A look into the process of innovation for a creative technology studio founded by makers and marketers. With examples of recent work and 5 essential tactics to kickstart the process of innovation.

1. Mark STEWART
President & chief innovation officer
Innovation, BRAND ENGAGEMENT
and the Maker Movement
@wondermakr

2. QUESTIONING1
OBSERVING2
NETworking3
THE PROCESS OF
INNOVATION:
5 KEY SKILLS
EXPERIMENTING4
ASSOCIATING5

3. WE’LL TALK ABOUT CREATIVE
TECHnology AS WELL.
THAT’S WHAT I DO.

4. ABOUT ME
BOTH OF THEM

5. the INNOVATION APPROACH.
AKA: “MAKEITING"

6. 1
2
3
4
MAKING MAKES US HUMAN
THE MAKER MOVEMENT
MANIFESTO
DO IT TOGETHER
PLAY, PARTICIPATE, SUPPORT
SHARE YOUR SUCCESS, GIVE BACK

7. @mechastewart | @wondermakr

8. @mechastewart | @wondermakr

9. @mechastewart | @wondermakr

10. ReDD’S APPLE LAUNCHER

11. • social vending
• microcontrollers/ardunio
• internet of things
• smart installations
• 3D printing
• drones
• rapid prototyping
• hardware/software engineering
• LEDs/lighting
• interactive games
• robotics
• RFID/NFC/BLE
• intelligent recognition
• kinetic installations
• projection
• custom applications
• brand inventions
• ideation and innovation
> TOOLS FOR SOCIAL + CONTENT

13. TRIED AND TRUE:
THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT.

14. #IFCADC | #INNOVATION
INVOLVE YOUR FANS.
OWN YOUR OWNED MEDIA.

15. #IFCADC | #INNOVATION
make it connected.
EXTEND THE EXPERIENCE.

16. @mechastewart | @wondermakr
CREATE SOMETHING NEW.
SURPRISE AND DELIGHT.

34. THE PROCESS OF INNOVATION

35. START EVERYTHING WITH “WHY?”

46. IQ TEST RESULTS FOR
GENERAL INTELLIGENCE
FOR TWINS AGED 15-22:

47. 80-85% of their performance
IS related to genetics.

48. CREATIVITY TEST RESULTS FOR
FOR TWINS AGED 15-22:

49. 30% of their performance
IS related to genetics.

50. ROUGHLY 70% of innovation AND
CREATIVITY skills are learned.

51. Question the unquestionable. Why? Why not? How?
What if? What is? Avoid question with yes/no answers.
QUESTIONING
1
Customers, products, services and processes of your
company, your competition and others.
OBSERVING2
Talk with people who don’t look, act or think like you
already do. Diverse perspectives and experiences.
NETworking3
THE PROCESS OF
INNOVATION:
5 KEY SKILLS
Try new experiences. Take apart products, processes
and ideas. Test with pilots and prototypes.
EXPERIMENTING4
Finding connections and inspiration in
seemingly unrelated people, places or things.
ASSOCIATING5

52. 33
INDIVIDUAL EXERCISE
10 IDEAS. 1 MINUTE.

53. TASK:
DEVELOP A NEW PRODUCT

55. THE PROCESS OF INNOVATION
SKILL #1:
QUESTIONING

56. QUESTION EVERYTHING.

57. ASK THE QUESTIONS YOU DON’T
KNOW YOU DON’T KNOW.

58. WAKE UP EVERY DAY WONDERING
WHAT YOU’RE DEAD WRONG ABOUT.

59. WHAT’S WORKING?
WHAT’S NOT?
WHY?

60. the important and difficult job is
never to find the right answer,
it is to Find the right question
PETER DRUCKER,
THE PRACTICE OF MANAGEMENT
(1954)

61. HOW DO YOU FIND THE RIGHT
QUESTION?

62. THE AVERAGE TEACHER ASKS
291 QUESTIONS EVERY DAY.

63. THE AVERAGE STUDENT AGED 6-18
ASKS 1 QUESTION PER ONE HOUR
CLASS PER MONTH.

64. PROBLEM:
HOW DO WE GET STUDENTS
TO ASK MORE QUESTIONS IN CLASS?

65. DON’T TRY TO GIVE A SOLUTION.
JUST ASK LOTS OF QUESTIONS.

66. THE PROCESS OF INNOVATION
SKILL #2:
OBSERVING

69. ACTIVELY WATCH CUSTOMERS

71. BE A TOURIST AT WORK

72. What’s meeting their needs? What’s not?
OBSERVE CUSTOMERS1 2
3 4
Seriously, anything. Even useless things.
OBSERVE SOMETHING ONCE A DAY
Companies you like, start-ups, disruptive
models.
OBSERVE COMPANIES
Slow down.
USE ALL OF YOUR SENSES
DEVELOPING OBSERVATION SKILLS

73. THE PROCESS OF INNOVATION
SKILL #3:
NETWORKING

76. IDEA
NETWORKING
RESOURCE
NETWORKING

77. DELIVERY-DRIVEN PEOPLE DISCOVERY-DRIVEN PEOPLE
WHY THEY NETWORK: RESOURCES
ACCess resources
sell themselves
further careers
WHO THEY TARGET
PEOPLE WHO ARE LIKE THEM
PEOPLE WITH SUBSTANTIAL RESOURCES, POWER,
POSITION, INFLUENCE, ETC.
WHY THEY NETWORK: IDEAS
LEARN New and surprising things
gain new perspectives
seek feedback
WHO THEY TARGET
people who are not like them
experts and non-experts with very
different backgrounds and perspectives

78. List top 10 people you
would talk with to refine
and idea. How many are
just like you? More than 1?
Change the list.
EXPAND NETWORK DIVERSITY
1
Bring in someone from a
different background to
chat on innovation
challenges. Sit with your
team with them.
INVITE AN OUTSIDER
4
Take someone out from
a different background
for a meal at least once a
week.
MEALTIME NETWORKING
2
Find experts in different
fields, business, divisions.
Google + P&G did it.
CROSS-TRAIN with experts
5
Try and make it to at
least 1 or 2 conferences a
year unrelated to your
field.
UN-CONFERENCE
3
IDEA NETWORKING - TIPS

79. THE PROCESS OF INNOVATION
SKILL #4:
EXPERIMENTING

83. EXPERIMENTING
TRY OUT NEW
EXPERIENCES
TAKE APART PRODUCTS
PROCESSES AND IDEAS
TEST IDEAS THROUGH
PILOTS + PROTOTYPES
EXAMPLES:
• SEE THE WORLD
• WORK IN MULTIPLE
INDUSTRIES
• Develop A NEW
SKILL
EXAMPLES:
• DISASSEMBLE A
PRODUCT
• VISUALLY MAP OUT
A PROCESS
• DeCONSTRUCT IDEAS
EXAMPLES:
• BUILD A PROTOTYPE
• PILOT A NEW PROCESS
• LAUNCH A NEW VENTURE
ON THE MARKET

86. Live somewhere new.
Engage in new activities.
Visit a museum. Go to the
zoo alone.
CROSS PHYSICAL BORDERS
1
Just because you can.
See how it works, start at
a thrift shop.
dissassemble a product
4
Subscribe to a entirely new
and different magazine, go
down a Wikipedia rabbit
hole.
CROSS INTELLECTUAL BORDERS
2
Try something new, stray
from your comfort zone.
pilot new ideas
5
Local community
courses, physical activity,
school courses, job swap.
DEVELOP A NEW SKILL
3
DEVELOP YOUR EXPERIMENTING SKILLS - TIPS

87. THE PROCESS OF INNOVATION
SKILL #5:
ASSOCIATING

90. Open a random Wikipedia
article. How can this help
solve my problem?
FORCE NEW ASSOCIATIONS
1
Collect strange and
wonderful things. Have
them around you or
accessible.
BUILD A CURIOSITY BOX
4
Think of how another
company would solve
the problem.
TAKE ON A DIFFERENT PERSONA
2
Substitute, combine,
adapt, magnify,
minimize, modify, put to
other use, eliminate,
reverse, rearrange.
SCAMPER!
5
What if ____________ was
more like ______________
GENERATE METAPHORS
3
DEVELOP YOUR ASSOCIATING SKILLS - TIPS

91. Suggest ideas, participate, ask what can be
done beyond the ordinary … do it together.
WORK WITH YOUR PARTNERS
1
There’s a reason “I’ve never seen that
before” can work. It because somebody
tried to do it.
Don’T BE AFRAID TO EXPERIMENT
2
Even the most innovative ideas have goals
to meet.
SET METRICS FOR EVERYTHING3
FINAL THOUGHTS
AKA: HOW DO I APPLY
ANY OF THIS STUFF
TO WHAT I DO?
Try it in your own life. Everyone is a maker.
MAKE STUFF4

92. QUESTIONS?