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Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan
Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan
Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan
Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan
Publicidad
Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan
Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan
Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan
Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan
Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan
Publicidad
Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan
Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan
Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan
Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan
Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan
Publicidad
Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan
Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan
Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan
Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan
Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan
Publicidad
Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan
Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan
Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan
Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan
Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan
Publicidad
Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan
Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan
Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan
Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan
Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan
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Think Brochure - Isobel McEwan

  1. think the global innovation management professionals
  2. think Save the Children, CNN, Cartoon Network and Time Warner. We’ve helped them all to find new ways to make money or save money. To transform lives and make ideas happen. We have scores of case histories to show it. We’ve helped them... Create ground breaking new products and serviceszz Strengthen relationships with their clientszz Save millions in costs... and make millions in sales!zz Find new ways to win big contractszz Find and train their future leaders to think of better ideas to improve performancezz think helps individuals and teams in the best organisations in the world create and implement innovative ideas. Cover credit: Architect Santiago Calatrava This is the change you have been looking for Welcome to think think — global innovation management02 03think — global innovation management Contents 07 — The biggest paradox of our time 08 — What does think do? 10 — Consultancy 12 — Workshops 16 — Events 18 — Training 24 — think, how we do it 26 — Brainstorming doesn’t work 28 — Structured framework of an ongoing process 30 — Do you ever stop what you do and think? 32 — Who do we work with? 36 — Case studies 46 — think benefits 54 — 3 things to start doing now Helping people and organisations become more nimble by boosting their ability to innovate. Our innovation programs have been tested and proven all over the world, so when organisations hire a consultant from think, they will get results. think has had some exceptional successes since it began in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2006. The following pages of this brochure capture some of the excitement we have started. The UK has an outstanding reputation for creativity, from the Beatles in the 60’s to Damien Hurst today; and continues to be a centre for innovation excellence. It therefore comes as no surprise that think was established first in the UK. Now think is unleashing extraordinary, transformational and sustainable innovation in businesses all around the world through a network of unique Innovation management professionals. Isobel McEwan +44 7802 201405 +34 633 962 145 isobel.mcewan@thethinkteam.com
  3. Why did they put a man on the moon before they invented wheels on luggage?
  4. paradox what is the biggest business of our time? The business world finally believes that creativity is the key to their future success. It’s no longer business as usual, it’s business unusual. Creativity means innovation in products and services, different business propositions driven by better understanding of the market, breaking down “normal” processes, enhanced customer experiences, more direct response integrated marketing and more effective communications. It means transformation of the business model and radical, brave moves forward, making waves through the more coherent target audiences. It means following in the footsteps of companies like Apple and Google – both of which have risen to market leadership by placing creativity at the heart of everything they do.  A survey by IBM of 1500 CEOs, in 60 countries, across 33 industry sectors, shows it’s easy to see why so many business leaders are sharing their belief in creativity as the key driver of business success. Whilst a majority are quick to express their belief in creativity, far fewer are prepared to actually do anything about it. The survey shows 77% of respondents don’t take creativity into account when writing business strategy, and 89% never discuss it at Board meetings. In IBM’s study, more than half the CEOs said they were ill equipped to manage it.  It seems like the biggest business paradox of our time: The thing acknowledged as the most important driver of business success is the thing that business seem to systematically ignore. The most telling statistic from the survey is the 56% of respondents who say that they’d like to be more creative but don’t know how. Not only is creativity something that few business leaders have been trained to participate in but it’s something that a great many of them have been taught to actively avoid. This is the opportunity for fast-moving organisations to respond. So, if you want to seize the opportunity to drive a successful future, turn up the volume, find some energy and engage with people who can help you be extraordinary, then please get in touch.  Organisations are going to have to out–think their competitors It’s no longer business as usual... it’s business unusual. What’s needed, if organisations are to take advantage of the route to future success, is a comprehensive re-education in thought processes and decision-making; a new mind-set for the creative age.  think — global innovation management06 07the biggest business paradox of our time
  5. 2.Workshops 3.Events 4.Training what does thinkdo? The best creative thinking happens on the front lines. You just need to encourage it. Make it clear where you are going and what achievements are important to you. What is special about the task and what will happen if they are successful. We are passionate about helping organisations thrive and prepare for the future - whatever it may look like. Unlocking creative thinking with process and pace. Introduction Innovation Management – is not only WHAT we do – it’s ALL we do! We work alongside our clients to enable them to manage both sides of the innovation management equation – the people and the process. The balance is critical and getting it right is what enables innovation to flourish. It is possible to ensure you have leaders who inspire innovation behaviours and it is possible to create stimulating cultures and upskill individuals, but without the right systems and procedures in place, innovation often flounders. At think we approach innovation with people first but also manage the infrastructure required to support that work. We are a global team of innovation professionals. Each of our consultants has years of senior level management experience and is also a fully trained innovation management professional. We are experts in the innovation field - an area in which we have been working and developing for many years. Like many good ideas, our journey began with frustration. think was born out of an advertising agency – outside the box – we kept asking ourselves these questions “why are so many of our clients lacking the courage and the skills to be creative with us? Why do they think they are not creative thinkers – they are – we all are!” We began decoding what it was that we did – How did we think? How did we create ideas? How did we create a culture that supported creativity and innovation? We started to notice that we did things differently from our clients and we analysed why. We published a book – called ‘think’ and it became a best seller in the field of innovation. We were invited to lecture all over the world on the subject of innovation management and were brought in as valued consultants to support organisations to develop their plans. Now, ten years on we have consultants all over the world and our network of innovation management professionals is growing all the time. There’s also another book, Making Waves, which takes you from creating a marketing idea to seeing it fully realised. At the centre of our work is the thinkWell a unique knowledge management system that enables our network of professionals to share best practice, research, insights and inspiration from all over the world. We are of course finding that what works in India works in Italy and what works in Canada works in Cameroon. Having think all over the world gives us an exciting perspective and our continual learning (endlessly curious) model enables us to always offer our clients world class advice and support for their innovation management programmes. We are proud to work with some of the biggest and best organisations in the world – some of them thinking about 2020, some 2050 and one asking us to think 1000 years ahead with them! No matter how far ahead or deep, or wide their thinking is, it is not just their understanding that will make the difference, but their behaviours, Creative thinking with process and pace will protect them in the future.  1.Consultancy Better ideas can change your world 09what does think do?think — global innovation management08
  6. We work with clients to understand the future they need to create. Then we work with them to design and support the right innovation programme, motivating and mobilising the organisation for the changes needed. Each programme is unique but here are some examples of our consulting initiatives: Open Innovation Open Innovation (OI) is prevalent in world class organisations. OI invites new innovative ideas from inside and outside an organisation based around a structure of strategic challenges. We have developed techniques to help develop internal systems for our clients. We also recommend the best idea management system to suit your needs. Embedding Innovation We have a programme to ensure clients are ready to fully embrace innovation. Embedding innovation into the DNA of an organisation is never easy but is always worthwhile. Using our processes you will successfully create a structure around innovation, develop teams and an infrastructure to ensure its long-term effectiveness – Sustainable innovation is the goal. One 2 Ones How often do you get time to download your thinking? We act as an intelligent sounding board to enable you and your top team to unload and unravel their thinking. Each one to one is private and a plan is created around a summary of the challenges, topics and ideas covered. Innovation Plumbing We create a model of the flow of innovation in the organisation and then consider the areas where it flows, leaks or blocks. We look at innovation touchpoints, to see where innovation is, and where it should be. Innovation Health and Safety Health and safety in organisations is not just physical, it’s also mental. It is critical for innovation and creative thinking that stress is reduced and that risk is tolerated. Morale and motivation need to be in an excellent state for creative thinking to happen. Fresh Minds When you recruit new people at any level in the organistion they are in a unique position for up to six months. They can bring fresh ideas that have worked in their previous employment and they do this with the inside knowledge of your organisation. They can compare the two. This provides really fresh thinking but with an informed view. Outside In and Inside Out As part of our initial consulting we will identify people in your organisation who would benefit from secondment to other organisations. You can also learn how others approach innovation from outside your organisation. Who would you like to come in to share their knowledge with you? Design We run programmes with senior leaders to co-create the optimal innovation management solution for each organisation. Once the design is agreed, we work with your internal teams to ensure the plan is implemented with the pace and professionalism we know gets results. think is a brilliant source of energy and ideas to help you broaden your horizons think is like the grit that creates the pearl. Our consultancy initiatives inspire and educate, but most of all stimulate the spark that will make the changes in your organisation that you desire. We are keen on results and we want to get them as soon as possible. We love to make sure things are done well. We get into the detail and we move fast. Our consulting is all about ensuring that you and your organisation are ready for the future. We ask a lot of questions and then we recommend a clear and logical solution that meets your requirements. Every client is unique but the principles of managing successful innovation programmes and unlocking creative talent are not. We take the tried and tested best practice from our consultants working in the biggest and best organisations around the world and ensure it fits your organisation perfectly. As innovation begins with people that’s where we always start. We get to know the aspirations, values and vision of your team and we ensure that any work we do aligns with those. We recommend practical, tried and tested support that includes a range of people and process elements. 1.Consultancy consultancyto support and sustain innovation think — global innovation management10 11what does think do?
  7. Improve relationships with customersand suppliers by engaging in collaborativeworkshops Clients use our Pick ‘n’ Mix menu of workshops to create their own programme. Here are some examples: ‘One Day to think’ Normally run with teams of up to 30 people and designed to work on a wide range of opportunities. We embed thinking tools experientially. This enables teams to create innovative ideas (for a new product, a new service, a new way of working – on any business issue or opportunity). Fast. Effective. Efficient. Fun. £1m Meetings In the current Western economic climate a really popular workshop is to “find the money”. Organisations work with think to gather stakeholders from across their organisation with the aim of either making more money or saving more money. We explore innovative ways to achieve the goal of finding one million pounds, euros, dollars, yen... Power of Three (Po3) The Po3 workshop fully embraces the need for fresh input of new ideas. Po3 invites three organisations – one of them a charity (they come for free) to meet for a one- day workshop. Each organisation brings a team of up to 10 people and one issue. During the workshop you will work on three different issues, which keeps it fresh and interesting for everyone – and provides you with an external perspective. It is so much more interesting to work on someone else’s challenge! Curious Lunchtimes Forget the lunch break, this is a mind break – speed dating for creating ideas and freshening up a team’s thinking. This enables teams to think in interesting and new ways – all in one lunchtime. New Product Development (NPD) NPD workshops are designed to engage and inspire fresh new thinking and then filter these ideas, selecting the best solutions to move forward with. Speed to market is always key as we work through our specially designed process to get the great products out there fast. Top Relationships Improve relationships with customers and suppliers by engaging in collaborative workshops, working creatively together to create win – wins. Pick your most important customer or supplier and use think to drive through better ways of working or better solutions to the key issues. So much more effective than another day at the races. Drawing on The Right Side An inspiring workshop where your thoughts and ideas are literally ‘drawn’ out using a facilitator and an illustrator. Artists work with our clients during the workshop and the images become a lasting reference / touch point for all participants to refer back to – no more stuffy piles of A4!  2.Workshops workshops We use workshops to engage, co-operate and collaborate whilst embedding the skills needed to sustain innovation. We custom-build workshops to your individual requirements, but think has also created an array of generic workshops that you can use, safe in the knowledge that they have been delivered successfully all over the world. think — global innovation management12 13what does think do?
  8. Accelerated Solution Team Our Accelerated Solution workshop works quickly with your team to tackle high pressure, time short projects. A fast paced workshop where we create insights and ideas with a focused team in two hours. A brain workout, real solutions real decisions – fast. Come to Your Senses This workshop is a totally fresh idea where participants bring elements from all the senses to help them think in new ways about a range of topics from branding to NPD. What flavour is your brand? Dragons Den Workshop on key issues for the company that culminates in a Dragons Den. We set up the final presentations of the newly generated ideas with real Dragons from inside and outside your organisation. You will be amazed at the impact this will have on your team. U New? This workshop is a specially designed “creative challenge” workshop for new people coming into a company who have creative thinking and / or innovation as a key competence. This can be developed as part of your induction process. Customer Design Experience We marry your business drivers with customer needs to create unique, engaging, effective, customer experiences that define business strategies. Create world class customer journeys through mapping the ‘moments that matter’ and then thinking creatively about those, to engineer solutions that amaze and delight customers. Idea Selection Sometimes coming up with the ideas is not the challenge it’s what to do with them all. This workshop takes a bucket of ideas that have previously been created and works with the team using idea selection tools and techniques. A Bit RACI Ensure the team is ready at the start of a project by working together to decide who is Responsible, who is Accountable and who is going to be Consulted and Informed – it works and saves a lot of time and tears later on. Success in innovation – as in all things – begins with perfect planning. Shell Scenarios No one really knows what is going to happen so how can we get ready for anything? We design and facilitate a number of scenario planning workshops that broaden thinking and build flexibility. Plan it – Time Travel Working together the team creates a physical time line – literally on the floor and they can then WALK forwards in time and look over the issues. How can we work smarter and leaner together? How can we do it quicker? What issues can we anticipate?  If you become great at what you do, it sets you apart Workshops are a way of helping your team to thrive, embrace the changes you need, challenge the tension between the old and the new and foster a state of constant innovation. More Workshops Sometimes coming up with the ideas is not the challenge it’s what to do with them all think — global innovation management14 15what does think do?
  9. Our events make an impact – they cause disruption – they generate debate and discussion, energy and evolution. Windsor Conversations Sponsored by an organisation, we invite top level (CEOs, senior management, senior executives) individuals to stay at Windsor Castle over two days to discuss an issue. The event is facilitated and all the conversations are recorded. Publishing a cutting edge paper from St George’s House in Windsor adds weight to any initiative. Because of the high-end nature of these events, they tend to be ‘conversations’ or ‘light touch’ facilitation rather than having a tight schedule. Flash Mob Use Mobile media to engage your team and invite them to a Company Flash mob group think. Safari You need to get out more and so do your team. You need to get out and see what is going on in other companies, in the high street, wherever your customers are, or from like-minded organisations. Armed with recorders, note pads, digital cameras we get out and observe what is going on in the jungle. The insights are then used to create ideas and inspire new thinking. If there is a particular issue you are dealing with, we look to see which organisation has solved the same issue – then we organise a trip for your people to meet with them to discuss solutions. A Walk in the Zoo You think best when you are moving and a walk is perfect. We walk and talk in stimulating and interesting places – walks take place anywhere and any time globally. Typically a walk is a minimum of two hours with groups of 2 to 8. Each walk is followed by some reflection time to take notes on the thinking. Every business issue, every business strategy is found in the animals in the Zoo. We can learn a lot from their survival techniques. Daydream Believer Your subconscious mind is much better at creative thinking than your conscious mind. We encourage daydreaming and even coach people on how to do it. It is fun, relaxing and a very effective way to create new ideas. Stretch your Horizons Thinking at sea is an amazing experience. We take teams of 4 to 6 for a sailing adventure – time to think and the opportunity to work together as a team whilst learning a new skill. Want a big idea? Get into a big space. Theme Park Don’t do talking heads all day, create Zones for participants to walk around and engage with. If they play they learn. Get the audience involved in active leaning and they will enjoy it. People forget what you say but they will never forget how you made them feel. Public Speaking We will give world-class presentations on Innovation. We have visually stimulating presentations and have cutting edge global information.  Want a big idea, get into a big space events Exciting venues, world class thinking all designed to wake your brain up. 3.Events It’s a big world out there. Lets embrace it together – but lets do it in a smart way. You possess only a finite amount of energy, as does your business, so lets make the most of it. think — global innovation management16 17what does think do?
  10. Creative Camp We have unique training courses in the following areas: Absorption – how to start a task in the right way. Explosion – idea generation. Consolidation – how to select the best ideas. Action – how to make things happen. Capitalisation – how to measure performance, and learn from it. Training courses range from one day to five days and are calibrated to the experience of the attendees. Here is an example of a five day training course. All the successful, global organisations are investing in training their staff to think creatively so don’t get left behind – are YOU ready for the Creative Economy? Course Overview During this fascinating, active, challenging, practical and participative five-day course, you will learn to think about how you think. You will take a journey though the human mind to consider how your mind works and how you can tap into superior levels of thinking to vastly improve your success in work and life. You will learn the secrets of professional creative thinkers and leave with the tools and techniques that you can readily adapt in your workplace. Course Timing: Registration will be at 8:00 on Day One. The course will commence at 8:30 and conclude 14:30. There will be two networking and refreshment breaks at 10:30 and 12:30. Day One: Absorption – Understanding Innovation And Creativity What is creativity and innovation?zz Exercise: Consideration of the best examples from around the world? – you will have been asked to bring in what you consider to be good examples and you can discuss them in addition to discussing companies like Ikea, Lego, Dyson, Nokia and Virgin Atlantic. How do brains work in general and why do you getzz stuck in a rut? How does your brain work and how is that differentzz from others? Why is it critical that you use your head?zz How can you get the most out of learning how otherzz people think? How can you model others’ thinking patterns in orderzz to increase your own creativity? Creative Exercise: Initial understanding of the types of issues where you have to be creative. Consideration of the principle behaviours that lead tozz more creative thinking.  training Embedding new techniques and new behaviours that you can take back to work and implement the very next day. Training is different to workshops and events because we train skills, not necessarily working on your organisation’s issues or opportunities. We can train some of your key people to pass on the techniques we have created 4.Training think — global innovation management18 19what does think do?
  11. Day Two: Explosion – Creative Thinking Tools and Experimentation (Part A) Specific creative thinking and innovation techniqueszz The theory of and the practical experimentation withzz – Mind mapping – Reversal – Morphological Matrix – Random word generation – Future thinking into 2020 – Time line planning – Visioning using NLP techniques – Train the Trainer Exercise: A journey into NLP – Creative visualisation and language: if you can imagine it you can create it! Linguistics – the language of success vs. thezz language of failure Convergence vs. divergencezz Day Three: Explosion – Creative Thinking Tools and Experimentation (Part B) Brand stretch – think into new areas and consider newzz ideas Exercise: Crazy pairs – working with others expands your mind Consideration of the systems and procedures in work –zz do they support or destroy innovation and creativity? Exploration of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors thatzz lead to a creative work space Experimentation with painting and sculpturezz Exercise: Creation of a personal toolkit of idea creation techniques. Day Four: Consolidation – Idea Selection: How To Ensure You Get The Best Ideas Consideration of the diffusion of innovationzz Consideration of risk managementzz Testing Specific consolidation tools – such as Criticalzz Success Factors (CSF) and idea mapping Writing creative briefs and how to assess creative workzz Exercise: Consideration of your specific business issues – teams will apply the thinking to each others issues and use the skills. Day Five: Action Planning – Getting On With It! The secrets to continually improving your creativezz resources Presentation skills and rapport skills – once you havezz mastered thinking you need to know how to sell your ideas Create a personalised creative and innovation actionzz plan using the model for time line planning Innovation Clinic: Consideration of your specific challenges – one to one consultancy Questions and Answer Awards For Participation and Completion of the Course More Training If you are not learning new skills, new ways to innovate - how are you going to succeed? You will learn the secrets of professional creative thinkers think — global innovation management20 21what does think do?
  12. Never make assumptions. Elephants are not good at hearing with their ears they listen through their feet, picking up vibrations.
  13. absorption explosioncapitalisation action consolidation absorption absorption explosion explosion consolidation consolidation action action capitalisation capitalisation how we do it think, Innovation process The foundation to our work is the think Innovation process which has five distinct phases. Developed since 1993, we know the process works to consistently deliver extraordinary results. Divergent to convergent thinking We view our process through the lens of divergent and convergent thinking. This is the fundamental value of think. We help clients link the controlled chaos of divergent thinking with the focused commercialism of convergent thinking. The absorption and explosion phases encourage divergent thinking among multiple stakeholders inside and outside your organisation. From the consolidation phase onwards divergent thinking transitions to convergent thinking as the portfolio of ideas is selected and narrowed down. If ideas then survive this phase we help with their planning and launch in the action phase and manage and measure their return on investment in the capitalisation phase. The risk increases as you progress through the five stages. Because its only when you start to select ideas to run with and discard some ideas that the jeopardy begins. Chosen ideas take time and financial investment to get to market. Discarded ideas – well, if you are not careful you could be losing some of your best ideas! n We bring pace and focus to your innovation initiatives – using our unique processes think — global innovation management24 25think, how we do it
  14. brainstorming doesn’t work We all know the scenario: lots of people gather in a room to brainstorm a strategy, product idea, tag line, or mission statement. Veterans approach cynically, new recruits think it will be fun, and after an hour — or two or three — has passed, they all emerge drained, depressed, and demotivated. Why is this a recurrent story? Some academics in Texas set out to understand what goes wrong in brainstorming. Nicholas Kohn and Steven Smith’s analysis is impressive, not least because it reflects an appreciation that the executives who do brainstorming are also human beings. This means that they become anxious about their own contributions; in academic parlance, they suffer from ‘evaluation apprehension’, meaning that they worry people will think their wild ideas are foolish. Sometimes there are too many ideas and we can’t keep them all in our heads. Then there’s the phenomenon psychologists call ‘social loafing’, which we probably all recognise: the people who sit at the back of the room contributing nothing at all. Only slightly less lazy is ‘social matching’, which means that we are very likely to contribute lots of ideas so similar to each other as to be indistinguishable; it feels like we’re making a contribution, but the range and variety of suggestions remains small. Conformity plays a big part here; our desire to belong restricts the breadth of ideas we might think of but don’t dare to offer, it reduces creativity and increases conformity. Moreover, creativity declines with time. In experiments, students from AM University were asked to come up with ideas for improving their school. After twenty minutes, their ideas were coded (for variety, novelty, quantity and range of categories), and what was striking was how fast the group ran out of steam: the first five minutes were the most productive. Most intriguing of all was that brainstorming alone proved to be more effective than brainstorming collectively. In those first five minutes, participants who sat at a computer and generated ideas came up with 44 percent more ideas than those in a group. This challenges received wisdom that says groups of people will come up with a wider range of ideas than similar minded people or those working alone. But what it takes into account is that when we come together, like it or not, we all start to become a little homogenized. What this finding implies is that the way to get the creative value of diversity – and every company we know finds this a challenge – is to encourage people to develop ideas alone, and only then bring them together. Some of our thinking techniques Brand Pyramid This is a technique used to develop the understanding of a brand or brands. This technique clarifies the personality of a brand, who its target audience is, its uniqueness and how best to communicate its attributes. Anything can be a brand; a product, a service, a person – can all be a brand. The reason we use a pyramid is to emphasise the need to build a brand on solid foundations. To this end we start at the bottom of a pyramid with who the consumer of the product is / whom are we selling to; there are nine stages of the process which concludes with the overriding message we wish to portray about the brand. This technique is a portal and can be used in conjunction with other techniques. 360 Degrees This is a technique used to encourage a holistic view. It challenges our minds to look at as many aspects as possible. It is a vital precursor to creative thinking and innovation that you know as much as possible about the subject you are considering. The more knowledge you have the more you can challenge what exists in order to discover new ways. Personality Profiling This is a profiling technique originally created by Dr Susan Dillinger: an American psychologist. This technique will enable your group to understand who’s who, and what they are like. It also enables you to set the tone of the day, talking about how to empathise and support each other’s personality – it also helps with conflict resolution. 20/20 Vision What do you wish you had known 20 years ago that you know now? This technique gives you the benefit of hindsight in the future! This Macro Scenario approach moves participant’s thinking, 20 years into the future by looking 20 years in the past. This technique gives perspective and comparison to “change”. There have been major changes over the past 20 years, in any industry/ sector and it helps the group to look back and consider the number of changes and the speed of change – and how their way of working has been revolutionised. This then gives them the grounding to look forward over the next 20 years and to consider the great changes that could happen. Literally saying, “if that’s what’s happened over the past 20 years – and the speed of change is increasing – what can we expect over the next 20 years?” Brain Writing This method is simple – and in thirty minutes can produce lots of ideas! This technique really works well if there are people in your team who are being overpowered by other team members – it allows the quieter more thoughtful people to get their ideas across. This technique can work well when you need to lower the noise level within the group. It does however work best when the group has already had some time to think of some ideas prior to using this technique. Senses Tapping into the world of neuroscience we have developed a technique for teams to “come to their senses”. Olfactory and other sensory cues are hardwired into our brains’ limbic system, the seat of emotion – so once triggered they stimulate vivid recollections. This technique encourages the use of all the senses of Sight, Smell, Touch, Sound and Taste (and possibly a sixth sense), this enables you to move your thinking into fresh areas, for example gain new insights into your brand. This expands current ideas about your brand by asking questions like: What does your brand, product, service “Smell” like? This will give you new insights, unique words and fresh ideas. Jugaad Frugal innovation is a hot topic today as post- downturn economies look for ways to do more for less. This will require practicing the gutsy art of Jugaad. The Hindi term roughly translates as “overcoming harsh constraints by improvising an effective solution using limited resources”. We call it the art of creative improvisation – within a framework of deep knowledge and experience. There are many applications for this product, for this example we will use Mad or Sad as the method of creating the initial ideas. Morphological Matrix This method is simple: We all know what a JigSaw puzzle looks like, but this Jigsaw has no image yet. Break down a product or service into its component parts, consider these parts separately and then recombine them to find new solutions. Deconstruction / reconstruction. On an idea per second basis, no other technique can beat this technique! Omission What would you do if you took an important aspect of your service away forcing you to rethink your proposition? Often it is the elements of a product or service that are seen to be essential that get in the way of fresh thinking. Random Stimulus This exercise aims to generate fresh, new ideas by linking random words with your innovation or objective. By taking a step away from rational thinking and the limits you place on your thoughts, you’re able to open your mind to a whole new level of creativity. This forces you to think differently! RACI RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) charting is a systematic and collective technique to: Identify all activities, tasks, and decisionszz Clarify roles and individual levels of participationzz Get those involved in the project togetherzz By getting them involved they are more likelyzz to “buy-in” to the RACI that is produced and complete the activities. It’s a versatile tool: Distribution of workzz Reorganisationzz Employee turnoverzz Conflict resolutionzz Documentation of procedureszz think — global innovation management26 27Brainstorming doesn’t work
  15. structured framework of an ongoing process You will have much better results with an ongoing programme of activity The workflow diagram aims to reflect the cyclical activity of a typical innovation programme Absorption Gain deep understanding of the challenge Explosion Create, invent, ideate solutions to the challenges Consolidation Filter, select, develop ideas into implementable solutions Action Implement, embed and deliver the solution. Action can occur over a longer term delivery but it is important to develop the implementation plans in phases Capitalisation Measure, assess, maintain solution 1. People What does an innovation culture feel like and how do we create it? Consider skills, motivation, philosophy, ways of working, Innovation champions, who would they be? 2. Process How could we best embed and maintain momentum for innovation? Consider structures, communication, and Processes. 3. Technology Where can technology support this process? What systems can we implement, who would use them, how would this work? 4. Projects Where should we innovate first? What significant projects (events) would most benefit from being in the innovation spotlight? We Believe People have ideas not companies.zz Networks innovate not individuals.zz Open suggestion boxes lead to suggestionszz about the coffee machine. Focused requests for ideas lead to solutions tozz the specific challenge. Making innovation work well requires effort andzz dedication. Innovation is about the integration of people andzz systems – people first! Ideas are the foundation of innovation.zz Ideas can come from inside and outside thezz organisation. Neutral facilitation of the process leads to trustzz – engaging people, building relationships and networks. There are four initial steps to explore before the ongoing process gets going absorption explosioncapitalisation action consolidation absorption explosioncapitalisation action consolidation absorption explosioncapitalisation action consolidation absorption explosioncapitalisation action consolidation absorption explosioncapitalisation action consolidation Event 1 Event 2 Event 3 Event 4 Event 5 Typical activity 1 Typical activity 2 Typical activity 3 Typical activity 4 Typical activity 5 For example: What additional services could we sell? Keep participants motivated with stimulating issues Keep your activity action orientated. People want to see their work be successful An event (either virtual or real) provides focus and forces thinking to be specific to the challenge For example: How can we grow profits by an additional 15% this year by saving costs? Active support / management of the process by the innovation team Clear end-point, communication of innovation and plans Event Framework Specific challenge set to innovating group Events are specific business challenges given to your participants Feedback what has been learned from previous activities think — global innovation management28 29Focused innovation
  16. think helps organisations increase growth and shareholder value by generating great new ideas from inside and outside their business. Our success as an innovation management company is based on the unique process and analysis tools we have developed over many years to elicit new ideas and business strategies and to align teams behind them. Working with organisations globally. Why think? To survive and thrive, organisations need to be constantly innovating. Ideas drive this innovation process, and creativity is the fuel for creating the ideas. To future proof your organisation against this world of dizzying change, creativity needs to be baked into your organisations DNA, your culture and the way you go about almost everything you do. You need to invest in time to think. Innovation can be the growth stimulus you need. It is now global and access to knowledge is essential; Innovation programmes can also be very stimulating and incremental and it can be exciting, revolutionary and amazingly quick in generating growth and jobs. Innovation is a community endeavour, it dies in silo’s and we need to increasingly find ways to wire and connect ourselves even more to leverage the collaborative nature innovation requires. Innovation requires resurgence and deep commitment. do you ever stop what you are doing for a moment and... think? It is critical for innovation to be successful that risk is tolerated. think — global innovation management30 31do you ever stop and think
  17. We create extraordinary ideas with our clients who do we work with? We often work with companies and organisations who have got ‘stuck’ in their thinking and need an external catalyst to create a change. Working with us, our clients have experienced valuable break-throughs which have resulted in more focused commercial strategies, new products and services, better aligned top teams, and more reliable and commercially – applied creativity and innovation. think works with some of the best organisations in the world We make advertising child’s play think — global innovation management32 33who do we work with?
  18. innovation Are you ready for the creative economy? City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia
  19. npower Case Study npower is a German owned utility provider with 12,000 staff and 6.5m customers. We have worked with npower on a one to one basis with key senior leaders, in groups of 5 – 30 for workshops and training – and created events for over 3000 people at their national conference. Training Their brief was to deliver a training programme that is exciting, engaging and intelligent to bond the team and support their aspirations to create great ideas for their customers. We brought new methods of thinking to the npower team and enabled them to experiment with behaviors and thinking techniques that unlocked new ideas. When you are a focused, busy and a professional person it is often difficult to raise above the issues and invest time to think. It’s a challenge to remain objective and constantly seek fresh perspectives. We took them out of their environment by conducting the training in external venues like schools and community centers. The teams created new ideas for their customers and also for themselves – new ways of working together to problem solve. Several of the ideas that were developed have gone on to be amongst npower’s most successful propositions. Energised and inspired by their own fresh and creative thinking the team was then challenged to share this new way of working with others – we created viral creative thinking! Events Their brief was to create an operational staff conference that is different, fresh and stimulating. To create a conference that engages 3000 of their staff, in feedback their staff had asked us not to have a series of “talking heads” in a conference hall. They asked how do we get across our key messages about living our brand values in a fun, engaging and memorable way? Remember the Confucius saying: “Tell me something, and I will forget, show me something and I may remember, let me do it, and I will understand” Working with the planning team on the conference think facilitated a number of creative thinking sessions where the team were encourage to use thinking techniques to break the old rules of what a conference is. We worked on metaphor and enabled the team to explore – what other situations are there were people have to get together and engage in lots of new experiences? Like a trip to the Zoo, doing circuits in the gym or what about a theme park? Imagine taking all your brand values or key messages you want to convey in a conference and creating a zone of interactive activities to support each one. What would those Zones be called and what activities would be there? This thinking created some really exiting and fresh thoughts and we went on to create a conference that wasn’t a conference! When is a conference not a boring conference? When it’s a theme park! The emotional response from the analogy is fantastic: What thoughts and feelings arise when you think of a theme park? Fun – Excitement – Anticipation – Surprise and Learning. “I am happy and proud to be part of npower” “Great, really motivational and fun and I learned so much” “Excellent! So much better than all the previous conferences” “Great work senior management” “After 20 years in other companies npower feels like a breath of fresh air” “Thanks for making me feel proud” It worked – and the feedback from the delegates: First aid training Everyone arriving at the Theme Park got a passport explaining the zones and asking for a stamp from each zone to encourage guests to visit every zone. When is a company conference not a conference? When it’s a theme park! Challenge yourself and try something new! Theme park maps were available to show what exciting activities were available in each zone. Each of the npower values was presented in individually themed experiential zones. Consider new ways of thinking and working – how do musicians think? How can a hypnotist help me make better decisions? think — global innovation management36 37npower Case Study
  20. Turner has 130 branded channels in 27 languages in more than 200 countries. Their brands include CNN, Cartoon Network and TCM and we have worked with their teams in Atlanta, Mumbai and in the UK. Turner When one of the most exciting and creative organisations in the world calls and asks if you can support them in their ambition to ensure that they spread innovation and creative thinking best practice everywhere in their organisation – then you know you are doing something right! They had been reading our book ‘think’, heard of our work and knew we could add something. First on the list of their values is “Creativity”. Creativity – Their statement on creativity: “We thrive on innovation and originality, encouraging risk-taking and divergent voices.” This is inspired and visionary but not always easy to deliver across the whole organisation. Following a period of initial consultancy, think designed and delivered a programme of activities including: lunchtime learning sessions enabling people to take time to think and learn new tools, facilitation of senior leaders conversations, several power of three (Po3) workshops with Water Aid and Save the Children, consultancy and training on innovation management for their 360 degree innovation team. It is critical to Turner that companies within their group – IPC and all the Time Warner Companies ensure that they keep all their people at the leading edge of innovation and creative thinking skills and working with think enables them to do just that. Working with think also encouraged a consistency of skills across the different teams.  Case Study Arup Arup is a global independent firm of designers, planners, engineers, consultants and technical specialists and think are proud to have worked with them over the past 6 years. Arup have offices all over the world and are they are working on many of the worlds most sustainable projects and iconic buildings. From the Sydney Opera House and the Centre Pompidou in Paris to the Beijing and London Olympics Arup enables the brightest and the best to create the most thrilling and amazing projects. Their ethos is “We Shape a Better World” and we are delighted to have helped them deliver that . We have supported Arup in a number of ways from strategic training and in-depth mentoring to stimulating workshops and memorable events. We have facilitated effective, strategic conversations at Windsor Castle with their senior leaders enabling them to have the time and the tools to think more deeply about critical issues. Two examples which demonstrate the fresh approach we bring are the sculpture workshop for directors where they invested time discussing issues whist getting to know each other better through the creation of a sculpture. It was a stimulating and highly effective process that enabled them to cut though to key issues. When we were tasked to work with a team to enable them to consider the Arup brand we brought them to their senses! In a workshop a cross divisional team from Arup were asked to select materials that would have a Taste, Feel, Smell, Look, and Sound – the team had flavours and fabrics – they had perfumes and foods – they had music and sound effects. Presented with the challenge to present their brand through the senses the team became deeply engaged in debates around what the brand meant to them on a deeper level and using more refreshing language. The materials including such things as sparklers and chocolate and lemons and music enabled the team to move away from the normal corporate language – one of the insights was that Arup was “fizzing with intelligence” one of the most powerful internal branding statements we have ever encountered and one that would not have been created without the stimulus of a pack of sparklers. We have designed and run workshops on a wide range of topics from teamwork and creative thinking, to successful bidding, considering their brand proposition and conversations about the management of highly intelligent and creative people. Working with Arup we are inspired to continually create new and exciting ways to train, engage, support and nudge their highly intelligent teams giving them new ways to think and the time and opportunity to do just that. When you work with the most creative and intelligent people in the world it is always exciting and they inspire us to continually grow our skills and services to support them.  Case Study think — global innovation management — Arup Case Study38 39think — global innovation management — Turner Case Study
  21. Groupama Groupama the 2nd largest mutual insurer in the world, based in Paris, France. Key Successes Over 200 people in the organisation trained inzz the capability of creative thinking and innovation management Hundreds of ideas submitted for the first challengeszz Over £500,000 of net value identified from the initialzz idea analysis An internal idea management system, built savingzz thousands of £ annually and enabling greater flexibility External partners – Brokers and Underwriters engagedzz in the process Groupama Challenge How can we create the capabilities and capacity to have innovation everywhere in our organisation, to give us a competitive advantage and help us grow our business? Since 2008 think has been the strategic innovation management consultant supporting Groupama to develop an effective approach to company-wide, sustainable innovation. After design, trial and development the system is now mature enough to be used as a tool, focused on adding millions of £ to their bottom line through a series of innovation challenges posed to the organisation. Background Established over 100 years ago in the French farming community, Groupama is now a major European insurance and banking group with over 39,000 employees worldwide, serving over 16 million customers in 14 countries. In line with their vision and values Groupama were looking at innovation across the organisation and recognised the need for a strategic approach. Lynn Harris identified that innovation in Groupama was ‘clumpy’ and lacking in strategic focus, she was asked by Laurant Matras – Groupama Managing Director and the executive team to head up a project to consider their approach to innovation. Lynn began with researching best practice in strategic innovation management globally.  think — global innovation management40 41Groupama Case Study Case Study
  22. What were the challenges and opportunities? Who was doing what and where? What was best practice? As part of this research Groupama contacted think, who worked with Groupama to create a proposal for the Board. The approach was pragmatic looking at the 10 steps of successful innovation management and how those could be applied. The presentation was well received, and approval was given to proceed with the plan. It was critical that the plan aligned with the vision and values of Groupama and that it was delivered to leverage the skills and resources of their internal teams where possible. In line with think’s people first approach the key areas identified were: People Engaging people who may have ‘innovation fatigue’zz Breaking down misconceptions of innovation andzz creative thinking Ensuring we focused the energy of the teams on areaszz critical to the growth of the business Keeping momentum and energy going in thezz delivery team Expectation management (not all ideas will bezz adopted) Training provided as widely as possible to ensurezz capability for creative thinking was developed Support and training on idea selectionzz Celebrate successzz Process Develop and maintain an idea management systemzz Develop training and support for use of the systemzz Ensure clarity of objectiveszz Create a plan which outlined the menu of tactics thatzz would make up the plan for the following 18 months Develop and manage internal communicationszz Ensure the team knew who was expected to deliverzz what elements Share innovation documents on the internal Wikizz Create an area on the intranet to support innovationzz and creative thinking The think approach People then Process Given the go ahead by the Board, the first task was to recruit a team to put together the 18 month plan, with an allocated budget to bring the plan to life. The team was headed up by Liz Kuhler who had the experience of the company and training in psychology so she was able to look holistically at innovation throughout the organisation, from innovation management systems to training and internal communications. Armed with the knowledge that poor practice for innovation management would be to simply ask the whole organisation for their ideas, without giving any structure or guidance, the strategic challenges the organisation were facing were identified. It was important to get active engagement as soon as possible so an interim solution would be for small teams to work on innovation on a project basis. This worked effectively with over 20 business improvement solutions put in place. However this tactical short term approach did not address the need to develop a sustainable innovation culture for the future. It was agreed that the most effective approach would be a people/process solution. People would be trained, taught how to be creative and how to use the system to post their ideas and share. The Process  solution would be the installation of an innovation system, and processes and procedures would be built around this system. People would be trained not only to use the system, but also how to think in new and energising ways. The structure and guidance came in the form of a number of innovation challenges, identified by the Board, which encompassed the people/process solution. These challenges would be measurable and would be tackled through a number of events throughout the year. The People Solution Idea champions were engaged, chosen because of their perceived skill in championing innovation, regardless of management level or job function. The champions were trained as experts in idea creation and support – they were tasked to embed creativity and innovation capabilities across the organisation. They were pre- briefed on the strategic challenges and were responsible for encouraging others to organise events. Innovation champions were given a toolkit to set up workshops, enabling them to replicate think events. The think innovation model was used to underpin all of the innovation management planning: Absorption Explosion Consolidation Action Capitalisation – See the diagram on page 25. The challenges were brought forward by the board and presented in the absorption phase. Idea Champions were to work on the Explosion phase of the think process: idea generation. Idea Experts were tasked to support the Consolidation phase: bring the ideas to life. Each role has its own unique skill set and as such had specific training and development opportunities. The internal communications campaign that was developed internally at Groupama dovetailed into their intranet called – genie – adding a ‘US’ suffix made it GENIEUS and this was also what the innovation system was named. The Groupama Ant – Anton was transformed into ANTSTEIN to convey engagement messages. The Process Solution Once the capabilities building had begun in the teams then the process would be fully supported. The process was to be challenged based. A new challenge every couple of months would be sent out to the teams and using the innovation model below colleagues would develop ideas to put onto the idea management system. To create ideas around the challenges a series of innovation events were managed by the Innovation Champions and the results fed into the idea management system (ims ) – Genius. Initially Groupama considered buying an innovation management system (ims), but decided to build their own, and with consultancy from think have built Genius. The Genius system is now live across Groupama and will be subject to a programme of continual improvement as the strategy progresses. As challenges are posted on the system the results are being tracked and closely monitored to ensure support is offered where needed to ensure success. Following the 10 Steps Plan and continual improvement Over the past three years think has successfully worked with the Board of Directors, senior Leadership team, and Groupama colleagues working in IT and HR and in offices across the UK. The whole process has followed the 10 step strategic plan originally pitched to the board; it has been supported across the management levels and departments and all over the UK. Internal communication such as the use of posters, The Buzz – the Groupama newsletter and the intranet GENIE are used to ensure that innovation is built into the DNA of Groupama. The use of the existing character of Anton, who has become Antstein in relation to the innovation programme has been well received.  The Brief “Inspire a culture of innovation to create a sustained commercial edge within the insurance market to achieve our profit ambitions” Case Study — Groupama Over 200 people trained in innovation management think — global innovation management42 43Groupama Case Study
  23. Next Steps Phase one of this innovation programme has seen a lot of success but mainly in the embedding of the infrastructure required to support a culture of innovation. Now we are beginning to see the success of this approach in terms of output. Phase two of the approach is concerned with celebrating the success to date, continual improvement on the infrastructure, ongoing board support and keeping the programme fresh, vibrant and relevant. This embedding phase encourages acceptance and engagement to have more traction. Innovation is constant and never ending and as such continual improvement is critical so we will always be asking: Have the people been trained sufficiently?zz Are the leaders of the business on board?zz Is there a champion for the whole innovationzz programme? Do the key ideas have champions to support them andzz drive them? Are the internal communications supporting thezz innovation programme fresh and engaging? Is innovation built into the DNA of the business fromzz recruitment onwards? Is creative thinking noticed – is idea generation a KPI?zz How is an individual’s contribution to innovation beingzz recognised and celebrated? How well are we doing in terms of engaging externalzz partners? Are we constantly reviewing best practice in innovationzz management? Have we identified all the blockers and pinch pointszz that are hindering the flow of innovation at Groupama? And what are we doing about them? Are we ensuring that the successes of the programmezz are being understood and celebrated fully? Have we got the right idea champions and are theyzz being supported fully? A process of continual improvement for the people and the process is now planned and of course continual celebration of success.  Case Study — Groupama We focused the teams on areas critical to the growth of the business think — global innovation management44 45Groupama Case Study
  24. think benefits Each project is different but here are some of the benefits an engagement with think can create. Project specific benefits Drive organic growth through new and expandedzz revenue streams Increase profitabilityzz Create more quality ideaszz Ensure idea selection criteria is consistent and successzz focussed Develop the best ideas and kill bad ideas quickly,zz thereby reducing risk Be creative, but focus on commercial objectives andzz return on investment Inject momentum and focus into project teamszz Wider organisational benefits Signal to stakeholders you take innovation seriouslyzz Create more fun, passion and employee engagementzz Reduce staff turnover, cut absenteeismzz Imbed creativity and innovation tools for thezz long term Guarantee ongoing organisation-wide creativityzz and innovation think combines analytical rigor with commercial creativity to take ideas from concept to completion think works with clients to help identify barriers to innovation and creativity and then helps to systematically remove them think works collaboratively with teams comprised of people inside and outside of your business to come up with the best breakthrough thinking think helps individuals, teams, departments, companies and organisations multiply their possibilities and create portfolios of new ideas think helps these teams test and filter new ideas against specific and measurable commercial criteria such as strategic fit and return on investment. think provides a framework to manage any changes these new ideas create in terms of people, communications and culture think helps successfully communicate new ideas internally and align teams behind them. think embeds skills, behaviours and capabilities so your organisations can carry on innovating through applied creativity after we have left. If you continue to do what you are doing now you can predict the outcome. If you are ok with this then that’s great – carry on. If however like us, you want better things for your business, help us to help you create your business exemplar. think combines analytical rigor with commercial creativity to take ideas from concept to completion think — global innovation management46 47think benefits
  25. Henri Matisse Creativity takes courage
  26. are like rabbits.You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen of them. ideas John Steinbeck
  27. 2.5% We are very proud that we invest 2.5% of our turnover in charities that are local to us. As think grows we will become a significant force for good —innovation for good We already give to these charities: Plan-UK, Cancer Research UK, Water Aid, CREPA, Save the Children Red Nose Day and Columba 1400
  28. 3 things to start doing now Unleash the potential power that think can bring to your organisation 1. Lead from the top The mistake many business leaders make is to silo creativity as purely a department’s function in which they do not require to get personally involved. Organisations that think creatively across their business need their leaders to support and demonstrate it personally at all times. Make it part of your conversations with your leadership team, customers, shareholders and media. You’ll find that alignment comes quickly and the objections of dissenters soon subside. 2. Make it part of the culture If you want more people in your organisation to be creative then you have to encourage and support them to do so. Consider financial incentives or internal awards for creative ideas that get adopted. Write it into people’s job descriptions and assess it in appraisals. 3M instructed their employees to spend 15% of their time pursuing innovation projects of their own making – leading to, amongst other things, the Post-It™ note – and Google followed suit, raising the time stake to 20%. The office environment, the social calendar, the way you conduct meetings, can all have a huge impact on the extent to which your organisation is creative, or not. 3. Seek external support With the right kind of leadership and encouragement any organisation can become more creative. But there will always be limits to how much you can achieve on your own. Just as traditional management consultancy can add value to a business through transference of best practice and deep specialisation, so can think. It’s about gaining deep understanding of your business problems, re-framing them in inspiring ways. It’s about re-imagining what’s possible without the baggage of unnecessary protocols or politics. It’s about using non-linear thought- processes to make powerful connections between market needs and your business’ potential in ways that conventional thinking would fail to find.  think — global innovation management54 553 things to start doing now
  29. …and now we have some questions for you: If the answer is yes please get in touch 01 — Do you believe innovative solutions can help your organisation to be more competitive? 02 — Would you welcome innovative solutions to increase your turnover and margins?  03 — Do you believe that successful innovation can add value to your organisation, your staff and shareholders, as well as your customers? 04 — Would you like new ways to attract better customers?  05 — Do you need some fresh thinking on how you bid / pitch for new business… to win more business? 06 — Would you consider entering new markets for your products or services if you knew you could not fail? 07 — Would you like ideas on how to generate more sales through your existing customers? 08 — Would you like to know how innovation management could help you do more with less – i.e. advertising budget slashed, reduce overheads in new ways or increase productivity without increasing the cost? 09 — Would you consider training to develop your teams skills to be more entrepreneurial and pro active? 10 — Could you benefit from innovative ways to improve your effectiveness? 11 — Would you like to improve employee motivation in new and interesting ways? 12 — Would you benefit from new ways to develop or create relationships with customers, personnel, suppliers or investors in your business? 13 — Would your business improve if you developed new and better products or services? 14 — Do your people challenge the status quo to see better alternatives? 15 — Have you a process that ensures sustainable management of innovation in your organisation? 16 — Do your senior leaders understand how to encourage creative thinking in others and how to support those who have good ideas? 17 — Do you ever wish that your events were more exciting and engaging? If the answer is yes to any of the above questions… would you consider getting specialist help from think - to support innovation management within your organisation?  www.thethinkteam.com/isobel.mcewan
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