Innovation and Creativity

Recently I had the privilege of participating in the 6th Annual Construction Product Development Exhibition at Auburn University.  Wow!  I was impressed with the students and the innovative and creative energies that were showcased.

This Exhibition is a collaborative effort with Building Science, Industrial Design and industry partners such as DeWalt, Knaack and Superior Mechanical.  The students did an outstanding job - new ways of doing things, a passion for creative ideas, new syntheses of information (google TRIZ), a renaissance-like brightness, and enthusiasm for stretching the status quo.

Innovation is the result of a unique set of human judgment capacities.  There is an assessment tool, the Judgment Index, which measures (predicts) the capacity for good judgment.  It also measures eight specific areas for providing the presence of and degree of capacity for innovation and creativity.  They are:

1. Noticing and sensing ability
2. Problem solving ability
3. Conceptual thinking
4. Conceptual problem solving
5. Acceptance to change
6. Understanding what is important
7. Assertiveness and openness
8. Problem solving energy

I observed a strong presence and demonstration of these attributes among the students.

Regarding innovation, there are several favorite companies that come to mind, including Google, Apple and Proctor & Gamble.  As I study the experts, my take-a-ways for innovation and creativity are:

• Solicit input. Great ideas come from all levels of the organization.  Collaborate!
• Allow time to work on creative ideas.  Encourage employees to be fearless, plan and “do it”!
• Executing ideas is often tougher than generating them.  Persevere!
• Utilize predictive metrics for employee innovation and creativity.  Quantify / measure!