Innovation is Dead… And We Killed It

Delegates will learn some fascinating insights into companies who have mastered the art of innovation: 3M, Apple, Nike, several leading Local Authorities and NHS Foundation Trusts and will hear best practice examples of Innovation and Creativity across every Sector.

Having worked for 3M for 25 years as a Divisional European Vice President and being responsible for the rolling out of LEAN/Six Sigma Business Improvement strategies across their European Operation, he has a fascinating insight into HOW 3M “do” Innovation. In Tom Peter’s Best Selling Book “In Search of Excellence” – Peters’ identified a number of companies who he felt had excelled in specific disciplines. E.g. FedEx for their Logistics, Disney for their consistent “Best in Class” ratings for Customer Service – and he cited 3M as being “the best company in the World for Innovation”. 3M is a $35bn global conglomerate with 50% of its annual sales being made from products which had only been launched in the previous 18 months – a ‘financial testimony’ as to the culture of innovation and the leadership and followership principles which lie at the heart of 3M’s success.

This workshop provides insights into the secrets of creating a Culture where Innovation and Empowerment Thrive.

Upon the publication of Tom Peter’s Book – 3M fielded MANY telephone calls from organisations who asked if 3M were prepared to share “Best Practice Principles” as to the secrets of 3M’s outstanding innovative culture – and I hosted Senior Management Teams from many global corporate organisations at 3M – e.g. Hewlett Packard, IBM, Motorola, Nokia, Coca Cola, British Telecom, Siemens, LG Electronics, Motorola, Jaguar, Ford, Land Rover, Honda etc.

Applying the principles of Peter Senge’s Fifth Dimension and his 10 Successes for creating a Culture of Innovation, this workshop includes fun and practical activities to challenge the delegates to “think differently”.

Our Innovation Specialist was also invited to Disney, Florida and Warner Brothers to present Keynote Speeches on Innovation – and the title of his presentation was “Innovation is DEAD…and we Killed it!” …which, although quite a provocative title! – it captured the imagination and caught the interest of hundreds of delegates who attended those sessions. (For the record…. Innovation is NOT dead…  😊 … but we see so many organisations who are guilty of killing off innovation within their employees and companies.)

Now, in his role within Mobile Team Challenge he is invited to help organisations from MANY sectors with their Organisational Development and Strategies and he usually starts by asking them what their Vision and Mission Statement is. From experience over 90% of the organisations have the word “innovation” somewhere in their Statements – however – a large proportion do not have an accurate definition of the meaning of the word “innovation”. Having worked closely with the Edison School of Innovation in Arizona for a number of years – their priority was to arrive at the ultimate definition of “innovation” and the 3 attitudes it embraces. These are the attitudes that we cover in our workshop – along with 3M’s Principles of Innovation and the ‘encouragers and stiflers’.

Delegates will:

• Learn how to create a culture of Innovation within their Teams.
• Learn the impact of Leadership Styles: Are they encouraging or stifling innovation?
• Learn how to overcome the “Blame Culture” which kills innovation.
• Consider the 3 Attitudes required for Innovation to Thrive
• Learn the secrets of Innovation from 3M, Apple, Nike, Local Authorities and Several NHS Foundation Trusts
• Explore the 10 Success Factors for Innovation to Thrive
• Consider the 7 Principles to Encourage Innovation:

– Separate Idea generation from evaluation
– Test Assumptions – Don’t Assume
– Avoid Patterned Thinking – Shifting that Paradigm!
– Creating New Perspectives
– Minimise Negative Thinking and apply Positive Psychology
– Applying the 3 attitudes of Innovation
– Choosing the Correct leadership Style and Culture

• Learn how to Leverage Innovation to achieve Competitive Advantage
• Applying Solution Focussed Thinking Solutions with Appreciative Inquiry
•  Explore the impact that LEAN Thinking, Six Sigma and Kaizen Continuous Improvement processes have on Innovation
• Creating Shared Visions embracing creativity and innovation
• Learn how to optimise their Decision Making and Creative Thinking processes with Edward DeBonos 6 Thinking Hats Concepts
• Consider Peter Senge’s Fifth Discipline Insights – How to create a Culture of Innovation and Learning

CLICK HERE to Download an Overview of this inspirational workshop