The document discusses building a culture of creativity and experimentation in organizations. It provides the following key points: 1) A study of over 1000 people found that while most see themselves as creative, ideas often don't progress beyond the initial idea stage. The central issue is how to enable ideas to be implemented. 2) The solution proposed is a culture of experimentation where ideas can be quickly tested through small experiments rather than getting bogged down in evaluating ideas. 3) A model called "20 model" is presented for rapidly testing ideas through experiments of increasing scale, from 20 seconds to present an idea to 20 weeks of continued experimentation if initial tests are successful. This allows ideas to be tested through

1. 9 2 5 D E S I G N P R O U D L Y P R E S E N T S :
Time of experimentation
has begun
9 2 5 D E S I G N

2. In 2011 we started a project called
Redesigning the work week, in which we explored
how design thinking could be utilized to build a better
working life. Our goal was to help people
accomplish more and get less tired.
R E D E S I G N I N G T H E W O R K W E E K

3. The issues were similar everywhere:
People are busy, work is scattered
and energy levels are low.
W O R K I N G L I F E I S S U E S

4. Based on the project results we created a model for a good working
culture, which we call the 925 Diamond.
I understand, how my work
supports company goals
Meaning
Ways of
Working
Roles Joy
I know what is expected of me We have fun at work
Life
9 2 5 D I A M O N D
We work smartly
I feel well

5. Having worked with tens of different-sized companies
to increase energy and productivity, we noticed that
sustainable competitiveness requires also a third element -
creativity, the will to do things differently, better.
And many organizations were wondering how to increase it.
C R E A T I V I T Y A N D C O M P E T I T I V E N E S S

6. This is why in spring 2014 we decided to do a new study. We wanted to find
out, how a creative and productive organizational culture is built.
Over a 1000 people from different-sized companies participated.
L U O V A Y R I T Y S K U L T T U U R I - T U T K I M U S

7. What did we find out?

8. View on creativity
!
Creativity is seen as everyday activities that
belong to everyone. Almost every single person
sees themselves as creative.
!
Most of the people feel that creativity should
play a central role in their company.
V I E W O N C R E A T I V I T Y
13 %
87 %
I consider myself creative.

9. “Creativity means the ability to look things in many different ways
- to not stay put.”
V I E W O N C R E A T I V I T Y

10. But…
!
Ideas are almost always said aloud, but
unfortunately often nothing happens to them.
People feel that they are left alone with their
ideas and that’s where the implementation
stops.
!
Brave ideas are still taken with caution.
Ambitiousness is still a foreign concept to most.
P R O C E S S I N G I D E A S
60 %
40 %
Brave ideas are welcomed
without prejudice.

11. ”The advancement of ideas is hindered by stiff processes as well as
”none of my business" and ”it’s never going to work out anyway"
-attitudes.”
P R O C E S S I N G I D E A S

12. T H E L I F E O F A N I D E A
The life of an idea
If I have an idea, I
usually tell it to
others
I get fast
feedback
to my ideas
If I say my idea
out loud, I know
what is going to
happen with it
We implement
ideas
quickly
Brave experiments
are received
without prejudice
91%
60%
51%
46%
40%

13. Biggest obstacles
!
It seems that instead of lack of money
experimentation of new things seems to be
hindered above all by fear of failure and
busyness.
!
Organizations need a more curious attitude
towards new things and a permission to use
time to experiment new things.
O R G A N I Z A T I O N A L C U L T U R E
52 % 48 %
Failure is not a
problem for us.

14. ”It would help build a creative organizational culture if we could forget
the fear of failure and the eternal ”have to get it right the first time”-
thinking”
O R G A N I Z A T I O N A L C U L T U R E

15. What is the central issue?

16. The central issue seems to be, that people consider
themselves creative but ideas don’t progress.
Problems are dwelled upon,
but nobody takes action.
C E N T R A L I S S U E

17. What could be done about it?

18. We believe that the solution is a culture of experimentation.
T H E S O L U T I O N

19. We have developed the #creativity–model,
which explains briefly, what creativity is about,
what are its biggest obstacles
and how they can be solved.
# C R E A T I V I T Y

20. # C R E A T I V I T Y

21. Creativity consists of four areas.
# C R E A T I V I T Y

22. A B I L I T Y T O S E E

23. Ability to see
!
It is impossible to do things
differently, if nobody recognizes the
problems or opportunities and finds
solutions to them. This is challenging
for the human mind because we
easily get in a rut and start to repeat
ourselves.
Are issues identified regularly in
# C R E A T I V I T Y
your company and
do you say them aloud?

24. W I L L I N G N E S S T O D O

25. Willingness to do
!
However seeing is useless if it doesn’t
lead to doing. But doing differently is
scary and arduous. That’s why
repeating yourself is such a tempting
option.
# C R E A T I V I T Y
If somebody figures out
a new better way
of doing things,
do you try it out?

26. A L I T T L E B E T T E R

27. A little better
!
When you want to do things
differently, a little better is a tempting
option. This is called incremental
improvement. There are several
approaches in the world for this
(lean, agile, hacking, etc.).
# C R E A T I V I T Y
Does your company have
a culture of
continuous improvement?

28. A L O T B E T T E R

29. A lot better
!
Sometimes it’s worth trying to do
things a lot better. This refers to
disruptive or out of the bow thinking.
But the more differently we think, the
scarier it gets.
# C R E A T I V I T Y
Do people in your company
have the courage to
think really boldly?

30. T W O G A P S

31. Based on our observations and research there seem to be
two central issues in creativity: we are not very good
at moving from ideas to actions and we use a huge amount
of time to figure out, what is a small and what is a big idea.
T W O G A P S

32. C U L T U R E O F
E X P E R I M E N T A T I O N

33. So what is a culture of experimentation about?
It’s about moving more quickly from seeing to doing and
instead of deciding beforehand whether an idea is big or small,
we start testing it through experimentation and observe
its development along the way.
C U L T U R E O F E X P E R I M E N T A T I O N

34. The core of creativity is the will to do things differently, better.
Creativity is not a characteristic, it’s a way of acting.
D E F I N I T I O N O F C R E A T I V I T Y

35. How could we promote a culture of
experimentation in practice?

36. Give everyone the
permission to be
creative

37. Building a genuinely creative organizational culture requires deep
changes in the ways of thinking and acting that encompass all
levels of the organization.
!
Creativity is not a privilege of ”creative departments” or
management. The will to do things differently, better should be
visibly in all actions: how the cleaning lady comes up with a new
way to mop the floors faster, how accounting develops a smarter
way to reimburse traveling expenses or how the board innovates a
more effective way to carry out their meetings.
P E R M I S S I O N T O B E C R E A T I V E

38. Let’s remove
obstacles to
creativity

39. Nothing is more frustrating then having a lot of great ideas that are
impossible to implement because it requires such a complicated
and multi-phased process within the organization.
!
The key to increasing creativity is removing its obstacles.
!
This means reducing bureaucracy and making it easier
to test ideas.
R E M O V I N G O B S T A C L E S T O C R E A T I V I T Y

40. Let’s create
a fruitful
environment
to creativity

41. A culture of experimentation requires that people have the
courage to try out new things.
!
A leader’s task is to create an environment where it’s safe
to take risks and where failure is not punished.
!
The leader encourages people to experiment and
gives positive feedback about trying -
regardless of the results.
L E A D I N G C R E A T I V I T Y

42. Let’s increase
autonomy
on every level
of the organization

43. Experimenting calls for the freedom to progress your idea
in the best suitable way.
!
People should have the possibility to decide how to implement
their idea - within certain time and budget frames.
!
Strict controlling and steering groups are forbidden.
I N C R E A S I N G A U T O N O M Y

44. Let’s give people
the permission
not to know

45. None of us can actually predict, which ideas will work in practice
and which will become a huge innovation.
!
Instead of trying to present fancy, made-up arguments to support
our ideas, let’s give people the permission to say:
”I don’t know yet whether this idea will work.”
!
And then send them to test it in practice.
P E R M I S S I O N N O T T O K N O W

46. Let’s question
things
in a healthy way

47. Let’s relate to things with an attitude of a three-year-old
but grown-up’s resources. Questioning things in a healthy way.
!
F O R E X A M P L E :
Why do we have to have meetings?
Who decided that we should call them meetings?
Why do we have to sit in them?
Why do they always last an hour?
Q U E S T I O N I N G

48. Let’s encourage
people
to think
ambitiously

49. Many companies are using the so-called 10x thinking which has
a simple core idea: Always when you have an idea, take another
moment and multiply it by ten.
!
If you multiply by two, it’s a minor change.
If you multiply by 100, it’s a joke.
!
But if you multiply by ten instead, you automatically have to think
outside the box, but in a way that’s natural for the mind.
A M B I T I O U S T H I N K I N G

50. 2 0 M O D E L

51. The 20 model that we have developed offers a concrete way of testing
new ideas, regardless of whether they are big or small.
!
Instead of evaluating ideas on a theoretical level, the 20 model
helps us to grasp things in practice.
2 0 M O D E L

52. 2 0 S E C O N D S
The inventor of the idea needs 20 seconds of
courage to say the idea out loud
2 0 S E C O N D S

53. 2 0 M I N U T E S
The receiver of the idea should give feedback
within 20 minutes.
2 0 M I N U T E S

54. 2 0 H O U R S
The inventor of the idea makes a simple action plan
on how the idea could be tested in practice.
2 0 H O U R S

55. 2 0 D A Y S
If the action plan is accepted, a 20-day project is
created to test the idea in practice.
2 0 D A Y S

56. 2 0 W E E K S
If the idea still seems to work after the 20-day
project, a more ambitious action plan is done and
the project is continued for another 20 weeks.
2 0 W E E K S

57. An experiment is always successful
If an idea works on some level, it gives everyone more energy
and courage to do new experiments.
!
And if it doesn’t work, the knowledge is still useful and it’s easier
for the inventor of the idea to accept that the idea is buried.
!
That’s why an experiment is always successful. Even when it
doesn’t work.
2 0 M O D E L

58. Are you ready
to experiment?

59. Want to experiment together?
Contact us.
Sonja Rajala
sonja@925design.fi
045 850 8353