There are many approaches to innovation that sound good but are challenging to implement. In this workshop we will be looking at some simple yet effective approaches that you and your teams can use to come up with creative ideas, solutions and breakthroughs that will inspire your staff and positively impact your communities.

1. Simple, Effective
Ways to Innovate
in Your Y
An Interactive How-To
2017 Illinois State Alliance Fall Rally
Bloomington-Normal, IL
FOR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
FOR HEALTHY LIVING
FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

2. Welcome
• Introduction
• Overview

3. Distinctions
• Creativity is thinking of something new
• Innovation is the implementation of
something new

4. Innovation Defined
“Staying relevant”
4
“The future delivered”
“Turning an idea into a solution that
adds value from a customer’s
perspective”

5. Innovation Defined
“Executing an idea which addresses a
specific challenge and achieves value for
both the organization and for the
customer”
5

6. Prerequisite: Personal Preparation
• Too often the focus is on the process
itself
• Need to prepare yourself mentally
and physically
6

7. Prerequisite: Personal Preparation
• Neurogenesis: building new brain
synapses
7

8. Prerequisite: Personal Preparation
• Stay mentally “fit”
• Crossword puzzles, Sudoku
• Learning a new language
• Learning to play a musical instrument
8

9. Prerequisite: Personal Preparation
• Stay physically fit
• Exercise = increased blood flow to
the brain which provides more
oxygen and glucose
• Helps grow new brain cells as well as
new connections between cells
9

10. Prerequisite: Personal Preparation
• Eat a healthy, balanced diet
• Vegetables such as broccoli, spinach,
tomatoes, some berries, and omega-
3 oils appear to improve memory and
overall brain function
• Green teas and protein in general do
the same thing
10

11. Prerequisite: Personal Preparation
• Protein, which we find in meat, eggs
and beans, contain high levels of
amino acids
• Amino acids cause neurons to
produce neurotransmitters
norepinephrine and dopamine, which
are associated with mental alertness
11

12. The Status Quo
Defined as the current or existing state
of affairs
To maintain the status quo is to keep
things the way they are
12

14. The Status Quo
Excuses for why we settle for the status
quo?
14
• There’s no budget for that
• Management won’t agree
• We’ve never done it that way
• We’re too small for that

15. The Status Quo
Excuses for why we settle for the status
quo?
15
• Since when are you the expert?
• Maybe someday …
• We don’t have time
• Let’s be realistic

16. The Status Quo
So How’s That Working For You?
16

17. The Status Quo
17
“We cannot solve our problems with
the same thinking we used when we
created them”

18. The Status Quo
18
Often “experts” will hold on to old ways
of thinking and doing that used to work
But times change, and we need to be
willing to do things in new, creative and
unexpected ways in order to continue to
live out our cause to strengthen
communities

19. Wreck The Status Quo
19

20. Wreck The Status Quo
20
1997 Apple Computer

22. Wreck The Status Quo
22
“The people who are crazy enough to
think they can change the world, are the
ones who do”
Don’t shy away from being one of the
“crazy” ones

23. Wreck The Status Quo
23
Think of Blockbuster Video

24. Wreck The Status Quo
24
They described the initial success of
Netflix as “crazy”. Why?

25. Wreck The Status Quo
25
They described the initial success of
Netflix as “crazy”. Why?
The approach Netflix took:
• Didn’t follow the rules
• Didn’t make sense
• Didn’t look like everyone else

26. Wreck The Status Quo
26
Where is Blockbuster today?

27. Be Brave and Innovate
27
Innovation is a process that requires us to:
1. Be willing to take risks and fail
2. Wreck the status quo
3. Make the world a better place

28. Simple, Effective Approaches
28
First Step: Create the proper context
• Location: best option is offsite
• Unplug: put phones on vibrate
(better yet, put them in a basket),
don’t check email
• Set aside a chunk of uninterrupted
time

29. Simple, Effective Approaches
29
First Step: Create the proper context
• Get creative juices flowing
• Google “recent innovations” and
review some of the amazing things
happening with innovation to
encourage and inspire your team

30. Simple, Effective Approaches
30
Osborn Checklist
• Alex Osborn invented
brainstorming, along with
several other creativity
methods
• Checklist develops new
solutions from existing ideas

31. Simple, Effective Approaches
31
Approach 1: Osborn Checklist
Develop at least one idea for each of these areas
Adapt What's similar, what are
parallels, what can you
imitate?
Modify Can you change color,
moving, size, shape, tone,
smell, etc.?
Substitute Different process, positions,
music, elements from other
countries, etc.?

32. Simple, Effective Approaches
32
Approach 1: Osborn Checklist
Develop at least one idea for each of these areas
Magnify / Maximize Increasing frequency, size,
height, length, distance,
etc.?
Minimize / Eliminate Lighter, smarter, etc.?
Rearrange Different sequence, etc.?
Reversal How to mirror the ideas,
etc.?
Combine Is it part of a bigger picture,
etc.?
Other Use Is another use possible, etc.?

33. Simple, Effective Approaches
33
Brainwriting 6-3-5
• Better than traditional brainstorming
• Encourages
participation from
all, with an
emphasis on
sketching of ideas

34. Simple, Effective Approaches
34
Brainwriting 6-3-5
• Form a team of 3-8 people, 6 is best
• Set a clear focus – what is the issue?
• Each member writes, sketches and
annotates 3 ideas, each on a single
sheet of paper.

35. Simple, Effective Approaches
35
Brainwriting 6-3-5
• Pass your 3 ideas to the person on
your right.
• Take 5 minutes for them to add to,
modify or extend each idea.
• Pass the ideas to the next person,
and repeat until all ideas have gone
around the table.

36. Simple, Effective Approaches
36
Brainwriting 6-3-5: Lightning Round
• Focus: Ways to engage 10-12 year
olds in our Y
• Sketch & describe 3 ideas (5 mins)
• Pass to your right, refine it (2 mins)
• Keep passing to the right until
everyone has had a chance to modify
all the ideas (2 mins each)

37. Simple, Effective Approaches
37
Brainwriting 6-3-5: Lightning Round
• What happened?
• What did you learn?
• What value did the group add?

38. Simple, Effective Approaches
38
Excursion Technique
An excursion has three
basic steps. They are:
• Temporarily put the problem out of
mind.
• Generate irrelevant material.
• Improvise a novel idea.

39. Simple, Effective Approaches
39
Excursion Technique
• This technique generates new
thought patterns via analogies
• Step 1: Facilitator asks group to take
imaginary excursion to a physical
location (a museum, a jungle, a city,
another planet, etc.) which has
nothing to do with the real problem.

40. Simple, Effective Approaches
40
Excursion Technique
• After the excursion each participant
writes down 8-10 images, which
he/she saw during the journey
(things, people, places or items) in
the 1st of 3 columns.
Mental
Images

41. Simple, Effective Approaches
41
Excursion Technique
• Step 2: participants draw analogies or
express relationships between what
they saw on the excursion and the
problem as defined, and write them
in column 2 next to the related items
in column 1.
Mental
Images
Analogies

42. Simple, Effective Approaches
42
Excursion Technique
• Step 3: identify what solutions are
suggested by the analogies or
relationships in column 2.
• Write the solutions in column 3 next
to the analogies in column 2.
Mental
Images
Analogies Solutions

43. Simple, Effective Approaches
43
Excursion Technique
• Step 4: each participant shares what
they saw, their analogies and
solutions.
• Step 5: The group discusses the ideas.
The facilitator helps the group arrive
at common solutions that could work
for the problem.

44. Simple, Effective Approaches
44
Excursion Technique: Example
• Issue: Conflict between departments
• Excursion: Natural History Museum

45. Simple, Effective Approaches
45
Excursion Technique: Example
• Issue: Conflict between departments
• Excursion: Natural History Museum
Mental
Images
Analogies Solutions
Rock
formations
Layers of
good soil
between hard
rock
Use dynamite
(strong
measures) to
blow up the
hard rock

46. Simple, Effective Approaches
46
Excursion Technique: Example
• Issue: Conflict between departments
• Excursion: Natural History Museum
Mental
Images
Analogies Solutions
War between
native tribes
“War”
between
departments
Bring in a
mediator to
forge a truce

47. Simple, Effective Approaches
47
Attribute List
• Ensures all possible aspects of a
problem have been examined
• Break the problem down into smaller
pieces and see what you discover
when you do that

48. Simple, Effective Approaches
48
Attribute List
• Step 1: list as many attributes as you
can.
• Step 2: Identify the value of each.
Some might be negative.
• Step 3: Look for ways to modify each
attribute to add value or decrease
negative value.

49. Simple, Effective Approaches
49
Attribute List: Customer Service Desk
Step 1: list as many attributes as you
can:
• Opening hours
• Friendliness of service
• Availability of printed information

50. Simple, Effective Approaches
50
Attribute List: Customer Service Desk
Step 2: identify the value of each:
• Opening hours: meets most customer
requirements
• Friendliness of service: makes
customer feel welcome

51. Simple, Effective Approaches
51
Attribute List: Customer Service Desk
Step 2: identify the value of each:
• Availability of printed information:
resource for customers to take with
them

52. Simple, Effective Approaches
52
Attribute List: Customer Service Desk
Step 3: modify to add value to decrease
negative value:
• Opening hours: need to open earlier
on the weekend
• Friendliness of service: greet the
customer by name

53. Simple, Effective Approaches
53
Attribute List: Customer Service Desk
Step 3: modify to add value to decrease
negative value:
• Availability of printed information:
customers prefer electronic
information, send via email or mobile
app.

54. Review
54
• Innovation involves coming up with
new ideas and implementing them.
• Innovation adds value for both the
organization and the customer.
• Prepare yourself mentally and
physically.
• Prepare your context.

55. Review
55
• The status quo is doing things the
way we have always done them.
• Wrecking the status quo requires
ignoring our usual excuses.
• We need new ways of thinking to
solve old problems.

56. Review
56
Innovation requires that we:
• Be willing to take risks and fail.
• Wreck the status quo.
• Make the world a better place.

57. Teachbacks
57
Personal takeaways

58. Innovate!
58
“The people who are crazy enough to
think they can change the world, are the
ones who do”