Yes, there is often little danger or risk in getting a group of people together to let some ideas fly.  The power of collaboration and building off the energy of others can be unmatched.  What companies need to recognize is that while group work can be good, the best ideas can come at lunch, on a walk down the hallway, or even in the elevator.  The key is the culture, not necessarily the structure or ground rules usually seen at brainstorming sessions.  If a truly innovative culture is in place, i.e. one in which respect and openness are the cornerstones of the work environment, innovation and creativity will happen everywhere – not just in brainstorming meetings. 

Imagine having the ground rules at brainstorming meetings being the ground rules for your culture....listen, don't judge ideas, let people speak, write down all ideas, etc.

Here’s what you can do.
1. Create a culture based on respect for ideas and being open to EVERY suggestion. 
2. Get EVERYONE on the same page – to achieve an innovative culture ALL employees need to be involved.
3. Place tools such as flipcharts all over the building so when people have ideas, they can immediately work on them – not wait for a conference room to open up.  Also, leverage online and web based technology to encourage idea sharing, capturing, and collaboration.  I am not talking about the ‘suggestion box’ approach.  I am describing having resources in place which allow people to instantly begin working on an idea, either alone or with others.

Every company and organization is always looking for the next great idea.  There is no need to wait for a meeting to brainstorm or generate ideas – get them flowing NOW.  

Rich Trombetta is the President and Founder of The Innovation Company located in Acton, MA (http://www.innovationisEASY.com).  The Innovation Company specializes in working with organizations to get every employee constantly sharing and implementing new ideas.  Rich can be contacted via email at rich@innovationisEASY.com

Here are some potential outcomes…
Disrespect
A lack of listening
A combative culture
Lack of trust and mutual respect
Heated emotions
Possible long term anger and resentment
AN IDEA NOT EVEN BEING CONSIDERED!

This is winning?!  Why the need to ‘win’ every time?  Why can’t we just let people share their ideas?  Why can’t we just let go of control and see what happens?  So often what started out as sharing an idea becomes a confrontation. 

Think of any show on CNN, Fox News, or MSNBC that centers around people with different views talking about a topic.  If you think about it, these shows are just like the Jerry Springer Show, except that instead of throwing chairs the people just throw negative reactions and inflammatory statements at each other.  I always get a kick out of the fact that most of us scoff at the Jerry Springer Show and then tune in each evening to watch people with opposing views scream, yell, and argue. 

Check out this link on YouTube.com to see this behavior in action.  Bill O'Reilly and Geraldo Rivera go toe to toe on the O'Reilly Factor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLPuGuaZTx8

Here’s what you can do:
1. Catch yourself in the act.  When you feel yourself having to be ‘right' and your emotions escalating, stop and LISTEN. 
2. Create visual and fun cues in your office place to diffuse these situations so know that they are acting this way.  This behavior is so hardwired into each of us in can often be difficult to realize we ‘fighting’ not having a conversation.  I use squeaky hammers and animal noises…it works!
3. Stay calm and let the other person talk more.  Behaviors often mirror behaviors.  If you stay calm and listen, then there is a better chance the other person will stay calm and listen.

The bottom line is NO ONE has all the answers and NO ONE is always right.  Listening and respecting ideas may not be good for ratings, but is one of the keys to innovation.

In the late 1940’s and early 1950’s television was bursting into America’s living rooms.  In 1952 the television network NBC decided to begin broadcasting a morning news and entertainment program.  What would be a catchy name that would get viewers attentions?  Bam!  The Today is created.  Brilliant.  Simple and to the point.  Two years later, NBC wanted an evening entertainment program.  Boom!  The Tonight Show begins.  In 1973 NBC wanted a show that started at 1:00 am after the Tonight Show.  Keeping with the theme, The Tomorrow show is introduced.  In 1975 NBC looks to add a show on Saturday evenings.  The name Saturday Night Live is taken so the name Saturday Night is chosen.  Another flash of brilliance.  “Live from New York it’s Saturday Night’ has become one of the greatest lines in the history of entertainment.  

So what is the message here?  Television networks and more specifically, the people who work for them, are often considered very creative and ingenious due to the nature of the work they do.  They produce entertainment.  It is interesting to note that of the four shows mentioned above, three are still on the air (the Tomorrow Show did last 9 seasons) and each of those three is a huge money maker for NBC.  Three of the most simple names for three of the most groundbreaking shows.  The lesson is very clear.  Stick with the simple.  So how can you incorporate this approach into your business?

Here’s what you can do:
Have your team identify the most complex issues it is facing.  Have a brainstorming session with the question, ‘what are the most boring and simple answers we can think of to solve these problems?’
Look at all your potential solutions and ask, ‘would a 10 year old understand this?’  I am convinced that anything in the business world beyond the comprehension of a 10 year old is getting much to intricate.
Put the words Today, Tonight, and Tomorrow on every desk and in every conference room.  Embed the lessons of the naming of these shows and the simplicity of their approach into your employees day to day activities.

People like simple.  They like things that are easy.  Don’t make life more difficult than it needs to be – especially in business.   Kudos to NBC for this great lesson.  For this bit of wisdom we won’t hold it against them for green lighting the show Manimal.  

I bought a maze book for my three year old daughter.  To show her how to use the book I carefully explained that she needed to find a path from the starting point to the ending point without crossing any lines.  To help her, I completed a few of the mazes to show her how to get started.  She said she wanted to try so I gave her the crayon and told her to give it a shot.  What happened next absolutely floored me.  She took the crayon and drew a straight line from the starting point to the end point, ignoring the maze altogether!  I was not quite sure what to say.  I began to tell her no, that the idea was to draw a line through the maze.  We tried the next page and she drew a straight line again!  Again I tried to explain the concept to her and she asked me, “Why do that (go through the maze) when I can just do this (draw the straight line)?”  She has bullet train thinking.

Of course, life does not always allow us to ‘draw a straight line,’ and the message of the maze book is to teach kids how to overcome obstacles and solve problems.  It is interesting, however, that since she has no preconceived ideas or biases on how to solve the maze.  Since she ‘doesn’t know any better,’ the solution to her is obvious – draw a straight line and plow right through the obstacles in the way.  Adults in organizations need to incorporate this way of thinking into their daily lives if a company truly wants to become innovative.  This is when radical breakthroughs will be realized. 

Here’s what you can do to instill bullet train thinking into your organization:
1. First, share this story and illustrate the importance that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.  Challenge every employee to start by asking, “how can we apply bullet train thinking” when presented with a challenge.
2. Second, use graphics and pictures posted throughout your organization to keep the message top of mind with your employees.  
3. When starting a project, have people brainstorm potential obstacles, line them up in a single row, connect them with a straight line, and come up with creative ways to plow through the obstacles and maximize speed and efficiency without compromising the output.

Bullet train thinking can be a very powerful way to enable your organization to become truly innovative.  The good news is we all have this capability – since we were all three years old!

Rich Trombetta is the President and Founder of The Innovation Company located in Acton, MA (http://www.innovationisEASY.com).  The Innovation Company specializes in working with organizations to get every employee constantly sharing and implementing new ideas.  Rich can be contacted via email at rich@innovationisEASY.com

So what is ‘getting it’ when it comes to innovation.  Here’s an example.  I had taken my daughter along with a couple of other parents and children to a local independent bookstore.  The store was basically empty with the exception of a staff that had the appearance of CIA spies on a covert operation watching our every move.  About 25% of the store was devoted to children’s books, games, and toys but there was something very odd – there were only two chairs for kids to sit in.  In addition, every time a child touched a stuffed animal or toy, a staff member seemed to mysteriously appear to ‘see if they could help us.’  I realized that we had brought kids to a ‘playground’ for lack of a better description but were sending the message ‘don’t touch the swings.’  Realizing the kids were getting bored, I started to play a couple of games with them using some of the stuffed animals.  In a few minutes the kids were having fun and yes, they were getting a little loud.  The good news was there was only one other customer in the store, very far away.

Out came the manager!  In a very stern voice with a very upsetting look he told us to “keep things down to a library volume for the respect of the other customers.”  He just didn’t get it.  Nor did the staff.  Rather than view what was happening as an opportunity, he and the staff were so set in their ways that they did not realize an innovative breakthrough was about to happen sail right pass them.  How about if they encouraged parents to bring their kids during slow hours and let the kids have fun?  How about if they realized the kids were getting attached to the toys and stuffed animals and the odds were very high that one of us was going to buy something?  Instead, we walked out and took our money and our experience with us.  I live in a town filled with Volvos and minivans and the next closet bookstore is over 20 minutes away – we make the drive.

Yes, a bookstore may be a place that needs to have some type of quite area.  If that is the case, then why devote 25% of the space to children and discourage them to enjoy themselves?  It would be like a sports team building a 20,000-seat arena and not allowing 25% of the seats - 5,000 - to be sold for each game.   Plus, the culture of the company did not encourage the staff to be innovative and look for new opportunities.  It was clear their job was to just ‘sell books.’ 

So how do you enable every employee to ‘get it?’  

Here’s what you can do:
1. Get everyone on the same page with respect to innovation.  Innovative behaviors need to be practiced and promoted by everyone.  Imagine if instead of ‘selling books’ a staff person had instead focused on our experience and bringing us back.  We didn’t come there to buy a book.  We came there to have fun.  The culture did not encourage her to think about this situation in this manner.
2. Involve the customer.  This store had a free focus group right in front of them – and didn’t ask one question.  An opportunity gone.
3. Try something new at least once per week.   If you are not encouraging people to try new things, then guess what – they won’t!  There is a local grocery store that has a policy that if a person buys something, tries it, and doesn’t like it, they can bring it back for a refund.  This is one of the best ideas I have seen in a long time.

The bottom line is that if your employees don’t ‘get it’ when it comes to innovation, people will go to a place where people do.  Trust me, we and our neighbors all make the drive.

Rich Trombetta is the President and Founder of The Innovation Company located in Acton, MA (http://www.innovationisEASY.com).  The Innovation Company specializes in working with organizations to get every employee constantly sharing and implementing new ideas.  Rich can be contacted via email at rich@innovationisEASY.com

Let’s go back to the comparison of going to a movie and going to a training session.  Movie: Sit where you want.  Training:  Assigned seats.  Movie: About 2 hours.  Training: Usually measured in days.  Movie:  Eat candy and popcorn while the movie is playing.  Training: Eat at assigned times.  Movie: Pick when you want to go.  Training: Show up on time and only take breaks when the instructor allows.  Get the point?  This is why training is so often met with negative reactions.

Yes, there are times that multiple days will be needed for training efforts.  Also, based on the topic, it may not be appropriate to go heavy on the entertainment angle.  With that said, these situations should be the exception, not the norm.

Think about all of the ways we are taught as children and even in high school and college.  We use songs, games, and everything is in 30 to 60 minute increments.  Even the TV shows we watch, the news we listen to, and the books we read – almost all are designed to be entertaining and compressed into short time periods.  So why should training be any different?

Here’s what you can do:
1. Cut every training session you have in half.  Challenge yourself to say, “How can I get this done in half the time.”  Ideally shoot for two hours.  Think of the movie comparison.
2. View yourself as a movie producer and movie director when planning a training session.  You need to entertain people, not just educate them.  I had a conversation with someone who told me that a recent training session she went to was great because the instructor was, “funny, upbeat, and entertaining.” 
3. Sit through a few training sessions yourself with the lens of, “How can we make this more fun and entertaining?”  If you are bored, imaging what the average person is going through.

Sing, play games, dance – do ANYTHING to entertain the participants AND help them learn.  Training is important and a key and essential aspect to a company’s success.  It shows employees they are valued and an important element to the overall strategy of the organization.   Don’t have participants give you two thumbs down because your ‘show’ was boring.

Rich Trombetta is the President and Founder of The Innovation Company located in Acton, MA (http://www.innovationisEASY.com).  The Innovation Company specializes in working with organizations to get every employee constantly sharing and implementing new ideas.  Rich can be contacted via email at rich@innovationisEASY.com

Lunch time is not recess.  Giving people time to go for a walk or exercise is not recess.  I am talking about a good old fashioned policy of everyone MUST take a break and play.  That is recess.  In school it was not optional and for companies looking for new ideas or ways to promote innovative thinking this could be the trick.  Imagine if at some point in the morning a group of employees stopped what they were doing and played for 30 minutes.  Sound crazy?  Think about how much time, money, and effort you spend on teambuilding and then think again.  Also, maybe play is more than running around.  What if corporate recess involved people playing with new gadgets, technology, or software.  And how about if during recess an employee playing with a new gadget said, “hey, we could use this with our clients.”  Suddenly recess doesn’t seem so crazy.  Maybe the corporate ‘playground’ consists of iMacs and other high tech gadgets.

Of course, there are those who will immediately fire back with “if work was supposed to be fun they wouldn’t call it work” or “we are not kids anymore.”   Sure, the work needs to get done and people have responsibilities to perform.  With that said, the potential upside to having people play and explore is tremendous.  The risk of not giving them that opportunity is equally daunting – in the negative direction.  Is there really any potential harm in having people take 30 minutes a day to play?  We all spend so much wasted time in inefficient meetings 30 minutes should be a piece of cake.  Is the fear that the work won’t get done or is it the perception of having fun and at work?

Here’s what you can do:

Create an experimental recess group.  Take ten to fifteen folks from different areas and have them ‘play together’ for 30 minutes each day.  This can not be optional and there can be no rules.  Let them figure out what recess will be – it is their time. 

Create a ‘playground.’  Scrounge up some cash and get a couple of iMacs and some other high tech gadgets.  Make the area fun and let people explore.  Be sure to have a few flipcharts and other office supplies to capture ideas as they come up.

Involve people from all levels.  This is not a top down, bottom up, or middle management process – EVERY level must be represented in order to build credibility and support.

Recess is a perfect way to get employees exploring, having fun, and coming up with new ideas.   Why not give it a try?  Don’t worry, the school bully won’t make you do his project plan.

Too often the process of coming up with an answer to an issue is, ‘get people in a room and let’s brainstorm some ideas.’  While the intent is a good one, the result is often the scene described above.  In addition, why limit idea generation or brainstorming to a scheduled time or meeting? 

Yes, there is often little danger or risk in getting a group of people together to let some ideas fly.  The power of collaboration and building off the energy of others can be unmatched.  What companies need to recognize is that while group work can be good, the best ideas can come at lunch, on a walk down the hallway, or even in the elevator.  The key is the culture, not necessarily the structure or ground rules usually seen at brainstorming sessions.  If a truly innovative culture is in place, e.g. one in which respect and openness are the cornerstones of the work environment, innovation and creativity will happen everywhere – not just in brainstorming meetings.

Here’s what you can do.
1. Create a culture based on respect for ideas and being open to EVERY suggestion.  In other words, LISTEN.
2. Get EVERYONE on the same page – to achieve an innovative culture ALL employees need to be involved.
3. Place flipcharts all over the building so when people have ideas, they can immediately work on them – not wait for a conference room to open up.  Also, leverage online and web based technology to encourage idea sharing, capturing, and collaboration.  I am not talking about the ‘suggestion box’ approach.  I am describing having resources in place which allow people to instantly begin working on an idea, either alone or with others.

Every company and organization is always looking for the next great idea.  Don’t wait for a meeting to brainstorm or generate ideas – get them flowing NOW.

Rich Trombetta is the President and Founder of The Innovation Company located in Acton, MA (http://www.innovationisEASY.com).  The Innovation Company specializes in working with organizations to get every employee constantly sharing and implementing new ideas.  Rich can be contacted via email at rich@innovationisEASY.com

“

Ah, the children’s classic about the big bad wolf and those three little pigs.  The house of twigs, the house of straw, and of course the house of brick.  Harmless, right?  Wrong.  This book, often considered a classic and read to thousands of children each year, is a doing more damage to innovation that could ever have been imagined.  Why?  Let’s take a look at some quotes from the book.  “The third little pig was a sober little pig.”  A sober little pig?  It gets worse.  The third pig also sings a song that goes, “I build my house of stones.  I build my house of bricks.  I have no chance to sing and dance, for work and play don’t mix.”   The third pig is the hero of the story!   And we wonder why innovation is considered so difficult.   How about the versions where the first two pigs get eaten?  Does that scare you enough to stay inside the lines?

Yes, the lessons to work hard and to be aware of your surroundings are good and need to be taught.  No one wants his or her child to be in danger.  Don’t be surprised, however, when the line, “I’ll huff and I’ll puff and blow your house down” starts to become “I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your idea down.”  That is what this book, and many like it, are teaching.  Stay within the lines.  Don’t take risks.  Don’t laugh at work.  This lesson is now hardwired into the child and guess what – it stays all the way through the kid’s career. 

Here is what you can do:

1. Get all the books, materials, articles, and phrases and behaviors that portray the negative messages like those in The Three Little Pigs out of your out of your work environment – and your house!  It is never too young to promote innovation.
2. Replace the negative with the positive and promote behaviors and messages that inspire innovation, and risk taking.
3. Bring more fun to the workplace.  A person spends more time at work than with his or her family.  Make it fun.

By listening – and I mean sincerely listening – you are showing one of the highest levels of respect towards another person.  It is important to note that you are not necessarily paying respect to the person, but rather the person’s ideas.  In effect, by simply listening, you are sending the message that, “I want to hear what you have to say because it is important to you.”  The act of listening will encourage people to share more ideas and foster an environment in which people feel safe to use their creative talents.  And guess what?  Once you focus more on listening rather than racing to share your thoughts or opinions, you can make better judgments.  You can build on ideas.  You can ask for clarification.  You can learn.  Innovation really comes down to the famous statement, “Seek first to understand then seek to be understood.” 

The notion that listening to ideas rather than sharing ideas is contrary to what is typically promoted and stressed in corporations.  Yes, the idea is critical.  There is no disputing that point.  But what if no one sincerely listens to the idea.  This might be described in the question ‘if an idea is shared in a meeting and no one listens does the idea make a sound?’

Here’s what you can do. 

1. First, train your people on how to listen.  Just taking an hour or so to go over the basics of active listening and how to truly be engaged in a conversation will pay huge dividends. 
2. Second, reward listening.  The rewards always go to the people who share ideas.  Corporations have suggestion boxes, monetary gifts, even plaques and awards for good ideas.  How about the people that truly listen and build on ideas and foster a respectful workplace?  Why no recognition for them? 
3. Third, model good listening for your employees.  If you are truly listening, others will follow your lead.  You set the tone. 
4. Finally, make it part of a person’s performance review.  Rewards motivate behaviors.  The good news is that once the behaviors are embedded, the need for this final step can be eliminated.