Home >> Innovation Programs >> Experiential Innovation

Experiential Innovation

1. Can creativity really be taught? 2. Is creativity & innovation just about throwing up a lot of ideas? 3. How can a creativity & innovation workshop help the participants on a daily basis?

The above three are the key questions we have sought to answer while designing our workshop for participants around the topic of creativity and innovation. The workshop is based on the work of Roger Von Oech, often referred to as one of the Gurus in the field of creativity.

The core philosophy behind these workshops is as below:

• Very few people think of themselves as creative or innovative. However, Creativity and Innovation - while seen as "Problem solving techniques" are much more relevant and imbued in the Indian psyche. Thus the Indian "Jugaad".


• Ideas are a dime a dozen. However, most of us generally tend to get stuck in our idea generation, to tried & tested patterns that lock our thinking. Left brain thinking which relies on logic, analytics, precision, seem to be predominant in the organizational milieu. However, as an overwhelming evidence of examples and anecdotes have shown us, right brain thinking for individuals and organizations can be richly rewarding. And unlike the popular perception that "to be creative" you need to be "eccentric, wild or gifted", most often people only need to be guided to think in a certain way - for them to open their mental locks.


• The hallmark of creative people is their mental flexibility. They are able to shift in and out of different types of thinking depending on the needs of the situation at hand. Largely, this is encompassed by 4 main roles, each of which embodies a different type of thinking. These roles being: Explorer / Artist / Judge & Warrior.

In brief these 4 types of thinking are:

• The Explorer: A creative thinker needs the raw material from which new ideas are made: facts, concepts, experiences, knowledge, feelings, and whatever else can be found. However, we are much more likely to find something original by venturing off the beaten path. So, we need to become an Explorer, during which time we will poke around in unknown areas, pay attention to unknown patterns, use different senses and seek a variety of different information. Hence exploration is the essence of this mode of thinking.


• The Artist: The different bits and pieces of information gathered by an Explorer may form patterns. However, to come up with something new and original, a twist or two is often required. This is when the Artist steps in. Here we experiment with a variety of approaches. We follow our intuition, we rearrange things, we look at things backwards, we turn them upside down. We explore "what if" and look for hidden analogies. We may break the rules or create new ones. After all of this, we come up with new ideas.


• The Judge: Now we ask ourselves: "Is this idea any good? Is it worth pursuing? Will it give me the return I want? Do I have the resources to make it happen?" To help make these decisions, we adopt the mindset of a Judge. Here we critically evaluate the evidence. We look for drawbacks, we wonder whether the timing is right, we run risk analyses, question assumptions and listen to our gut. Ultimately we arrive upon a decision.


• The Warrior: Finally, its time to implement the idea. This is where the rubber hits the road - we suddenly realize that every idea is not immediately embraced. Infact, there is a lot of competition between ideas too. Hence we become a Warrior to take our idea into the world of action. Here we develop an implementation strategy and also the discipline to slog it out in the trenches. This is where we have to overcome excuses, idea killers, temporary setbacks, and other obstacles. Key challenge here is to do whatever is needed to make the idea a reality.

The workshop hence uses these 4 metaphors as a framework, basis which the participants will be guided onto and made aware of the different kinds of thinking.

To contextualize the whole experience for the participants, the workshop is setup around existing issues & challenges at the workplace - which may be centered around the business, the people issues, the competitive situation or any external situation they are facing.

Contact Us today - we will be glad to meet up and discuss the possibilities for your team!