CREATIVITY – HOW IS IT ACHIEVED?

Thomas Bergman

Stockholm, 28th of August, 2012

MY TOPICS TODAY

How to generate creativity and new ideas.

How to manage projectsin a creative organization.

FIRST RULE OF CREATIVITY:

All new ideas are combinations of existing ideas.

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MISSION: BUILD THE TALLEST BUILDING IN ZIMBABWE – WITHOUT AIR CONDITIONING

Michael Pearce

The inspiration

The result

ANOTHER EXAMPLE:

The result in one sentence: “Mobile Broadband is not a technology, it’s a whole new way of doing business”.

Challenge: Create a strategy to help Ericsson strengthen the potential of mobile broadband, through communication and innovation of new marketing tools.

www.ericsson.com/unplug

An incentive scheme for users based on parameters that drive business value.

Let users earn points that can be convertedinto values that matter to them.

Inspiration:

THE INCENTIVIST LOGIC

THE ONE-TRICK-PONY LOGIC

Inspiration:

Give people the option to choose less.

All of a sudden, you're selling mobile broadband to people who wouldn’t have normally considered it.

This is how you

innovate!

Connecting ideas that are different from each other.

!

SECOND RULE OF CREATIVITY:

More ideas leads to better ideas.

Richard Branson has started over 400 companies.

Richard Branson has started over 400 companies.

Picasso painted over 20 000 paintings

Google has over 600 products today - and have discontinued 200 already.

A VERY SIMPLE PROJECT MODEL IN TWO PARTS

Many angles The right choices

PrototypingPrototyping is about testing your ideas.

AN EXAMPLE: SJ

OUR CONTRIBUTION: STRATEGY

OUR CONTRIBUTION: EXECUTION

HOW IT STARTED

In the first workshop we cracked the first prototype of the concept.

We were far from done!

THE TEAM IS ESSENTIAL – DIVERSITY RULES

Strategists

Digital

ConceptualistsCopywriters

Designers Technologists

Many angles The right choices

THIRD RULE:

Organizations don't innovate. People do.

And diversity is the strongest driver.

THE BIGGEST BARRIER FOR INNOVATION

“Show me the

business proof that

this is going to be a

good idea.”

GREEN LIGHT SYSTEMS

Works well in low risk, certain environments.

TWO SIDES OF THE COIN

“If you don’t have a process for choosing projects, starting projects, doing projects, and ending projects, you will never get very good at innovation.”

/David Kelley, founder IDEO

Running the business as well as you can

Having the most creative culture you can

WATERFALLS ARE POOR - SOMETIMES

They work well when end result is expectedCreative work isn’t like that

CONTROLLED CHAOS IS BETTER - SOMETIMES

Observe

Understand

Synthezise

Ideate

Prototype

Iterate

Works well when end result is uncertain

That is the way creative work behave

WORKS ON CORPORATE LEVEL AS WELL

Choices in this case is a portfolio of different projects and ideas.

RED LIGHT SYSTEMS

No one wants to drive the project

Technical issues

Conflicts in the team

Bad idea

Low stakeholder support

Target group misunderstood

PrototypingBut on a corporate level.

IT’S EASIER TO BE CREATIVE IF THERE IS A CHANCE YOUR IDEA ACTUALLY HAPPENS

1

25

That you get to test your idea

”GREEN LIGHT”

1

1

That you get to test your idea

”RED LIGHT”

LAST RULE:

Plan for, and embrace, mistakes and failure.

LEADERSHIP IS CRUCIAL IN STIMULATING CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION

Give people permission to take risks

Stand up for ideas when they need to be sold throughout the organization

ONCE AGAIN, THE RULES:

1. All new ideas are combinations of existing ideas.

2. More ideas leads to better ideas.

3. Organizations don't innovate. People do.

And diversity is the strongest driver.

4. Plan for and embrace mistakes and failure.

…AND AWESOME THINGS WILL HAPPEN!

Thank you!

/Thomas

Twitter: @thomasbergman

Mobile: 0739-82 61 87

E-mail: thomas.bergman@rewir.com