i4 2020 Session: Mucking Around Innovation Culture & Tools
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Ben Weinlick discusses patterns of innovation culture that can help organizations tackle complex challenges through disciplined innovation. He outlines six patterns: 1) supporting looking in unexpected places for new ideas, 2) valuing diverse perspectives, 3) bottom-up co-design, 4) playfulness, 5) environments fostering creative collisions, and 6) understanding user needs. Weinlick emphasizes the need for both innovative culture and tools, and provides examples of how these patterns have helped address issues like social services and disability inclusion. The presentation encourages participants to consider how to apply these patterns within their own work to enable meaningful innovation.
i4 2020 Session: Mucking Around Innovation Culture & Tools
- 1. Muckin’ Around, Weird Creative Collisions & Other Awkward Patterns of Innovation Ben Weinlick Go to www.thinkjarcollective.com for tools and innovation field guide @thinkjar_ @weinbenlick
- 2. What drew you to a workshop on patterns of innovation? Haven’t we heard enough about it? • Do you want innovation cause you like creating stuff? • Because it sounds cool to be an innovator? • Because your stakeholders need it so their lives are better? • Or just to be entertained? • ? Do the chat box thing
- 3. What the heck are we gonna cover? • Welp- first off no silver bullets • Complexity and the need for innovation • Why our brains kinda like the status quo • If serious about innovation then it’s long game work- culture and tools • Some patterns of disciplined innovation and some stories of how I’ve steward it… walk the talk
- 4. Big questions that guide How do we problem solve better? Collectively, how do we get to root causes in complex challenges and design more relevant solutions? Fixed it
- 6. Action Lab We steward a portfolio of labs around complex issues Housing innovation Anti-racism innovation lab Humanizing case management systems change innovation Disability & inclusion think tank
- 7. It’s both! Processes that help us make progress on problems that matter Robust solutions that matter When I throw around the word innovation I mean this
- 8. Social Innovation? When tough challenges… Explore deeply what might be the root causes Co-Create solutions alongside people affected by a wicked challenge Find what might work through testing little experiments Grow the stuff that seems to work better
- 10. What the heck is Social Innova1on Really? “A social innovation can be a product, process, or technology, but it can also be a principle, an idea, a piece of legislation, a social movement, an intervention, or some combination of them.” Stanford Social Innovation Review 10 Helps at individual level Helps at Systemic Level
- 11. - Rapid change - Shrinking resources - Increasing uncertainty - Crisis, react, crisis, react - Overwhelm, anxiety - Throw in a little COVID-19… 5 years of change in 6 months What we face in increasingly complex times
- 12. Increased complexity, overwhelm & uncertainty Uncertainty can get us hooked on simplistic answers Humans generally get “bad weird” when faced with uncertainty To make it worse our brains are wired for liking the status quo The familiar: We tend to pay more attention to what we’re used to
- 14. Simple Complicated Complex Can group 3 main types of problems for innovation Adapted from Brenda Zimmerman - FrancesWestley, Getting to Maybe
- 17. Key things we’re up against when striving for meaningful innovation
- 18. Systems that demand knowing exactly where an endeavour will end up Innovation emergence orientated Performance Outcomes and know outcomes/results before we begin Radical Middle
- 20. “Don’t you know or have some kind of innovation tool that you can teach us that will solve everything?…” “The Thing!” Give us a damn formula!
- 21. “We’ll support innovation if it results in 2% efficiencies per year” Status quo disguised as hip innovation talk
- 22. Not recognizing that all innovations have a shelf life Panarchy
- 23. Focus and Count the Passes
- 24. What are the Moon Walking bears we might not be noticing because of being focused on certain aspects of a problem? We don’t want to consider our blind spots
- 25. So, what the heck can we do about this?
- 26. Tools of InnovationCulture of Innovation Must be some deep meaning as to why cosmic Grumpy Cat is at the centre of thisVenn Diagram Are you actually serious about relevant innovation?
- 27. Looking outside our silos for signals and trends to remix into your domain Strengthening Organizational values and capacity for innovation through Culture and Tools Team solution finding habits Systems Think the Heck out of Innovation Culture People’s views, patterns of problem solving
- 28. Exploring 6 Patterns of Innovation Culture The right culture The right tools Need Both!
- 29. Support looking in unexpected places for practices and ideas that are outside one’s usual silos 1. Innovative Cultures Innovation Pattern Because weird creative collisions!
- 30. Take it from Philo Farnsworth
- 32. Weird creative collisions for good Not objects: If everybody would just… Design interactions of positive change we want to see in the world
- 33. Design is usually misunderstood • When you try to solve a problem you are designing solutions • Design as problem solving 33
- 34. The common and often short sighted way of leading change People First! Check multiple perspectives What could trigger change? What is deeply needed? Prototype and Test intervention Small bets before big bets Scale out, scale up, scale deep Convene Senior Leaders and policy makers Unleash on people and hope the plan/strategy works Experts give opinions and we make new program interventions Policy change/champions along for the ride the whole way Human Centered Design Approach
- 35. Systemic Design
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- 37. No Yes! Long standing big systemic challenge undignified, De-humanizing social service planning experience
- 38. Systems Need Standardization Users Need Customization Innovation How might we create a flexible, more client centred social service case management and reporting process that works for people served and reporting to funders? Horns of the dilemma
- 40. Which took me to a weird creative collision moment... Not objects Design interactions
- 41. -Really rough prototype testing -Keeps assumptions in check -Fail cheaply
- 45. Support diversity of perspectives in teams tackling complex challenges 2. Innovative Cultures Jonas Salk, developer of the vaccine that eradicated polio, made it a practice to assemble men and women from different domains in think tanks. Invite people from other domains and ask them how they might solve your problem. www.thinkjarcollective.com Innovation Pattern
- 47. Core Team! Diverse cross section of Edmonton Diverse skills and perspectives Amazing Leaders
- 48. We had to go to where the community we needed to work with was
- 49. New forms of public engagement for sense making
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- 54. 54 www.youneedthisbox.ca 2300 now out in Canada Examples from two diverse Shift Lab community teams Treaty board game
- 55. 55 Built on a foundation of diverse stakeholder perspectives For Complex Challenges We Need
- 56. Recognize that rarely do relevant innovations come from the top They steward bottom up co-design 3. Innovative Cultures Innovation Pattern
- 57. City of Edmonton Parking Accessibility Lab
- 58. People/Service User/ Lived Experienced Managers of a Services Service Delivery People/ Front Line Policy Makers Funders Family Members of people served Needed to learn from all the perspectives to find the innovation Why co-design? Because 360 systems view makes for better solutions
- 59. Co-Design General Principles • Designer/solution finder needs to gain direct insights and get a sense of needs from hanging out with users/people • Good ideas/solutions could come from any stakeholder in a system • At times involve context experiencers in interactive design workshops to gain a sense of needs and to generate ideas
- 60. Co-Design What does it look like when done poorly? Design By Committee Pontiac Aztec Top 50 worst car of all time. Led by innovation guru Tom Peters ClusterFak -YEG SNAP gallery show where art was made by artist and audience co- design The Aztec featured prominently… for a reason
- 61. Value playfulness and not taking ourselves too seriously But not forced cheesy play 4. Innovative Cultures Innovation Pattern
- 62. Authentic expressions Be yourself Playfulness Poking fun at yourself Playing with ideas Openness Empathy Receptivity to new possibilities Better collaboration Better problem solving Play Trust Better Problem Solving
- 63. Seeking Creative Collaborations | Building and Sharing Knowledge | Embracing Complexity 1SKILLS ANNUAL REPORT JUNE 2016Supporting Engaged Citizenship | Safeguarding Healthy Relationships6 SKILLS ANNUAL REPORT JUNE 2016 The Top 10 Indicators That Skills Is An Employer of Choice I like that Skills actually supports the citizenship of the people we support and doesn’t just say that they do - Adrian B. It is not uncommon for an applicant to tell us that “they’ve heard that Skills is a great company to work for” - Lizzamarie M. and Tracey W. I have been with Skills since 2010 and the people are the reason that I stay - Chris B. When I tell people I work for Skills they say they’ve heard that it’s supposed to be a great place to work and ask if we are hiring! - Juanita G. Karen Huta Senior Manager of Human Resources 10 6 4 28 9 5 3 17
- 64. Create environments & experiences that foster creative collisions and collaborative problem solving 5. Innovative Cultures Innovation Pattern
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- 67. SDX is an Edmonton- based Community of Practice that convenes individuals interested in learning about Systemic Design as a methodology for addressing complex, real world issues. Together, we explore systems thinking, design thinking, and change lab approaches. With a bias towards learning by doing, SDX aims to be a watering hole where multiple sectors can come together, learn together, and act together. SDX is convened by the Government of Alberta CoLab and the Skills Society Action Lab. SDXSDXSystemicDesigneXchange 350 -Civil servants -Non-profit leaders -Designers -University profs -Explorers
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- 69. Keep asking, what do the people we serve really need? Have we hung out with people in context to learn? 6. Innovative Cultures
- 73. Systems Need Standardization Users Need Customization Innovation Horns of the dilemma Bonus: Innovative Cultures Harness win wins and surf tensions of dilemmas
- 74. Quick Recap Patterns of innovation
- 75. Support looking in unexpected places for practices and ideas that are outside one’s usual silos 1. Innovative Cultures Innovation Pattern
- 76. Support diverse experience and backgrounds in teams 2. Innovative Cultures www.thinkjarcollective.com Innovation Pattern
- 77. Steward bottom up sense making, problem solving and co-design 3. Innovative Cultures Innovation Pattern
- 78. Value playfulness and not taking ourselves too seriously But don’t force cheesy play Set the stage for it to naturally emerge 4. Innovative Cultures Innovation Pattern
- 79. Create environments that foster creative collisions and collaborative problem solving 5. Innovative Cultures Innovation Pattern Psst… Doesn’t have to be a fancy lab
- 80. Keep asking, what do the people we serve really need? Have we hung out with people in context to learn? Have we dug deeper? 6. Innovative Cultures Innovation Pattern
- 83. Still serious about Innovation? • What is resonating or connecting for you? • What’s something practical or provocative you’re taking away? • Some practical stuff at www.thinkjarcollective.com for leading teams in systems thinking and problem solving. Do the chat box thing
- 84. Increased complexity, overwhelm & uncertainty Uncertainty can get us hooked on simplistic answers Humans generally get “bad weird” when faced with uncertainty Remember our brains are wired for the status quo The familiar: We tend to only pay attention to what we’re used to
- 86. End
- 87. What is innovation in an organization really? - Curiosity - See opportunities even in adversity - People have ability to try new things - Learning and evaluating what’s working and can scale and letting go what isn’t working - Small bets before big bets! - Always improving both what you deliver and processes of improving what you deliver- - A culture where “Yes And” is more common than “yeah but”