Creating a Culture of Innovation: Design an Optimal Environment to Create and Execute New Ideas

ISBN-13: 9781484262900 / Angielski / Miękka / 2020 / 121 str.

Alexandra DesChamps-Sonsino

Spis treści

1. Introduction (5 pages)

2. Space and tools (40 page)

From the way a space is laid out to how often teams eat with each other as a proxy to family life, this section will link existing research and anonymised interviews to discuss the power and impact of these tools and strategies.

a. Stationary & interior design

i. Open plan offices  

ii. Hot desking & Co-Working spaces

iii. Canteens & eating rituals

iv. Post-its & Whiteboards

1. Power & Opinions

3. People & Knowledge (30 pages)

From ‘Master Inventor’ to ‘Head of Labs’ the way companies assign power to people and departments in charge of innovation shapes how that work happens but also is perceived. In this chapter we will examine the way we view the innovation coming from within and outsiders, the culture of youth around innovation and the segregation we create to manage the impact the ‘real world’ has on cultures of creativity and innovation. 

i. Job titles

ii. In-house

1. Futurists & Evangelists

2. Internships

iii. External

1. Consultants

2. Gurus, Nomads & Pirates

a. Case studies

3. Attending conferences

4. Brown bag lunches & other internal training 

4. Communication (30 pages)

The structures we use for people to work together is also part of how companies identify themselves as innovative. Whether its written communication or how collaboration is organised, there are myths and data about the effectiveness of these approaches and patterns but they are rarely considered in a ‘monkey see monkey do’ culture of innovation. This chapter will look at each and present the pitfalls and limitations of each tool and approach. 

i. Written

1. Email

2. Slack

3. Trello

ii. Collaboration

1. Buzzwords, in-jokes & office language 

2. Meetings 

a. Formats 

i. Stand ups

ii. Walk & Talk

iii. Note taking

3. Conference calls

4. Away days

5. Methodologies

a. Brainstorming 

b. Design Thinking

c. Agile

d. Business Model Canvas

6. The IT department 

a. Security strategies & Clean desk policies

b. BYOD

5. Sharing Innovation (40 pages)

Finally innovation isn’t recognised unless it is shared. Here again the patterns most companies adopt are the same, from client-facing innovation physical spaces with blue LEDs in their offices to PR stunts at CES, the effectiveness of these efforts is rarely measured and this chapter will focus on questioning these approaches with case studies. 

a. Dedicated  innovation spaces

i. Their purpose & design 

1. Case studies 

b. Maker spaces 

c. Incubators, Accelerators & Hubs

d. PR

i. Video

ii. Social media

iii. Tradeshows & conferences

1. CES

2. SXSW

3. TED

6. Conclusion (5 pages)

Total page count: 150

O autorze

Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino is an Internet of Things author, consultant, public speaker, and entrepreneur with a background in industrial and interaction design. She wrote Smarter Homes: How Technology will Change your Home Life (Apress, 2018), was the first UK distributor of the Arduino, and is the founder of the Good Night Lamp, which is in the permanent collection of the London Design Museum. Her projects are also part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

She has been organizing the London Internet of Things Meetup since 2011. Alexandra was named 1st in a list of 100 Internet of Things Influencers (Postscapes, 2016), 2nd in Top 100 Internet of Things Thought Leaders (Onalytica, 2014) and in the Top 100 Influential Tech Women on Twitter (Business Insider, 2014). She’s been included in the long-list of Computer Weekly’s Most Influential Women in Tech in the UK (2017 and 2018).

Blurb

Innovation can only occur in the right environment. While organizations can attempt to hire for innovation, there is little that can blossom in a restrictive and discouraging physical setting—even if the space holds the most creative and vibrant thinkers. In Creating a Culture of Innovation, deconstruct the history of patterns of failure in business cultures and environments, and learn how to create an optimal combination of factors to ensure future success.

Author Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino expertly breaks down the ruts that organizations often find themselves in when attempting to create an innovative environment out of thin air. Every chapter offers practical, relatable examples of success and failure in each aspect of a work setting, from office layouts, to management styles, to communication technologies, to available leisure time, and so much more. Deschamps-Sonsino easily deciphers the most effective ways that companies can achieve constant innovation.

Creating a Culture of Innovation cuts to the core of the matter. Many businesses presuppose that they may hire an outside consultant who will wave a magic wand and suddenly transform their company into one that is ripe for innovation. The process in fact requires dozens of factors and departments to perform deep self-analysis and change. Creating a truly innovative setting is reached only with research, thorough shifts in ways of working, and flexibility to dive into the unknown. Will you take the leap?