Martin Training Associates

C.O.R.E. Skills for Innovating Business Solutions

Workshop Description

Innovation is the process of creating a solution for a customer that takes them from a present state to a future state. It moves a customer from “what is” to “what will be”. Innovation is about improving, reinventing or inventing a product, service or process – externally or internally focused. There are two challenges that hinder true innovative: Being able to move past problem solving to identify creative solutions and ensuring the solution is adopted and used.

Developing innovation leadership skills helps organizations to move beyond “today” and into the future so they create creative and targeted solutions using a repeatable fluid process. This team-based process promotes the advancement of customer adoption and frequent innovative breakthroughs so projects are more successful at implementation.

In this highly interactive workshop, participants are introduced to the Martin Training Associates Innovation Process. Using this process and the innovation tools provided, innovation leaders and teams learn to identify solutions that go beyond status quo and ensure they can be adopted into the organization.

Rationale for Training

Innovation is often directed at the external customer- developing creative products and services that the organization will sell to meet its strategic goals. This innovation is critical to an organizations success; however internal innovation is just as important to organizational success as well. Organizations need to use the same practices applied to external innovation and apply them internally to ensure the organization is able to sustain and grow.

Organizations often approach innovation as a two stage process. Create the solution. Develop and launch the solution. By breaking up this process organizations lose critical involvement at the creativity stage to ensure the one thing every innovation needs to be deemed a success – adoption. The leader that knows how to collaborate with stakeholders and customers to create solutions that not only solve problems but move the organization forward and then ensure the selected solution is accepted into the organization are truly innovation leaders.

This workshop focuses on developing the skills of the new innovation leader as well as providing specific innovation tools to the experienced leader. Through the use of case study, discussion and experiential activities, participants practice how to use the collaborative tools and techniques needed to innovate.

The role of the instructor is that of trainer and coach who is a subject matter expert in the innovation process and can direct the learner’s use of tools in a collaborative setting.

Target Audience

Senior leaders and all levels of management

Workshop Length

Two days.

Goals

  1. Recognize the value of the innovation process and associated tools used to create solutions that will help to improve, reinvent or invent current and new systems – which include processes, services and products.
  2. Enable participants to follow the innovation process and identify the appropriate tools needed to help them go beyond the expected state when identifying a solution to improve, reinvent or invent a process, product or service.
  3. Use the innovative process and tools collaboratively with teams, customers and stakeholders to create innovative solutions and adopt them into the organization.
  4. Use content pertaining to tools as just-in-time standalone material.

Objectives

  1. Recognize the value and flexibility of the innovation process.
  2. Identify and use the appropriate tools to create solutions that will help to make improvements to existing systems.
  3. Describe the value of working collaboratively with customers throughout the entire innovation process to simultaneously create and adopt solutions.
  4. Use the innovative process while working with teams, customers and stakeholders to create innovative solutions and adopt them into the organization.
  5. Discuss the goal of adoption, who is involved, and the risks involved if stakeholders and customer, etc. are not included until the end.
  6. Identify the common pitfalls that occur when creating a solution.

Materials Provided

  • Content Outline -- see “Content Outline” below
  • The Innovation Tools Memory Jogger™, Paula K. Martin, Goal/QPC, 2009 (one copy per participant)
  • PowerPoint Presentation on Innovation with copies of slides for each participant included in Participant Manual
  • Case Study, exercise sheets and handouts

Materials Required

  • One computer for instructor with MS PowerPoint software installed
  • electronic classroom equipped with data/video projector and overhead screen
  • End-of-Training Evaluation Form included in Participant Manual
  • Self-Adhesive notes (3x3), Sharpie Pens for exercises
  • Flip charts – 1 per table
  • Markers

Content Outline

  1. Introduction to Innovation Leadership
  2. Innovation Facilitation
  3. Innovation Overview
    1. What is innovation
    2. The innovation process
    3. Innovation types
    4. Creation and Adoption
    5. Idea Generation
    6. Key roles
  4. Gap Analysis
    1. Analyzing the problem
    2. Gap Analysis
    3. Cause Analysis
  5. Solution Definition
    1. Identifying and working with stakeholders
      1. Context Diagram
      2. Solution Criteria & DC Prioritization
      3. Generating Breakthrough ideas
    2. Creating solutions
    3. Overcoming obstacles and risks
      1. Technical difficulty assessment
      2. Solution Impact risk assessment
    4. Advancing Adoption
      1. Adoption assessment
      2. Solution Selection
      3. Solution Definition
      4. Preparing for Development

Instructional Learning Objectives

  • Explain the benefits of using the innovation process
  • Be able to facilitate a group through the usage of the tools
  • Identify which tool applies in what setting.

Teaching Strategies/Procedures

  • The Instructor will lecture using visually based PowerPoint slides and review the content areas of innovation.

Through group discussion, facilitated by the instructor, the participants will explore the innovation process, practice the tools and discuss challenges and learning’s in a small group setting.  A PowerPoint presentation with copies of the slides put into worksheets for the participants will help keep the training session focused.