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Unwrapped
Keys to Creating an Innovative Workplace Culture
Unwrapped – 7 Keys to Creating an Innovative Workplace Culture
Table of Contents
1. An Innovative Workplace Culture Provides Direction 1
Exercise – Is your big statement working as hard as it can? 2
2. An Innovative Workplace Culture Invites Broad Participation 3 Exercise – Who fills each role on your innovation team? 3
3. An Innovative Workplace Culture Meaningfully Engages and Involves Employees
4
4. An Innovative Workplace Culture Encourages Change 7 Exercise – Are you encouraging change within your workplace? 7
Exercise – What’s It Like? 11
5. An Innovative Workplace Culture Pursues Smart Possibilities 12
6. An Innovative Workplace Culture Stays Agile 15
7. An Innovative Workplace Culture Celebrates Progress and Success 16 Exercise – How are you celebrating progress and success? 16
Resources 17
Mike Brown Bio 17
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Unwrapped – Creating an Innovative Workplace Culture 1 2014, Mike Brown
Unwrapped ‐ Creating an Innovative Workplace Culture
1. An Innovative Workplace Culture Provides Direction
An Innovative Culture Is a Big Deal
“Creativity is the most important leadership quality, according to CEOs.” IBM Global CEO Study, “The Enterprise of the Future”
“Seventy‐eight percent of Millennials were strongly influenced by how innovative a company was when deciding if they wanted to work there.”
The Deloitte Millennial Survey, 2014
“Employing a worker in a creative occupation is an innovation input in a similar manner to employing a scientist.”
The Creative Economy Report, London School of Economics, 2008
Our definition of “Innovative” opens participation to everyone: “Able to create
fundamental, valuable improvements relative to the status quo.”
Big Ideas vs. Big Vision
A big idea is more likely to emerge from many possibilities than from a trickle of
ideas pre‐filtered (maybe multiple times) to only those that seem BIG. Set a big
vision and work with any idea that might move the organization closer to it.
Developing an Innovation Direction
Use a big statement to shape a big vision, and let ideas emerge to make it a
reality. Each type of big statement works differently for the organization:
Core Purpose – The reason for existence
Vision Statement ‐ A bold promise of the future
Mission Statement – The best of what is done now
Brand Promise – The customer expectation and experience
At the heart of an innovative culture is a broad understanding of answers to the
granddaddy of all strategic questions: What are we trying to achieve?
Unwrapped – Creating an Innovative Workplace Culture 2 2014, Mike Brown
Exercise – Is your big statement working as hard as it can?
Pick one of your big statements, write it here, and determine how strongly it’s
working for you. P.S. Be honest in your ratings.
Our Big Statement: _____________________________________ _____________________________________________________ Score
Is Jargon‐Filled Has Some
Jargon Uses Only Real
Words
Could Be Any Organization
Is Somewhat Distinctive to Us
Could Only Describe Us
Reads Like a Consultant Wrote It
Sounds Kind of Bland
Sounds Like How We Talk
Is a Total Mystery to Employees
Is Known but Not Remembered by
Employees
Is known and Understood by Employees
Effectively “Sits on a Shelf”
Is Used on Special
Occasions
Shapes Our Decisions
TOTAL SCORE:
How is your big statement doing?
23 to 25: It’s outstanding in helping orient and drive innovation
20 to 22: It’s a strong statement for guiding innovation
Less than 20: Consider revising your big statement, supplementing it with
something more distinct and clear, or using a different statement
to align innovation efforts
Unwrapped – Creating an Innovative Workplace Culture 3 2014, Mike Brown
2. An Innovative Workplace Culture Invites Broad Participation
The best ideas develop when people with multiple types of perspectives
participate in innovation.
Exercise – Who fills each role on your innovation team? (http://ow.ly/nminK)
People with Direct Experience
People with Functional Expertise
People with Creative Energy
An Upbeat Person
A Servant Leader
A Doodler
An Event Person
The Socializer
A “Math and Music” Person
The Instigator
Somebody Good with Words
A Quiet Thinker
A Hidden Expert
Glimpse the Future through Lead User Interviews – Conduct structured
conversations with the most advanced, far‐sighted audience members on what
they are seeing and experiencing today.
Unwrapped – Creating an Innovative Workplace Culture 4 2014, Mike Brown
3. An Innovative Workplace Culture Meaningfully Engages and Involves Employees
Using non‐traditional questions creates strategic detours around conventional
thinking.
Identifying Innovation Opportunities Based on Value (http://ow.ly/nkWFx)
What are the TOP 3 things we do that ADD INCREDIBLE VALUE for others? _____________________ ____________________ ____________________
What are the TOP 3 things we do where we DON'T DELIVER INCREDIBLE VALUE for others because we can't/don't focus enough time, attention, and/or resources on them? _____________________ ____________________ ____________________
What are the TOP 3 things we do that ADD LITTLE OR NO VALUE for others? _____________________ ____________________ ____________________
USES – This exercise helps in identifying important opportunities, making trade‐
off decisions for resources, prioritizing options, and working toward agreement
on what matters.
Anticipating What Cannot Be Anticipated ‐ What’s YOUR experience?
Identify a list of things that are apparently beyond failure and seem benign in the daily course of activities. What are ______________________________?
Things currently working well – both inside and outside the organization?
Strong, dependable areas in the organization and its processes?
Activities increasing in volume and importance through growing demand?
Unwrapped – Creating an Innovative Workplace Culture 5 2014, Mike Brown
Overlooked aspects of the organization considered to be no big deal?
Disproportionately complex processes in the organization?
The organization’s overlooked areas?
Formerly problematic areas whose challenges are long forgotten?
Look for themes that emerge in your answers. Consider how you’re prepared to react if any of these failed when they are needed.
What will have happened?
Use this exercise to sort out potentially big impact issues – both positive and
negative. Have a group answer the following two questions individually:
1. Suppose we dramatically exceed all of our goals three years from now. What are the three biggest factors that contributed to our outstanding success?
_____________________ ____________________ ____________________
2. Suppose in three years we have completely failed at our objectives. What are the three biggest factors resulting in the failure?
_____________________ ____________________ ____________________
Answers to the first question typically highlight opportunities and critical success
factors. The second question’s answers are threats to address to be able to expect
success. Some issues will surface as answers to both questions; these are make or
break issues for the organization.
USES ‐ This strategic thinking tool uncovers different perceptions of strategic
issues, helps make prioritized strategies and tactics clearer, and signals other
stakeholders to involve in initiatives.
Subscribe to the Brainzooming blog for new ideas on strategy and
innovation: http://brainzooming.com/today
Unwrapped – Creating an Innovative Workplace Culture 6 2014, Mike Brown
Seek a Variety of Ideas, Inputs, and Thinking from Your Team
Don’t overly‐formalize what types of inputs you want employees to share and
how they are expected to share them.
Ask Your Team for: Basic Criteria for Sharing Input
Ideas
Challenges your customers are facing with what you offer
Challenges your employees are facing in delivering what you offer
Work‐arounds being used to make your organization’s processes more effective
Things your customers have been complaining about or asking for that have gone unaddressed
Opportunities employees have been thinking about
Things in your operation or processes that don’t seem to make sense, create difficulties, or could work better
Enough information to take a next step
Background information on what’s been tried before
Background information on what to watch out for – both upsides and downsides
Contact information for the person sharing the idea/information so there’s an opportunity to follow up
Unwrapped – Creating an Innovative Workplace Culture 7 2014, Mike Brown
4. An Innovative Workplace Culture Encourages Change
Exercise ‐ Are you encouraging change within your workplace?
How frequently do we . . . ?
Never
Rarely
Sometimes
Frequently Very
Frequently Score
State objectives without detailing all the answers
Challenge the status quo
Cultivate diversity within work teams
Ask productive questions
Encourage contradictory views
Let project leaders own development and results
Listen to ideas and provide timely responses
Speak now and “forever hold our peace”
Decide once, not multiple times
TOTAL SCORE
41 to 45: You’re doing lots of the right things to foster and cultivate an environment of change
32 to 40: You have a good foundation for a culture that promotes change
Less than 32: There is some real work to do in identifying improvements to spur a culture of change and innovation
Unwrapped – Creating an Innovative Workplace Culture 8 2014, Mike Brown
Structuring Strategic Change
Determine how big of a change is in order. http://ow.ly/pzPA1
Set an objective with very specific strategic constraints. http://ow.ly/pzPV1
Establish a vision that guides strategy and implementation activities. http://ow.ly/pzQQX
Creating Comfort with Changing Conditions and Uncertainty
“Forecasters who extrapolate from today inevitably get tomorrow wrong…(but)
by pitting multiple scenarios of the future against one another and leaving many
different doors open, you can prepare yourself for a future that is inherently
unpredictable. Brainstorming pays off. And the more possibilities you can
entertain, the less likely you are to be blindsided.” ‐ Peter Coy and Neil Gross ‐
Business Week, August 30, 1999
Unwrapped – Creating an Innovative Workplace Culture 9 2014, Mike Brown
Protecting Questions and Ideas – How New Thinking Is Killed by Team Members
1. Making a first comment about what’s not working, especially without offering ideas about what might work.
2. Sharing your assumption that innovation is more complicated or expensive than doing something practical.
3. Refusing to stop talking once you have a negative head of steam going.
4. Dumping verbal napalm on other peoples’ ideas, especially if you don’t have a sense of what their ideas are or how they’re intended to work.
5. Refusing to contribute to or build on a new idea someone else has contributed because you’re only able to voice objections to it.
6. Sitting silently and looking distracted, indifferent, or non‐participatory when the group is discussing creative thinking perspectives.
7. Getting up and removing yourself from strategic discussion.
8. Displaying “corporate aggressive” behavior in an otherwise calm meeting setting, i.e. raising your voice, leaning forward, stomping off, etc.
Looking Differently ‐ Changing the Way You Look (http://ow.ly/y7IpO)
Move Further Away o Ask someone unfamiliar with the situation to observe it and tell you
what they think. o Change your seat – physically or virtually –take a few steps back from
where you usually “sit” while viewing a situation. What is different?
Look Closer o Look at only one aspect of a process – repeat “how” and “why”
questions (i.e., How is this working? Why does this happen?) exploring many possibilities for new insights.
Look from a Different Height o Spend a day on the front lines of your organization – what do you see
about the process or opportunity you wouldn’t typically experience? o Shadow a senior executive – what makes its way to that level?
Look from a Different Perspective o Have someone else carry out a process for which you usually have
responsibility – what’s different?
Unwrapped – Creating an Innovative Workplace Culture 10 2014, Mike Brown
Varying What’s Been Done
If you’re limited in your innovation options, here are variations you can use to
explore incremental (or even major) changes to what has been done already:
Narrowing Broadening Modifying • Focused • Niche • Repurpose • Simplify • Streamline • Re‐use • Combine • Integrate • Historical
• Aggregate• Complementary • Broaden • Diversify • Greater
Sophistication • Improve • More Robust • Variability
• Leapfrog • Extreme • Destabilize • Off Target • Contrary • User involvement • Shift
Identifying Strategic and Creative Connections:
Fill in the blanks on this basic question:
My situation __________ like __________?
acts, sounds, thinks, looks, turns into something, behaves, creates an impact,
serves audiences, feels, moves, communicates things,
is trying to accomplish something
Unwrapped – Creating an Innovative Workplace Culture 11 2014, Mike Brown
Exercise ‐ What’s It Like?
This exercise addresses an opportunity or challenge from the perspective of
another organization.
Pick your opportunity or challenge and list various characteristics it possesses.
Select an organization facing a comparable situation and brainstorm how the
other organization, given its different view of your organization’s situation, would
approach it.
Use these ideas as a starting point for identifying innovative solutions for your
organization.
Generalize Your Situation & Describe It
Who Other Situation Is Like It? How would they address
what you do? _______________________________
________________________________
_______________________________
________________________________
_______________________________
________________________________
_______________________________
________________________________
_______________________________
________________________________
USES ‐ This exercise expands your thinking with rich strategic analogs, leads to a
regular set of companies you can use for generating ideas, and helps you
understand customer experience expectations.
Unwrapped – Creating an Innovative Workplace Culture 12 2014, Mike Brown
5. An Innovative Workplace Culture Pursues Smart Possibilities
Strategic Impact – Creating vital change to meaningfully propel an organization
forward.
Five‐Level Decision Making (http://ow.ly/y7Klz)
Providing your team with a sense of their latitude and authority for decision
making allows them to move forward more effectively. From “The End of
Marketing as We Know It” by Sergio Zyman, former Chief Marketing Officer at
Coca‐Cola ‐ these were five levels of decision making relative to his team:
Level 1 – Your decision with no input from the team
Level 2 – Your decision with input from the team
Level 3 – Group decision
Level 4 – A team member’s decision after input
Level 5 – A team member’s decision with no input required
Using Four‐Box Grids (http://ow.ly/y7KEq)
Four‐box grids provide tremendous flexibility in quickly identifying and prioritizing
ideas within a group setting.
Unwrapped – Creating an Innovative Workplace Culture 13 2014, Mike Brown
Other Possible Scales:
• Fit with Strategic Objectives • Degree of Comfort with the Idea • Level of Resources Needed • Degree of Surprise
Bringing Critical Thinkers into the Evaluation at the Right Time
Critical Thinkers
The Skeptic
The Short Attention Span Theater Fan
An Argumentative So and So
The Dense Person
A Narrow‐Minded Associate
Unwrapped – Creating an Innovative Workplace Culture 14 2014, Mike Brown
Whole Brain Innovation Metrics (Innovation Metrics – Whole Brain Strategy)
Begin developing your innovation metrics by determining what drives ROI.
Specifically identify which factors increase positive business returns and which reduce necessary investment. Starting with the end result in mind will better align the overall effort toward delivering a positive return on investment.
Adopt a “whole‐brain metrics” orientation.
This means consciously trying to capture both quantitative (left brain) and qualitative (right brain) metrics. Consider these metrics across three important areas:
Culture Metrics – Culture‐based measures help track how solidly an
innovation effort has taken hold.
Process Metrics – The second group of measures relate to systematic
innovation activities.
Return‐Based Metrics – The third group includes ROI, ROC, new
products/services as a percent of sales, etc.
Unwrapped – Creating an Innovative Workplace Culture 15 2014, Mike Brown
6. An Innovative Workplace Culture Stays Agile
Continuing to Focus on What’s Important
What matters for your organization? How does an opportunity impact . . . .?
Our core purpose, values, and/or vision?
The brand, its representation, or promise?
Key audiences ‐ broadly and/or directly?
Our ability to attract customers and prospects?
Potential dissatisfaction of customers and prospects?
Our financial prospects?
Resources / raw materials in dramatic ways?
The organizational structure or alignment?
When Do You Need to Innovate More?
When you suspect “new and innovative” is becoming status quo, evaluate
whether a prior innovation is:
Still linked to something important?
Failing to deliver maximum value or performance?
Already matched by competitors?
So old no one remembers before it happened?
If you mostly answer “Yes,” it may be time to innovate your previous innovation.
Focusing on the Right Things to Get Perfect
B.D.T.P. or G.T.R.P. (http://ow.ly/nkX6c and http://ow.ly/nmaXL)
What would be perfect?
What would be good?
What types of perfect do you need? And don’t need?
PurposePlan Inputs Participants Steps
DevelopmentFormat Outcome Usage
Unwrapped – Creating an Innovative Workplace Culture 16 2014, Mike Brown
Soliciting Quick, Informal Input
Plus (Something that is working)
Minus (Something that isn’t working)
Interesting (Something unexpected or surprising)
Recommendation (An idea for the future)
7. An Innovative Workplace Culture Celebrates Progress and Success
Exercise – How Are You Celebrating Progress and Success?
What celebration activities do you have in place for various aspects of the
innovation process?
What activities are you currently doing?
Celebrating Success
Celebrating Progress, Determination, and Culture
Celebrating Trying and Learning
Unwrapped – Creating an Innovative Workplace Culture 17 2014, Mike Brown
Additional Brainzooming Resources
The Brainzooming Strategic Thinking
Manifesto http://ow.ly/t21XK
Strategic Thinking Exercises
http://ow.ly/nGNb1
Link to sign up for free Brainzooming blog http://ow.ly/nEzkh
Mike Brown Founder, The Brainzooming Group
Mike Brown is founder of The Brainzooming™ Group and a frequent keynote presenter and facilitator in marketing best practices, innovation, strategic thinking, and social media.
The Brainzooming™ Group helps make smart organizations more successful by rapidly expanding their strategic options and creating innovative plans they can efficiently implement.
Mike has been at the forefront of leading Fortune 500 culture change, contributing new approaches in research, developing simplified tools for innovation, strategy planning, and aligning sales, marketing, and communications strategies for maximum business results.
He has won multiple awards for his strategic brand‐building approach to customer experiences in NASCAR and conference event marketing efforts.
Mike Brown is the author of the eBook, “Taking the NO Out of InNOvation,” a guide to breaking through personal challenges to living a more creative and innovation‐oriented life. Additionally, he authors the daily Brainzooming blog (www.brainzooming.com) on strategy, creativity, and innovation, and has been recognized as one of the top innovation bloggers on the web.
His personal branding approach has been highlighted in “Fast Company” magazine, and through his writing and speaking, Mike has shared the Brainzooming approach with hundreds of thousands of business people, helping them adapt it to strategic planning, branding, marketing, and social media opportunities and challenges.
Mike Brown's Email: [email protected] Phone: 816‐509‐5320 Blog: www.Brainzooming.com Twitter: @Brainzooming
Unwrapped – Creating an Innovative Workplace Culture 18 2014, Mike Brown
816‐509‐5320 [email protected]
