Innovation Strategies
How to inspire effective teams
Presented by: Diana Baldi
Senior Consultant
Personal Background
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Creative Problem Solving Children’s Program
● 10th year as coach
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Bringing to corporate world to focus on innovation
● Partnership with non-profit organization
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Passionate about the future
● Integrated systems—Simplify the complexity
● Demonstrating the thought-to-be-impossible to be possible
Session Objective
Interactive fun leading to insights that
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foster innovation through more effective
teams
match creative problem solving
preferences of team members to type of
problem
Agenda
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Set the Stage—why innovation
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Creative Problem Solving Organizations
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Tools
● Assessment of Style: VIEW
● Thinking Tools
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Hands-on Instant Challenge
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Wrap Up
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Questions
Key Business Issues
 Costs are escalating
 Customers/shareholders are expecting ‘more’
 “Status Quo’ just isn’t cutting it any more
 Need new ways to improve and faster
 P2 ideas can limit to incremental change
 Environmental still seen as “separate”
 Even within integrated systems
 Need innovation to truly support Triple Bottom Line
 Need thinking beyond our fencelines
 Meaningful engagement with wider stakeholders
EMS Maturity Levels
The Sky’s
the Limit
Return on
Investment
Defined but not
embraced
Fire Fighting
EMS Level 1
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Environmental responsibilities isolated or not defined
Sporadic noncompliance
● Penalty costs
● Remediation costs
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Added Costs $$
●
●
●
●
●
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Expensive add-on controls
Spill and accident clean-up
Inefficiency costs
High insurance
Environmental viewed as loss center
Low or negative public image
EMS Level 2
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Management system approach
Defined processes and records
(e.g., ISO 14001)
● Spreads out “tribal knowledge” of environmental staff
● Improved environmental awareness
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Compliance improvement likely
● Fewer spills, accidents, NOVs
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Can be seen as not value-added
● Costs of maintaining documentation
● Following procedures can be seen as “extra work”
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Aspects assessed as inputs & outputs
Focus on core business and direct impacts
EMS Level 3
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Wide environmental participation in organization
● Improved morale
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Environmental performance evaluation (e.g. metrics)
Financial Gains
● Decreased production waste, spills & incidents
● More efficient resource & energy use: $$ saved
● Lower insurance premiums

Improved public image
● Public reporting
● Improved regulator relationships and community support
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Going beyond regulatory compliance mandates
● EPA Performance Track
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Extend influence to suppliers
EMS Level 4
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Innovation
●
●
●
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Integration with multiple stakeholders in win: win: win: win
Integrated System Design, ZERI Principles & Goals
Beyond core business and suppliers: OPTIMIZE system
Autopoietic synergy & unexpected benefits:
− Value-added products
− Competing based on quality and cost
− Sustainability
● Aspects assessed as input output input  output…
● Life cycle assessment/Product Cascading/cradle 2 cradle 2…
● Example: Manufacturing/ Separation Technologies at
ambient temperature/pressure with 5 Kingdoms of Nature
EMS Level 4
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High company, society, and personal morale/ pride
● Economic Productivity with Job Growth
− Poverty Alleviation and Social Equity
● Conflict resolution
● Reduction of tensions over resources
● Excellent relations with local & global communities
● Triple bottom line ($$, social, environmental)
● Recognized as good share value and solid investment
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Positive contribution toward…
● Ethical, spiritual & physical health
● Co-Evolution all five kingdoms of nature
● Regeneration of the environment
Baldrige
Framework for
Excellence
Quality
Environmental
Health and
Safety
Quality
control,
customer
upsets
Sporadic
compliance,
releases to
environment
Injuries,
illness and
accidents
Ad hoc—
“hope”
Management
systems
Management
systems
Management
systems
(ISO 9001)
(ISO 14001)
(OHSAS 18001)
Basic—
systematically
deployed
Lean, JIT,
Six Sigma
Beyond
Compliance
OSHA
Voluntary
Protection
Program (VPP)
Overall—
aligned
ZERI
Principles
?
Multiple—
integrated
Level
Baldrige—fully
engaged
(EPA Performance
Track)
How Maturity of Systems “feel”
Integrated
—every requirement
and performance goal is coordinated
so systems feel natural and not
burdensome----results are motivating;
focus on priorities is clear
Aligned
—various processes are
focused on common goals, so different
programs feel supportive even though they
are separate initiatives
Fully deployed
—every person
reliably follows the defined processes, so
you can start to troubleshoot problems
based on process indicators
Ad hoc
—lots of variability in the process since
persons may not know or follow defined process, so
you feel pulled in different directions
SAI-Global / DIcor® Partnership
Innovating with Others
Roots in
Business
Improvement
Roots in
Creative
Problem Solving
What is Destination ImagiNation®?
Destination ImagiNation® is…
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The world’s largest ‘non-profit’ creative
problem-solving, process-oriented,
International Program for kids
Offered in 49 states and 42
countries/provinces
12 million+ kids/1 million+
coaches have participated
350 Annual Destination ImagiNation® Tournaments
More than 60,000 volunteers and officials!
An annual Global Finals which draws over 18,000 participants,
officials and support personnel!
Destination ImagiNation, Inc. Goals:

Foster creative and critical thinking

Learn and apply Creative Problem Solving methods
and tools

Develop teamwork, collaboration, presentation and
leadership skills
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Nurture research and inquiry skills, involving both
creative exploration and attention to detail
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Learn to take informed risks
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‘Turn kids into world class Innovators’
PERSPECTIVES ON
CREATIVE PEOPLE
LEVEL – How creative am I?
STYLE – How am I creative?
What If:
you could become world class
Innovators…
and improve problem solving
meeting productivity by 25%...
all in one day????
How are problem solving
teams formed?
• From the Org’ chart?
• Geographically?
• Based on history/track
record?
• Related skill/expertise?
• Time availability?
• Their problem to fix?
An Assessment of Problem Solving Style
VIEW DEVELOPERS
Dr. Don Treffinger
Center for Creative
Learning, Inc.
Dr. Ed Selby
Dr. Scott G. Isaksen
Center for Creative
Learning, Inc.
Creative Problem
Solving Group, Inc.
PURPOSE OF VIEW
To help assess your problem solving ‘style’..
In order to better understand, develop, and
promote your creative strengths…
So that you can use these strengths, and
appreciate the preferences of others…
When managing change and solving problems.
INFLUENCES ON CREATIVE
BEHAVIOR AND PROBLEM SOLVING
Environment
Motives
Ability
Task
Skills
Style
Others
Creative Behavior and Problem Solving
UNDERSTANDING & APPRECIATING
STYLE HELPS INDIVIDUALS TO:
 Better recognize and understand their personal
strengths and limitations
 See patterns in the kinds of challenges or
opportunities on which they chose to work, and
the types of tools they prefer to use
 Modify their communication approach to
collaborate more effectively with others
 Look beyond one’s own individual tendencies,
and ‘value/leverage’ those differences
Adapted from: Isaksen, Dorval, and Treffinger (2000).
UNDERSTANDING & APPRECIATING
STYLE HELPS A TEAM TO:
• Know and understand each other better
• Identify possible group ‘blind spots’, as well as
‘strengths’
• Form improved problem solving teams, and
ultimately improve the outcomes
Adapted from: Isaksen, Dorval, and Treffinger (2000).
UNDERSTANDING & APPRECIATING
STYLE HELPS AN ORGANIZATION TO:
 Discover how well its human resources/capital
match its mission, vision, or purpose
 Help improve the mix
 Strengthen the effectiveness of internal and
external communication
 Be more ‘scientific’ about problem solving.
Adapted from: Isaksen, Dorval, and Treffinger (2000).
THE VIEW ASSESSMENT
34 Item; 1-7 point
semantic differential scale
Paper or Web-based Version
10-15 minutes working time
VIEW INCORPORATES:
Learning Style
Structure, authority, physiology, and environment impact
individuals’ problem solving behavior to varying degrees.
Cognitive Style
Individuals attend to, encode, organize, process, and
apply information differently.
Psychological Type
Individuals differ in the ways they interact with others
when processing information and in their primary basis
for making decisions.
WHAT DOES VIEW ASSESS?
Orientation to Change
Explorer
Developer
Manner of Processing
External
Internal
Ways of Deciding
Person
Task
BENEFITS: ORIENTATION TO CHANGE
Explorers are more likely to:
Developers are more likely to:
• Supply departures from
tradition
• Provide radically different
options to consider
• Take an unpredictable
approach, providing new ways
of doing things
• Help others understand the big
picture
• Ask “why”
• Engage in fundamentally new
opportunities
• Supply stability, order, and
continuity
• Help make options more
workable and understandable
• Take a step-by-step approach,
making their work easier to
understand, carry out, and
share
• Provide precision, accuracy, and
thoroughness in options and
plans
• Ask “how”?
• Provide a safe base for riskier
operations
Flying Feather Instant Challenge
Challenge: To build the tallest possible structure, place a feather on the top
and then blow the feather off to land as far away as possible.
Time: You have 5 minutes to use your teamwork, creativity and innovation
skills to build the structure with the materials provided. You will then have
one chance to blow the feather as far as you can.
The Scene: You have been asked to build a new prop for the sequel to
Forrest Gump. The structure must be as tall as possible so that the feather
can fly a long distance. (Note: the structure must be free-standing on the
table top or floor) After the 5 minute build-time, the height of the structure will
be measured. You will then place the feather on the top of the structure and
with one large puff of air, see how far the feather will fly.
Materials:
4 straws
1 label
aluminium foil
4 sheets coloured paper
feather
2 paper clips
4 pipe cleaners
The “Heartbeat” of
Creative Problem Solving
Generating
Many, Varied, and
Unusual Options
Focusing
by Identifying a Promising
Direction
or Theme
© 2003, Center for Creative Learning
Thinking Tools
Tools for Generating
Brainstorming
 Attribute Listing
 Morphological
Matrix
 Force-Fitting
 SCAMPER
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Tools for Focusing
Hits and Hot Spots
 ALoU
 Paired Comparison
Analysis
 Sequencing: SML
 Evaluation Matrix
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CHOOSING TOOLS FOR GENERATING
CHARACTERISTICS OF:
MORE EXPLORATORY OPTIONS
MORE DEVELOPMENTAL OPTIONS
• Provide fundamental changes or
radical breakthroughs
• Provide incremental improvements or
modifications
• Create the need for new
structures and systems
• Improve the existing structures and
systems
• Disrupt systems; take longer to
implement
• Fit within systems; quick to
implement
TYPE OF OPTIONS NEEDED
USE TOOLS LIKE:
Brainstorming with Post It® Notes
• Attribute Listing
Force-Fitting
SCAMPER
Ask Why? or Why Else?
Morphological
Matrix
Ask How? or How Else?
© 2002, Scott Isaksen, K. Brian Dorval, & Donald J.
Treffinger. Reproduced By Permission
CHOOSING TOOLS FOR FOCUSING
WHEN YOU NEED TO:
ORGANIZE
Large Numbers
EVALUATE
ANALYZE
PRIORITIZE
Moderate Numbers
Small Numbers
QUANTITY OF OPTIONS
USE TOOLS LIKE:
Clustering
Evaluation
Matrix
Sequencing S-M-L
Selecting Hits
DEVELOP
Paired
Comparison
Analysis
ALoU
© 2002, Scott Isaksen, K. Brian Dorval, & Donald J.
Treffinger. Reproduced By Permission
Summary
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Insights into your “style” enables confidence to
contribute in your most productive manner
● Also enables higher level of respect of team member
contributions
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Insights into “style” of others enables focused
selection of team members to
● enhance creativity
● avoid blind spots and
● removes common barriers in teamwork
Summary (cont’d)
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Alignment/balance of type of challenge and “style” of team
members greatly enhances effectiveness and productivity
of team
● Innovation vs. enhancement
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Use of “thinking tools” fosters practice and enhances
effectiveness
We are all highly creative……bring out the best in yourself
and others through creative problem solving
Working with multiple problems in creative way opens up
new and varied possibilities
Diverse Needs; Common Problems?
innovation
Organization
Environment
Regulators
Why are we so
obsessed by
tackling one issue
at the time, when
the system
solutions require
you
to link
Community
numerous problems
and provide flexible
and adaptive
solutions that can
evolve over time?
Gunter Pauli
www.ZERI.org
Innovative Solutions

Gaviotas—regenerating rainforest in Columbia
where desert savannah reigned for centuries
“The power of the Las Gaviotas pilot project, which
completed 8,000 HA in 1998, is that it rewrote the
science of forestry. It also redrafted the framework
for social development.” www.zeri.org
Pure drinking water for sale to
help fund next 6.3 MM HA of
savannah
Carbon Units, anyone?
Recent Feedback
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“Relevant, practical, easy to use/understand…high
energy, fast moving”
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“You learn/absorb more when you are having fun”
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“World class training, plus glad to help the kids”
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“Applies to everyone, regardless of job, age,
education background or industry”
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“Measurably improves our Innovation skills”
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“America’s innovation secret weapon”
Value to American Industry
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‘Tangible’ Innovation approach
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Proven track record/references/benefits
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Hands-on, applied learning
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Quick study
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Easy to understand/use (intuitive)
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Measurable benefits
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Applies to everyone
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Kid’s non-profit partnership unique
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FUN!!!
Questions?
Thank You for Attending
“Innovation Strategies
How to inspire effective teams”
If you have any additional questions, please
contact SAI Global-Excel Partnership, Inc.
800-374-3818
[email protected]
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