, all of which connects the creation and invention of ideas among individuals to the discovery and bringing up both its functional and problem-solving aspect. Postmodernity is also another concept that entails new metaphors concerning metaphors, an idea that invites individuals to think about their everyday dynamics (Glăveanu, 2018). An example is the case of craftsmen who are always ready to mix and match to experiment and reflect more on the role of tradition and character in the creation and invention of ideas among individuals. As such, each of these ideas requires the proper understanding of what individuals can do with new ideas and what it really means by the definition of creation and invention of something. Comment by Randall Unruh: Begin with a general statement. Comment by Randall Unruh: Make sure that all is in MLA format. Comment by Randall Unruh: Leave out "I" and say it in an inclusive way.
The from all forms of human intellectual and mental activities, often intentional but sometimes accidental. I believe that the creation and invention of ideas is the main activity that impacts human knowledge and enhances individuals' well-being by either understanding somethings or utilizing practical ways. Individuals usually engage in various activities that our minds can become conscious of based on the new idea resulting from working on a problem like trying t determine a new good in business or in the home area. While individuals engage in various activities, they mostly experience new insights into something familiar whilst looking at or examining some new aspects revealed to us. Comment by Randall Unruh: Add transition. Comment by Randall Unruh: No need to say, just add with "The creation" Comment by Randall Unruh: Two words? Check for clarification.
The thoughts are usually new ideas, a specific product of determination. If the thought is presumed as being a new awareness of anything that initially existed but is unknown, the idea of persons becoming conscious ...
Seminar for undergrads at Parsons New School.
How does one identify opportunities to create new things, services, experiences? Are all innovations good? What is the history of innovation and how are innovative ideas and practices integrated in cultural practices? This course explores classic texts on entrepreneurship and innovation while also considering the role of the artist and design as an agent of change, and the nature and promise of technology in the creation of our possible future(s).
The “Course Topics” series from Manage Train Learn and Slide Topics is a collection of over 4000 slides that will help you master a wide range of management and personal development skills. The 202 PowerPoints in this series offer you a complete and in-depth study of each topic. This presentation is on "Innovation".
The main focus of education should not be purely vocational but rather in nurturing interests, skills, and knowledge across an array of topics that are personally meaningful and individualized to each student. The ultimate goal education should be to prepare students for life in all its complexities - creative learning is a key element in achieving this goal.
The aim of this research paper is to investigate how space and landscape provide tangible (i.e. shared resources) and intangible (i.e. shared sense of community) benefits for entrepreneurs. The research question I would like to explore is why are entrepreneurs attracted to and participate in shared space? What benefits does these spaces provide? What are the similar environmental conditions within the physical space? Ultimately, this paper will seek to understand how communal working and co-creation necessary (or not) for innovation.
Should Intelligent Design replace the Darwinian Theory of Evolution? - Contraghostexorcist
This was a slide that I created for my anthropology capstone course. This particular debate was whether Intelligent Design (a.k.a. Creationism) should replace the Theory of Evolution via Natural Selection. I represented the Con side. I could have added more, but I was under a time constraint. I talked about other things not mentioned in the slide.
Affordable Stationery Printing Services in Jaipur | Navpack n PrintNavpack & Print
Looking for professional printing services in Jaipur? Navpack n Print offers high-quality and affordable stationery printing for all your business needs. Stand out with custom stationery designs and fast turnaround times. Contact us today for a quote!
Accpac to QuickBooks Conversion Navigating the Transition with Online Account...PaulBryant58
This article provides a comprehensive guide on how to
effectively manage the convert Accpac to QuickBooks , with a particular focus on utilizing online accounting services to streamline the process.
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Explore the world of the Taurus zodiac sign. Learn about their stability, determination, and appreciation for beauty. Discover how Taureans' grounded nature and hardworking mindset define their unique personality.
Improving profitability for small businessBen Wann
In this comprehensive presentation, we will explore strategies and practical tips for enhancing profitability in small businesses. Tailored to meet the unique challenges faced by small enterprises, this session covers various aspects that directly impact the bottom line. Attendees will learn how to optimize operational efficiency, manage expenses, and increase revenue through innovative marketing and customer engagement techniques.
Putting the SPARK into Virtual Training.pptxCynthia Clay
This 60-minute webinar, sponsored by Adobe, was delivered for the Training Mag Network. It explored the five elements of SPARK: Storytelling, Purpose, Action, Relationships, and Kudos. Knowing how to tell a well-structured story is key to building long-term memory. Stating a clear purpose that doesn't take away from the discovery learning process is critical. Ensuring that people move from theory to practical application is imperative. Creating strong social learning is the key to commitment and engagement. Validating and affirming participants' comments is the way to create a positive learning environment.
Premium MEAN Stack Development Solutions for Modern BusinessesSynapseIndia
Stay ahead of the curve with our premium MEAN Stack Development Solutions. Our expert developers utilize MongoDB, Express.js, AngularJS, and Node.js to create modern and responsive web applications. Trust us for cutting-edge solutions that drive your business growth and success.
Know more: https://www.synapseindia.com/technology/mean-stack-development-company.html
The world of search engine optimization (SEO) is buzzing with discussions after Google confirmed that around 2,500 leaked internal documents related to its Search feature are indeed authentic. The revelation has sparked significant concerns within the SEO community. The leaked documents were initially reported by SEO experts Rand Fishkin and Mike King, igniting widespread analysis and discourse. For More Info:- https://news.arihantwebtech.com/search-disrupted-googles-leaked-documents-rock-the-seo-world/
Remote sensing and monitoring are changing the mining industry for the better. These are providing innovative solutions to long-standing challenges. Those related to exploration, extraction, and overall environmental management by mining technology companies Odisha. These technologies make use of satellite imaging, aerial photography and sensors to collect data that might be inaccessible or from hazardous locations. With the use of this technology, mining operations are becoming increasingly efficient. Let us gain more insight into the key aspects associated with remote sensing and monitoring when it comes to mining.
[Note: This is a partial preview. To download this presentation, visit:
https://www.oeconsulting.com.sg/training-presentations]
Sustainability has become an increasingly critical topic as the world recognizes the need to protect our planet and its resources for future generations. Sustainability means meeting our current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. It involves long-term planning and consideration of the consequences of our actions. The goal is to create strategies that ensure the long-term viability of People, Planet, and Profit.
Leading companies such as Nike, Toyota, and Siemens are prioritizing sustainable innovation in their business models, setting an example for others to follow. In this Sustainability training presentation, you will learn key concepts, principles, and practices of sustainability applicable across industries. This training aims to create awareness and educate employees, senior executives, consultants, and other key stakeholders, including investors, policymakers, and supply chain partners, on the importance and implementation of sustainability.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Develop a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental principles and concepts that form the foundation of sustainability within corporate environments.
2. Explore the sustainability implementation model, focusing on effective measures and reporting strategies to track and communicate sustainability efforts.
3. Identify and define best practices and critical success factors essential for achieving sustainability goals within organizations.
CONTENTS
1. Introduction and Key Concepts of Sustainability
2. Principles and Practices of Sustainability
3. Measures and Reporting in Sustainability
4. Sustainability Implementation & Best Practices
To download the complete presentation, visit: https://www.oeconsulting.com.sg/training-presentations
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Forward-thinking leaders and business managers understand the impact that discipline has on organisational success. A disciplined workforce operates with clarity, focus, and a shared understanding of expectations, ultimately driving better results, optimising productivity, and facilitating seamless collaboration.
Although discipline is not a one-size-fits-all approach, it can help create a work environment that encourages personal growth and accountability rather than solely relying on punitive measures.
In this deck, you will learn the significance of workplace discipline for organisational success. You’ll also learn
• Four (4) workplace discipline methods you should consider
• The best and most practical approach to implementing workplace discipline.
• Three (3) key tips to maintain a disciplined workplace.
1. “... the vast majority of inventions, novel concepts, and new ideas were not imagined by lone,
isolated geniuses. For example, Thomas Edison led a fourteen-man team of scientists, chemists,
and engineers that generated over 1,000 patents for inventions, including the telephone, light
bulb, and telegraph...”
Four Steps to Innovation
Lessons Learned from the Intelligence Community
By Stephen Pick
I am an organizational psychologist working with the intelligence community (IC)
and teaching critical thinking to intelligence analysts. Many of my students
believe that the concepts of critical thinking and innovative thinking are unrelated.
Research shows the opposite—that critical
thinking and innovative thinking are closely
interrelated. Many students also think that
innovation is something dot.com companies, but not large bureaucracies, can do.
This article presents a four-phase
model of innovation that professionals
inside or outside the intelligence community can employ at their workplaces without
a budget, supervisory authority, or compromising security requirements. Applying
innovation concepts and techniques will
lead to more thorough, effective analysis
and decision making.
A Structure for Innovation
Creations happen when regular,
thoughtful people work with other regular, thoughtful people and combine ideas
in original ways. In studying how these
creations arise, researchers and practitioners have discovered some “method to
the madness.” There is actually a systematic practice to innovation that deals with
methodologies, work practices, culture,
and infrastructure (Drucker, 2002). That
is welcome news because it means that
innovation is possible at any level in an
organization.
Modified from existing models, this
four-phase iterative model of innovation
brings structure to what many regard as a
mysterious process (Hargadon & Sutton,
2000; Morris, 2007). The four phases
(forming the acronym G.I.F.T.) are as
follows:
»» Generate ideas
»» Imagine new uses for existing ideas
»» Frame non-industry ideas to your field
»» Test ideas
A popular, romanticized image exists of a
solitary novelist, inventor, or screenwriter
working in the seclusion of a cottage
Innovation is an evolving, iterative process.
nestled in a bucolic setting. However, the
Although we can break the process down
vast majority of inventions,
into four phases, it is diffinovel concepts, and new
cult to pinpoint exactly where
DEFINITION OF
ideas were not imagined by
an idea begins. In truth,
INNOVATION
lone, isolated geniuses. For
that may not be necessary.
Innovation can be
example, Thomas Edison
Once an idea is generated
defined as “…the
led a fourteen-man team
or imagined, a transformainitiation, adoption,
of scientists, chemists, and
tion happens when it is
and implementation of
engineers that generated over
framed for use in your field.
new ideas or activity
1,000 patents for inventions,
To complete an initial cycle,
in an organizational
including the telephone, light
the idea or concept needs
setting” (Pierce,
Delbecq, 1977, p.28).
bulb, and telegraph (Edison
to be tested. Even the most
website).
brilliant idea is of limited
Four Steps to Innovation: Lessons Learned from the Intelligence Community
37
2. value if it is not tested (Morris, 2006).
Once testing occurs, a process of refining
and adapting begins—and the idea cycles
back through imagination, framing, and
generation.
FOUR-PHASE G.I.F.T. MODEL
FOR INNOVATION
These examples demonstrate how novices
(Jane Goodall and IDEO’s team), as well as
experts in other fields (Prater), can hold an
advantage over seasoned veterans in thinking about an idea in a novel way simply
because they have not “seen it all before.”
Dr. Robert Sutton, a Stanford professor who writes and teaches about innovation, advises, “The rule of thumb is that if
you know a lot about a subject, seek advice
from people who are naïve, either because
they lack bias or because they are experts
with biases that are drastically different
from people in your industry or company”
(Sutton, 2002, January-February, p.12).
Second, as hard as it sounds, ask people
with whom you disagree to read and critique your work. We usually dislike people
who don’t share our ideas. Seek out people
who don’t share your ideas and you will
get new ideas (Heuer, 1999).
Phase 1:
Generate Multiple, Fresh Ideas
Numerous theories speculate about what
makes people and organizations innovative leaders in their fields. One concept
nearly every researcher and practitioner
studying innovation agrees on is the need
for ideas—lots of ideas (LaBarre, 2002).
In fact, the more ideas, the greater the
chances for innovation. Dr. Linus Pauling,
Nobel prize winner in both chemistry and
peace, said, “The best way to have a good
idea is to have a lot of ideas” (Johansson,
2006, p.103).
If you want fresh ideas, talk to people
who are not experts in your field. Because
of their “ignorance” in a particular field,
novices and colleagues in other fields
are less likely to make assumptions and
dismiss ideas as too far-fetched (Sutton,
2002, January-February). W. Edwards
Deming, the quality control and process guru, wrote, “Competent people,
doing their best on jobs, know all there
is to know about their work except how
to improve it. Knowledge necessary for
improvement comes from outside”
(2000, p.2).
Three examples illustrate how forward-thinking leaders and organizations
recruited teams of unlikely candidates to
solve problems:
»» Jane Goodall, the pioneering chimpanzee researcher, was hired to conduct
two years of intensive observations in
African jungles, not despite her lack
of scientific training but because of
her lack of university training (Sutton,
2001). Goodall wrote in her book, In
the Shadow of Man, that her boss, Louis
Leakey, thought that university training would be unnecessary, potentially
even a drawback because he “…wanted
someone with a mind uncluttered and
unbiased by theory who would make
the study for no other reason than a
real desire for knowledge” (1988, p.6).
38
OD PRACTITIONER Vol. 41 No. 3 2009
explore ideas about sandals (Nussbaum,
2004).
Phase 2:
Imagine New Uses for Existing Ideas
Later in her career, Goodall agreed with
Leakey’s theory, noting that had she
known existing theories she “would
not have been able to observe and
explain so many new chimp behaviors”
(1988, p.6).
»» Geoffey Ballard, CEO of Ballard Power,
hired Keith Prater to work on fuel cell
batteries. A chemistry professor, Prater
warned Ballard that he had no experience working with batteries. Ballard did
not care. “I don’t want someone who
knows batteries. They know what won’t
work. I want someone who is bright
and creative and willing to try things
that others might not try. That’s where
the breakthroughs come from”
(Koppel, 1999, p.15). Prater’s work
helped adapt fuel cell technology to
buses and cars.
»» IDEO, a California-based design firm,
interviewed an artist, a bodybuilder,
a podiatrist, and a shoe fetishist to
While revolutionary inventions do occur,
they are extremely rare. Innovation instead
deals with small, consistent incremental
changes. Consider that the idea you are
searching for probably already exists; you
just need to find it. The missing link is
imagining a new use for an existing idea.
While the four GIFT phases are interconnected, Phase 2 (Imagine new uses for
existing ideas) and Phase 3 (Frame nonindustry ideas for your field) intersect.
Thinking about how an existing idea can
be used in a novel way is an important
prerequisite but is not necessarily innovative. However, combining these concepts
of imagining new uses for existing ideas
and combining them for your field can lead
to significant innovations. Albert Einstein
referred to innovation as “combinatorial
play,” which he defined as making associations between rarely combined concepts to
enhance a solution’s originality (Amabile,
2002).
Consider the following examples of the
power of imagining new uses for existing
ideas:
3. »» Creating a medical product that uses
saline from the electric pump of a
battery-powered squirt gun to clean
wounds (Hargadon & Sutton, 2000).
»» Using a termite mound’s internal air
flow design of maintaining a constant
temperature to protect the queen’s eggs
as the model for an African office building’s ventilation system, which does
not require air conditioning and which
saves over 90 percent of energy costs
(Johnston, date unknown).
»» Sculpting a bullet-train’s aerodynamic
design based on how a shark’s head
disperses water with minimal drag
(Johansson, 2006).
»» Explaining the evolution of economists’
and stock market analysts’ financial
strategies by using modeling equations that were mathematically similar
to those biologists use to understand
predator-prey and symbiotic systems
(Johansson, 2006).
»» Replicating the brick-layered designs of
abalone and conch shells to build stronger tank armor bodies (Spotts, 1997).
»» Al-Qaeda, an innovative organization, imagined a low-cost way to apply
wartime technology against soldiers to
civilians during peace time.
Phase 3:
Frame Non-Industry Ideas to your Field
History is replete with examples of how
innovative entrepreneurs brought ideas,
concepts, inventions, news, successes, and
failures from one field to another. Henry
Miller said,
WORDS TO
“All geniuses
REMEMBER
are leeches”
“You can’t quantify
(Miller, 1964,
the value of letting
p.22). Robert
people’s minds
Fulton did
run wild”
not invent the
(Kelley, 2001, p.63)
steam engine;
steam technology had been invented 75 years earlier and
was used in coal mines. Similarly, Henry
Ford did not invent the assembly line; he
studied Chicago’s meat packing plants
where workers stood in one place and
products (cows and pigs) moved past them
and were disassembled. Fulton and Ford’s
innovative contributions were imagining
how existing technologies and ideas could
be adapted to new fields.
Below are two examples of how organizations imagined new uses for existing
ideas and made them fit their field.
»» The Washington Post reported that the
Department of Homeland Security’s
Analytic Red Cell office convened
Everyone has heard of brainstorming and
meetings with futurists, philosophers,
most of us have done it. IDEO colleagues
software programmers, musicians, and
treat brainstorming as an art form. IDEO
a fiction writer for day-long exercises
consultants strive to generate 100 ideas in a
to examine critical infrastructure
typical brainstorming session (Kelly, 2001).
vulnerabilities for natural or manNext time you are in a brainstorming sesmade disasters and terrorist attacks.
sion, don’t give
IDEO’S
Seemingly disparate group members
up after the
BRAINSTORMING
were asked questions such as: “If you
initial flurry of
RULES
were a terrorist, how would you target
ideas. Sit with
1. efer judgment
D
the G-8 economic summit?” and “Why
the silence and
2. ncourage wild
E
haven’t terrorists hit the United States
be confident
ideas
since Sept. 11, 2001?” The goal was to
that more ideas
3. uild on the ideas
B
“provoke thought and stimulate discuswill bubble up.
of others
sion.” Their results were compared
While there is
4. tay focused on the
S
with those of other intelligence profesalways the postopic
5. ne conversation
O
sionals and disseminated throughout
sibility that no
at a time
the IC (Mintz, 2004, A.27).
other ideas will
6. e visual
B
»» The FBI recruited middle-school girls
come to mind,
7. o for quantity
G
to teach agents how to believably comit is more likely
municate like teenagers to catch interthat brainstormnet child pornographers and pedophiles
ing groups cut short their idea generation
(Phuong, 2003).
process.
Author George J. Seidel sums up the
intersection between Phases 2 and 3: “The
ability to relate and to connect, sometimes
in an odd and yet striking fashion, lies at
the very heart of any creative use of the
mind, no matter in what field or discipline”
(Hutchinson, date unknown).
To increase your odds of related and
connecting ideas, you need to broaden
your horizons. Expand your mind by
reading books from outside your field of
expertise. Browse bookstores, magazine
racks, libraries, and best-sellers lists for
topics you might not normally read. Read
sections of the newspaper that you would
otherwise ignore. Listen and read political
commentaries that you don’t agree with.
Study leaders and innovative organizations in all sectors. Find local leaders you
admire (and even those you don’t) and
interview them. People like to talk about
themselves, and you will be surprised at
the caliber of people you may be able to
meet simply by picking up the phone and
asking politely. Find a hobby, learn to play a
musical instrument, audit a course, visit a
museum, do something different, share it
with others, and always ask:
»» How can I use, adapt, modify, conform,
transform, revise, remold, or rework
what I am learning to my work as an
intelligence professional?
Phases 2 and 3 are an idea numbers game.
The more you learn, the greater your interests and diversity of knowledge, and the
greater your chances for generating ideas.
Idea generation will help you imagine
how ideas, concepts, and theories from all
fields can be framed and applied to your
discipline. As Dr. Sutton wrote, “Artistic
geniuses don’t necessarily have a higher
success rate than other creators; they
simply do more—and they do a range of
different things” (LaBarre, 2002, p.69).
Phase 4:
Test and Share Your ideas
Phases 1–3, Generating ideas, Imagining
new uses for existing ideas, and Framing
non-industry ideas to your field are necessary prerequisites for Phase 4, Testing
ideas. This is the rubber-meets-the-road
Four Steps to Innovation: Lessons Learned from the Intelligence Community
39
4. previously exist in its current form—is
your prototype will need to be refined,
a fluid, not formulaic process. There is
usually many times. Take the risk to allow
no exact recipe or single path to achievothers to see your work. This is easier said
ing innovation. Often, as one researcher
than done, especially with a fragile, new
designs and tests a theory, another
idea. Still, the only way a new concept
researcher designs a study or finds eviwill survive is by others seeing, reviewdence to prove the exact opposite.
ing, and poking holes in it, hopefully with
If you agree with
the goal of improving
APPLICATION
the principles outit. Richards Heuer, a
lined in this article,
45-year CIA veteran,
In addition to course lectures,
study the references
wrote about the usefulstudents in the critical thinking
class work in groups and practice
section and track
ness of a Directorate
applying these four concepts as
down original sources,
of Intelligence peer
they analyze realistic, but fictitious,
experiment, adapt
review process that
intelligence traffic. Their task is
some of the concepts,
used reviewers from
to read a wide-range of traffic and
and give the article
branches outside of
develop hypotheses about the
to colleagues to get
where a document
different potential threats to the
their comments. If
was produced (Heuer,
homeland. The student groups
you disagree with the
1999).
are given new traffic, that builds
principles outlined,
There can even be
on each previous day. Students
do the same thing.
value in seeking advice
structure their daily brief-outs
In addition, explain
and collaboration from
in two parts. The first part are
their hypotheses about what is
why you disagree with
colleagues with whom
developing. In the second part of
the concepts, digging
you disagree. After
the brief-out, students explain how
deeper than “because
all, a main reason you
they applied each of the four GIFT
this is how we do it.”
disagree with someone
phases to their work.
If these ideas do not
is likely the different
work for you, think of
ways you each think.
others. Being innovaWhile seeking out your
tive is a skill, not an innate trait. The more
less-than-favorite colleagues for help may
Prototyping starts by sketching an idea in
you practice, the more innovative you
seem like a sure recipe for conflict, many
your notebook. The discipline of writwill become. Everyone has the potential,
respected innovators agree that conflict
ing ideas down keeps them alive. Carry a
even the responsibility, to be innovative
around a product (not personal attacks)
notebook with you and leave one by your
(Kirkpatrick Rezvani, 2008). The stakes
increases the value of your end result—a
bed stand. Your sketches do not need to
are simply too high not to be.
more innovative idea, solution, or concept
be complex. IDEO CEO David Kelley used
may develop (Sutton, 2002, Novemberto give his Stanford University students
References
December). The potential results from
cocktail napkins with the assignment to
working with colleagues who hold differwrite their “big ideas” on them (Kelley,
Amabile, T. A., Constance N. H., Kramer,
ent viewpoints can create a better, stron2001, p.181). Of course, intelligence analyS. J. (2002, August). Creativity under
ger, more innovative idea and product
sis is complicated and cocktail napkins,
the gun. Harvard Business Review, 52-61.
(Eisenhardt, Kahwajy Bourgeois III,
even with all the squares unfolded, will
Deming, W. E. (2002). The new econom1997).
ultimately be inadequate to capture the
ics for industry, government, education
complexity of many issues.
(2nd ed.). MA: MIT Press, Center for
Conclusion
This reinforces the need to
CONSIDER THIS
Advanced Educational Services.
test your idea quickly and
After you sketch out
Drucker, P. (2002, August). The discipline
The four-phase GIFT model
inexpensively. The more
ideas, let your mind
of innovation. Harvard Business Review,
is a “start where you are–use
complex a project or an
mull them over. It may
95-103.
what you have guide” to
idea, the greater the need to
be helpful to forget
Edison’s patent information. Retrieved
about a specific idea
promote conversation (Wye,
prototype it. “Prototyping is
for awhile and come
January 24, 2008 from http://edison.
2004). These concepts are
a way of making progress
back to it. Give ideas
rutgers.edu/.
suggestions, ideas to be
when the challenges seem
time to incubate
Eisenhardt, K. M., Kahwajy, J. L.
used, modified, and shared.
insurmountable” (Kelley,
and grow.
Bourgeois III, L.J. (1997, July-August).
Discussing innovation—creat2001, p.106).
How management teams can have a
ing something that did not
Innovation is iterative;
phase where a problem moves closer to a
solution. Without testing, all you have is a
clever idea.
Testing ideas does not need to be an
elaborate or expensive process. Most innovative researchers and practitioners use the
term “rapid prototyping” (Kelley, 2001).
People who create new ideas and novel
processes and products understand that the
first try will rarely, if ever, be the one that
ultimately works or is used. Accordingly,
spend only the bare minimum of resources
testing something that will be modified,
adapted, and improved upon. IDEO has a
proven methodology for rapid prototyping
(Nussbaum, 2004):
»» Create mock-ups for everything, both
products and services
»» Build prototypes quickly and cheaply.
Never waste time on complicated
concepts.
»» Make prototypes that demonstrate a
design idea without initially worrying
about details.
»» Design scenarios showing how a variety
of consumers can use the service in
different ways and how various designs
can meet their individual needs.
40
OD PRACTITIONER Vol. 41 No. 3 2009