Innovation, Change, and Creativity

excella.com | @excellaco
Creativity and
Change for
the Innovation
Adventure!
Mindy Bohannon | @mindybo93

Connect all the dots
using 4 or fewer lines
without lifting your pen from the paper!

What Hindrances and
Assumptions did you make?

Assumption: The lines must pass through the center of the
dots. If you draw lines that just touch the dots, you can solve
the puzzle in just three strokes
Assumption: The lines must be thin. Connect the dots with one
fat line and you have solved the problem.
Assumption: You may not crease the paper. Fold the paper
in such a way that the dots line up. In this case, you only need
one strokes.`
Assumption: The paper must be flat. Roll the paper into a tube
and it’s possible to connect the dots with a spiral. When unrolled,
the spiral becomes a straight line.
Assumption: The lines cannot extend beyond
the end of the paper. If a line is long enough, it travels around
the earth and returns from the opposite direction. One line that
circumnavigates our planet twice will solve the problem.
If you break other assumptions,
you find more solutions.
To solve the following problems,
you must thing beyond some usual.

• Innovation
• Change
• Creativity
Intentions
Puzzles and
Exercises to
Flex our Minds

Assumptions
Hindrances to Creativity
Self-Doubt
Habits

• a new idea,
method, or device
• a mindset or
pervasive attitude
• an intuitive state
of mind
Innovation

• To exchange; to
make different;
to alter
• a substitution,
or variation
• to do or say
something in
many ways.
Change

• To make or bring
into existence
something new
• Originality
• Stimulating the
inventive powers
Creativity

What
do
you
see?

INNOVATION

Before
• Reorganizing
• Downsizing
• Outsourcing
Now
• Innovation
• Agile
Journey

• Support of Top Management
• Resources in Time & Money
• Goals & Periodic Measurement System
• Reward Structure based upon Performance
• Norms & Values Pervasive throughout
the Company
Ingredients of Innovation

• Require innovation
• There is an ‘I’ in TEAM!
• Take a chance
• Stimulate Thinking
Tips for an
Innovative Environment

Lateral Thinking
A man rode into town on Friday.
He stayed three nights and
then left on Friday.
How?

A man rode into town on Friday.
He stayed three nights and
then left on Friday.
How?
Lateral Thinking
His horse was Friday!

CHANGE

• Biologically:
a normal and natural activity
• Intellectually:
scary; we resist and deny change
• Reality:
Technology is a world of rapid
change
Change

Ten coins are
arranged as shown.
How can you move
just one coin so that
when added, either
vertically or
horizontally, two
rows of six coins
will be formed?
Managing Change

Managing Change
Ten coins are
arranged as shown.
How can you move
just one coin so that
when added, either
vertically or
horizontally, two
rows of six coins
will be formed?

• Unconscious Incompetence
• Conscious Incompetence
• Conscious Competence
• Unconscious Competence
4 Stages of Change

1. World of Large is the World of One
2. Change is Normal, but Not Natural
3. School Did Not Teach Us to Adapt
4. Change is Painful
5. You Can Never Go Back
Realities of Change

Realities of Change
6. Change is Relative
7. Ability to Adapt is a Skill
8. We are Powerless to Stop Change
9. Change has Gone from Evolutionary
to Revolutionary
10. Think Positively and Realistically

CREATIVITY

Creativity
Scientific test for
determining if you
are creative:
Def: The
method
through
which
innovation
occurs
Are you breathing?
Yes___ No ___

“We don’t like their sound.
Groups of guitars are on
their way out.”
Creativity
Idea Killers
– Decca Executive, after turning
down the Beatles, 1962.

“but what…is it good for?”
Creativity
Idea Killers
– Engineer at IBM,
commenting on the microchip, 1968.

“Ours has been the first, and
doubtless to be the last, to
visit this profitless locality.”
Creativity
Idea Killers
– Lt. Ives, after visiting the
Grand Canyon, 1861

“We’ve always done it that way”
“We’ve tried that before”
Creativity
Idea Killers
– Co-workers with too long a memory

• Find Your Own Idea Killers
• Learn from Losses & Failures
Encouraging Creativity

Truth About Failure
“A failure is not always a
mistake, it may simply be the
best one can do under the
circumstances. The real
mistake is to stop trying.”
-B. F. Skinner

Truth About Failure
“Success is the result of
perfection, hard work,
learning from failure,
loyalty, and persistence.”
-Colin Powell

Mental Blocks & Myths
• That’s Not Logical
• Avoid Ambiguity
• Follow the Rules
• Don’t be Foolish
• “I’m Not Creative”
• Play is Frivolous

How to
build a
snowman
Mental Gymnastics

Mental Gymnastics
• Be Visual

What
is the
pattern?
Mental Gymnastics

Mental Gymnastics
What
do you
see?

Mental Gymnastics
Face
looking left
What
do you
see?

What
do you
see?
Mental Gymnastics
Back of a
person in a
snow suit

Find Relationships
& Patterns &
Associations
Mental Gymnastics

Mental Gymnastics
You have 9 balls.
8 weigh the same, and 1 has a heavier weight.
There is 1 scale.
In 2 steps, figure out which ball has the heavier weight.

Mental Gymnastics
You have 9 balls.
8 weigh the same, and 1 has a heavier weight.
There is 1 scale.
In 2 steps, figure out which ball has the heavier weight.
Split the balls into 3 sets of 3 each.
(1) Measure 2 sets against each other.
The heaviest set is identified.
(2) Measure 2 of the 3 balls in this set.
It’s one of those measured or the
one not measured!

• Think Like Leonardo da Vinci
• Use a Different Viewpoint

Use All Your Senses

What
do you
see?
Mental Gymnastics

Now
What
do you
see?
Mental Gymnastics

• Embrace Play
• Brainstorming
• Nourish Creativity
• Be a Kid

• Stimulate & Share with Those
Around You; Volunteer
• Listen
• Have Courage & Encourage
• Ask Questions

What IF?
• What if we lived to be 600 years old?
• What if everyone on the Earth
jumped at once?
• What if computers worked instantly?
• What if humans had antlers?
Do you have a What If?

Conclusion
 What is the one thing that
every child is brilliant at?
Ask yourself...
…...Creativity
……Innovation
……Change
 What is the one thing that excites
children but scares adults?
 What is the one thing that
excites adults with the
enthusiasm of a child?

Accept Change…
Encourage Creativity...
Succeed at Innovation!
Conclusion

“To reach any significant goal, you must
leave your comfort zone.” – Hyrum W. Smith
“Change is the law of life. And those who
look only to the past or present are certain to
miss the future.” – John F. Kennedy
“If you’re going to be a bear, be a grizzly.”
– Anonymous
Remarkable Quotes

Remarkable Quotes
“Creativity is allowing oneself to make
mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.”
– Scott Adams
“In martial arts we say, "Put it on the mat," which
means to take your philosophy and see what it looks
like in action and deed.” – Richard S. Heckler in The
Anatomy of Change
”When it's over, said and done, it's better that
you've had some fun.” – Oingo Boingo

Mental Gymnastics

• Amatt, John. The Spirit of Adventure. Thunderbolt Thinking.
• Betar, Shondeya. Top 10 Ways to Enliven and Expand Your Creativity.
CoachShondeya@msn.com.
• Christensen, James. Personal Illustrations Vol. I Imagination. Shadow Mountain,
2000.
• Hamel, Gary. Leading the Revolution. Harvard Business School Press, 2000.
• Hargrove, Michael. The Steps to Change. Bottom Line Underwriters, 1997.
• Sanborn, Mark. Mastering Change: The New Realities. ThinkSmart.com.
• Wycoff, Joyce. Defining Innovation; Input Wanted: Principles of Innovation.
ThinkSmart.com.
• www.InnovatorsDNA.com
• www.ThinkSmart.com
• www.gantthead.com
References

Creativity,
Change &
Innovation
Conclusions, Questions?
Resolutions!
@mindybo93 – Mindy Bohannon

A windowless room contains 3 identical light fixtures,
each containing an identical light bulb or light globe.
Each light is connected to one of three switches
outside of the room.
Each bulb is switched off at present.
You are outside the room, and the door is closed. Before
opening the door you may play around with the light
switches as many times as you like. But once you've
opened the door, you may no longer touch a switch.
After this, you go into the room and examine the lights.
How can you tell which switch goes to which light?
Mental Gymnastics

@mindybo93 – Mindy Bohannon

Innovation, Change, and Creativity

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