About

<p>Sustainable innovation, need not be an illusive unicorn. In this episode you get to understand where your unique creative thinking fits into innovation, where you get stuck and where you can collaborate to get creative solutions out of the door.&nbsp;</p> <p>In this episode we unpack how to create sustainable innovation. Whether we are working with creative problem solving, design thinking, lean or sprints, different thinking styles are critical in each phase to get innovation out of the door.&nbsp;</p> <p>An independent IBM study shared that those trained in creative thinking styles, an assembly created by FourSight TM. &nbsp;were more effective at delivering impactful innovation.&nbsp;</p> <p>The four creative thinking styles are:</p> <p>Clarifiers - lets not make assumptions&nbsp;</p> <p>Ideators - where are all the possibilities&nbsp;</p> <p>Developers - lets create a workable solution&nbsp;</p> <p>Implementors - Just do it, lets get this out of the door</p> <p>Preferences are not indicative of ability, they just show us where we come alive and get energy.&nbsp;</p> <p>Knowing what your preferences are lets you know where you can plug into the innovation process and where you have gotten stuck, spinning your wheels.</p> <p>Understand how to increase collaboration and reduce conflict, by understanding another’s preference. Suddenly that annoying thing they do becomes just the thing you need to get innovative solutions out the door.</p> <p>FourSight has over 60 years of research and is currently used in 6 continents across industries.&nbsp;</p> <p><br></p> <p>If you are interested in getting a summary of the dark and light side of your creative thinking preference, get in touch at www.hihellosura.</p>

Transcript

*This Transcript is Autogenerated

Hey there, and welcome to the hi. Hello Sura podcast. I'm your host, Sura Al-Naimi. So today in this episode, I really want to share with you this idea that we are all creative and that we just have different approaches to our creativity. So these different approaches are not necessarily, hardwired, but there are preference.

They're the things that actually make us feel alive. And you might be asking yourself, why am I sharing this with you? So one really, you know, when I went through this process, it was super empowering because I realized. That, uh, I had my own unique genius or flavor if you will, of innovation. So that was pretty cool.

It really helped me make sense of, um, the times that I was really coming alive, but also the times where I was feeling particularly stuck, it really gave me a great awareness of when I was getting stark and. Invited me to shift out of that. And then the other thing that I found particularly useful with this and have found that to be really useful with different companies is that once they had an awareness of myself and the different archetypes of creative thinking, I was able to spot within my team.

You know, other people's creative genius. And so what that did for me is that I was able to partner with people when I needed a shift into a different modality of thinking. And so I would tap into people where, you know, that's where they really came alive. And that's where they really felt like they were thriving.

And so, you know, everyone wins. And then in addition, it really helped me understand people from the perspective that if they exhibited some behaviors, that, you know, it wasn't my natural recourse to behave that way. I suddenly got a, um, it didn't, it wasn't annoying anymore. I actually really appreciated the way that they handle these things.

And so with all that said, the reason that all of this is really important is that, you know, innovation requires different modalities of thinking. And so this method that I'm going to be sharing with you IBM did an independent study and they found that people trained in this method. We're more effective in delivering innovation throughout their organization.

So I think that's pretty powerful. And alongside that this method is being used. Um, it's been cultivated over 60 years. It has 20 years of empirical evidence and it's currently being used in six different conference. So it's one of those things that seems really, really. And it is very, very simple, but the effects and the impact that it can have on yourself personally, and those around you is, you know, it's one of those ripple compounding moments.

So that is why I'd love to share that with you today. So in essence, I've said already that, um, you know, all humans are natural innovators and you know, every day we're solving new problems. You know, if you think about. If you, uh, you know, didn't have a knife to spread your, uh, you know, your jam on your toast, you know, did you ever use a spoon that, you know, that was being creative and being innovative.

And so we're constantly solving these challenges and we're meeting new challenges and we're pursuing new opportunities. And so every human is hardwired to think creatively. Um, and we, we all do it a little bit differently and that's wonderful. But it can actually make collaboration a little tough because you know, if you're working with somebody who's different from you and you don't understand it, it can cause some friction.

And so in essence, whether you're dealing with. Um, you know, creative problem solving or design thinking or lean, you know, whatever brand or flavor of, um, you know, innovation you are partake in, uh, in assets. It can be broken down into four distinct, um, creative thinking styles. And so those four are the first one is clarifying.

And so it's just, as it sort of sounds it's, it's like the person who sets the vision, the individual who doesn't make assumptions, the person who asks, you know, like so many questions and it's very organized and I still know the lay of the land. And so these people are absolutely phenomenal. Uh, when you think about, you know, there's this new frontier and we want to meet.

That we are solving for the right challenge. And so you want to draw on these individuals to really be able to create that strategy for the team and something to bring that to life is when we think about the tail of the space pen. So with the space pen, it's an apocryphal tale, but in essence, The, you know, in the pursuit to get into space.

One of the things that, um, we needed, you know, in addition to the rocket and the spacesuits and the different types of food is we, um, it was defined that we needed a pen that wrote in space. And the reason that we couldn't take a normal pan is because, you know, um, there isn't gravity in space. And so we needed a very specific pan that could write and space.

And so billions of dollars were invested to create this pen that could write in extreme conditions that outlasted every other ballpoint pen on the market that could write on Greece underwater, um, could write in anti-gravity, uh, climates. And so then we fast forward and we think about this pen. And a question is posed, which is, you know, would a pencil have sufficed.

And so this is really to say that if we don't pause and tap into the clarifiers to create vision, we could be wasting a lot of time, a lot of money, a lot of resources, um, you know, by, by simply not addressing the right questions. So that's the. Uh, the ideators, as exactly as it sounds, um, you know, the Ida to see the big picture, they see the lay of the land and they are able to spot infinite possibilities for creation.

And so, you know, they're really into dreaming and playing, um, constant stimulation and, and they love to be flexible and adventure. And so those are the ideators and then we have the developers. And so when we think about that, it's about you, you know, you have a concept and then it's about making it, you know, a workable concept that will actually, you know, that you can actually get into market.

They're really great, uh, weighing up all the different options. Seeing what's working, seeing what's not working all the different variables and then, you know, tweaking and refining and perfecting so that we're developing and crafting this amazing, uh, amazing thing that's going to go into market. So if you think about, you know, Thomas Edison, You know, he had a thousand different trials before, you know, the light bulb was created.

Um, and if you think about Dyson, I believe it. It had over 5,000, 200 prototypes before we arrived at the first working model for the Dyson. So that is true developer assets. Right. Uh, and then we have the implementer. So the implementer is when you think about. You know, Nike and just do it. That is the implementers, the implementers, see something.

They want to make it tangible. They want to get it out there into the world. And so, you know, they're the individuals to give something to and they will rush to get it. And so that's their preference. So just to summarize, you have the clarifiers, the Ida to the developers and the implementers. And so those are the four different creative thinking styles.

So you might have spotted yourself, uh, in one of those arenas. And so that's the light side, that's the light side of, um, these creative thinking styles. But, uh, as with everything to access, there is also a dark. Um, so for example, the clarifier in the desire to really get the lay of the land and not. They make a stark by, you know, asking for yet another report or asking for yet, um, you know, more information.

And so it can often be very frustrating for other people who, you know, you can imagine an ideator, who's having lots of ideas and clarify. He was like, Hey, wait a minute, wait a minute. We really need to figure out what's going on here. We really need to assess the situation and, and that's great up until a certain point.

But, um, you know, at some point, you know, it becomes debilitating and there is a paralysis. So if you're nursing yourself, you know, um, asking for yet another report from another country or, um, you know, overloading people with information that might be your cue that you need to partner up with, um, you know, an ideator or just kind of tap, be aware of that and tap into another.

Uh, fainting, you know, so you are cousins with Albert Einstein who once said that, you know, if there was a crisis and he had an hour to fix it, he would spend the first 55 minutes identifying the problem and the last five minutes solving out. So you, you have a really great cousin, but at some point, you know, you would need to shift gears.

And now with the ideator, we've talked about the ideator, you know, seeing infinite possibility. But one of the things that you might notice as you know, not focusing on any one idea. Right. And so with that, because you, you know, you do see so many possibilities at some point, there might be a need to focus and hone in on a selection of ideas.

So, so people might start to say, you know, oh my gosh, there's no focus. Or, you know, you're all over the place. Or, you know, like, um, they just, they can't get that commitment from you. You're too abstract. And. You know, that's something to be aware of. And so with all of these things, when I talk about the light side and the dark side, if you think about an infinity eight, right?

It's not, there's no right or wrong to any of these behaviors or any of these preferences. It's just that at some point, um, know. Uh, certain creative style thinking style is serving us. You know, it's, it's really what we need in that moment. And then at some point it's not serving us anymore and that's when we need to shift out and be able to engage in a different style of thinking.

And if we're not able to do that, or if we have a flabby muscle around that, um, then that's where we can buddy up and partner up. And that's really where that collaboration piece comes in. Pretty perfectly. And so, you know, if we think about famous ideas of our time, JK, Rowling, you know, um, the author of the Harry Potter series.

I mean, if you think about all the different ideas where her imagination imagination played, you know, and she, she really didn't think that it was going to pay off it and that would, you know, that it would never even just pay her her mortgage. So you are, you know, distant cousins with JK Rowling, figuratively.

Uh, and so then when we, when we go forward and we think about the developer who is just so amazing at refining and reflective, and we really want to give these developers the time and space to consider the options and evaluate things. And, and, you know, we really want to bake that into the project. But the areas where a developer might annoy others is being too nitpicky or finding flaws and other people's ideas, or getting locked into one approach or taking too much time to perfect a solution.

And so when you find yourself doing that, or you notice that within a developer, then that might be the moment to shift into implementing. And so, you know, implementation, you know, is as we, as we mentioned that, you know, they're, self-starting that persistent, that decisive, they love to move quickly. Um, they like timely responses to the ideas, but the dark side of that might be that there might be a bit, a bit too pushy or overselling the ideas.

Mike that you might get frustrated. If you, if you're implemented, you might get frustrated with other people. If you feel like they're stalling or they're not moving as quickly. Yeah. And so that's really something to be aware of because that an organizations can be really happy with implementations, especially, you know, what we found is within the sales realm, um, we have a propensity for high ideation and high implementation, which I'll talk about in more detail in just a moment.

And that absolutely wonderful. But the challenge with that is that some of the ideas that go out into market might not be on strategy. And they might go out half date. And so it's not creating the growth for the organization that they're desiring. So there's, there's something to be aware of. And so what I've touched on all these different preferences and what we talked about.

Is that these are preferences. And so the, this is really like when our energy rises, when we feel in flow, but preference is not scale. And so with that being said, there is always an opportunity for us to develop skills in any of these arenas and become more apt on them so that we can draw up. So there's no good or bad, it's just, it's just preference and, and it's plastic.

And what I mean by plastic is there is really that ability to, you know, Sue pop and, um, be able to get additional skills and all these different areas and be able to grow. So that's, you know, where the body system works out really. And I've been talking about these different areas and, and I've sort of hinted at preference styles and the way that you would find out your unique preference style apart from self identifying, because some of them seem really distinct is, um, there is an assessment that I just talked about takes 10 minutes to do, and that's where you would map out your personalized preference style.

And, and with that, you could find out your team's preference style and that's where things get super exciting. That provides the, the area, not only for self-awareness, but we're able to reduce conflict because all of a sudden, you, you see this person with a new lens, you're able to trust your team and get the results that you really want.

So with that being said, You know, you, you have these different preferences, but often we are a combination. We're not just one. So to bring a couple to life, and there are so many different examples, but the one that I just talked about, which has high ideation, Hi, uh, implementation is that of a driver. So you tend to find the CEOs of organizations and funnily enough are people who are pretty sales oriented, um, to have this profile.

So that individuals that have a multitude of ideas that grab the ideas and then they get them into market, which is phenomenal to create that momentum and that drive. And so the area for. You know, for growth, there's really to be able to tap into the clarifiers within your team, just so you're making sure that the ideas are, you know, within the right, um, you know, playgrounds and then just, you know, providing that time within the project so that a developer can come in and tweak and craft.

So the thing that you're getting out into market is, you know, really great product or experience or campaign and, uh, you know, ultimately creates that growth for your organization. Another combination is that of, you know, high clarifying high ideation and that's called an early bird. And so, as it is, as, as indicated, this person loves to, you know, find new scope, new territory, really like figure out what's going on and then they can have a multitude of ideas.

And so where this person or team would do really well is by partnering up with that developer. Uh, and then that implemented. So the idea is don't get stuck, you know, in concept, but they actually get out into the world and they are. And then there's another profile, which is called the integrator. And that means that, you know, they are actually pretty equal in their preference from clarifier ID, that developer implements.

And so integrates is a really great to have on the team because they will. Fit in where there is an absence within the team. And so they're able, you know, if there isn't any implementation, they'll rise to that challenge. If no, one's clarifying that we'll rise to that challenge. And so they're very chameleon.

They're very adaptable. They can plug into lots of different places, but the danger with that is that sometimes they lose their opinion or their perspective or what they really want to see come out into the world. And so that's just really something to be aware of. And so when we think about all of this and, you know, the impact that it can have, you know, I've seen this done with nonprofits.

I've seen this done with big organizations with our financial companies, you know, in the middle east, um, with, you know, fortune five hundreds and with startups. And it really is quite an amazing moment when teammates are able to look at each other and say, oh, That's why you do what you do. I used to find that really annoying, but now I get it and it's just, you know, it's, it's a really wonderful moment to see teams, um, have that common language with which to come together and move together and project.

And when we think about drafting a team, you know, if we want to have a short term goal, you know, that just needs that instant results, depending on the type of project or what phase it's on, you might want a pretty homogenous team. So if you want people to, you know, really establish the strategy for something, maybe you want to have all clarifiers on that, just for that.

But ultimately, if you want that long term success for your organization, for it to have that sustainable growth for it to be consistently innovative, which, you know, we are needing in this fast changing world, then having a diverse team is what's going to lead to that long time. So that we're constantly getting those different perspectives, able to shift into different modalities of thinking, and we're able to track, you know, through the innovation process and just constantly be iterating through that process.

And so I'm very excited to have been able to share this with you today. The, um, the assessments called foresights and you can find out more about it at hi. Hello, sarah.com. And as I mentioned, it's. It's just one of those things that it's just such a simple, simple tool. And even if you were just to self identify, you know, that, you know, for me personally, and what I've witnessed with teams and individuals around me has given me such a great awareness because for me personally, I am a high clarifier high ideation.

The implementation and development. It's not too far behind. It's not a massive peak and trough, but I do definitely notice myself leaning into. So it's become a really great warning system for me when I'm reading yet another book about something or talking to another person about how to do something or, you know, having 500 ideas.

And, you know, my Trello board is just getting, you know, blasting at the seams with all these different ideas. And so at that moment, that's where I have some checks and balances within, you know, my, my, my mastermind groups and within the team that I'm in. And that's when I'll get that gentle nudge or sometimes not so gentle that, you know, it's time for me to shift out.

And so I really do rely on that to create the momentum in the projects. And I've noticed with other organizations that they're able to do. One thing that I haven't touched on and it might be really implicit in what I'm talking about is that if we map out an individual, a team, and then an organization, we see that it's really, really heavy in one area and very light.

And another gives us the opportunity to one say, okay, well, we have these resources within these five individuals, that's make sure that we beat them into these projects, but also it really becomes a foundation. For future recruitment and that sustainable growth for an organization. And so, as I mentioned, it's a small, yet mighty, uh, tool, uh, and, and mindset awareness to really empower all of us to consistently be creative.

In the way that we are uniquely creative, but also, you know, having that responsibility, um, and awareness to being able to provide, um, a return on investment, be able to get amazing things out into the world to be consistently innovative. You know, just, just simply by being aware that there is a time and place for clarifying Ida things, developing and implement.

So I will leave you with that. And if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out on. HiHelloSura.com and I'm very excited to hear about your stories and your experience with this . Thank you.