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Interrogate Ideas
Effective brainstorming in business innovation requires a two-phase approach: an expansive, criticism-free brainstorming session followed by “agitated inquiry,” where diverse perspectives challenge ideas through structured debate to ensure sound decision-making and prevent groupthink.
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Remix, Reframe, and Repurpose
Natalie Nixon emphasizes the importance of remixes and mashups in business creativity through the SCAMPER method, which encourages innovation by substituting, combining, adapting, modifying, repurposing, eliminating, and reversing traditional ideas and processes.
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The 3i Creativity Model (Improvisation)
Successful teams, much like jazz ensembles, thrive on fluidity and adaptability, embracing mistakes as opportunities for growth while fostering a culture of improvisation and collaboration to navigate constantly changing environments.
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The 3i Creativity Method (Inquiry)
Natalie Nixon emphasizes the importance of questioning for creativity, advocating for a blend of divergent, convergent, and hybrid questions while embracing ambiguity to foster collaboration and innovation within teams.
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The Engine for Innovation
Natalie Nixon emphasizes that nurturing creativity—defined as the ability to balance wonder and rigor—is essential for individuals and organizations to thrive in the 4th Industrial Revolution, where automation and AI are prevalent, and introduces the 3i Creativity Model to foster this skill.
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Using Inquiry to Drive Innovation
Natalie Nixon, founder of Figure 8 Thinking, advocates for embracing a child’s relentless curiosity and asking more questions to ignite creativity, discussing various question types and the importance of leaning into ambiguity in her video.
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Using AI as a Sounding Board
In this video lesson, Professor Ethan Mollick discusses how incorporating AI as a brainstorming partner can enhance creativity by generating unconventional ideas, encouraging high-variance thinking, and ultimately revolutionizing the innovation process.
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Prompting AI
In a video lesson, Professor Ethan Mollick emphasizes that providing clear, step-by-step instructions and engaging interactively with AI can significantly improve its output quality, akin to training an intern, while also advising on the strategic timing of AI consultation.
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Dream with Creative Thinking
Dan Pontefract emphasizes that organizations must prioritize creative thinking over mere productivity metrics, as fostering a culture that encourages dreaming and ideating is essential for generating innovative ideas and achieving meaningful benefits.
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The Three D’s of Open Thinking
Open thinking, as defined by leadership strategist Dan Pontefract, is a cyclical process involving three stages—Dream, Decide, and Do—that fosters creativity, critical thinking, and action to achieve positive results through iterative improvement.
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Class
Mastering Creative and Critical Thinking
Leadership strategist Dan Pontefract argues that effective workers balance action with reflection, taking time to introspect, learn from mistakes, and prioritize tasks, emphasizing that the best workers think as much as they do.
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“Wildcards”
Lisa Bodell, Founder and CEO of FutureThink, teaches how to lead teams through her “Wildcards” thought experiment, which encourages agile responses to change by having small groups tackle a problem and adapt to unexpected shifts in its definition.
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“From Impossible to Possible”
Lisa Bodell, Founder and CEO of FutureThink, shares an exercise to foster innovation by having teams identify obstacles to problem-solving, swap lists, and collaboratively turn challenges into achievable solutions.
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“Little Bigs”
Lisa Bodell, CEO of FutureThink, emphasizes overcoming inertia in change management through “Little Bigs”—small exercises that encourage innovative thinking and behavior shifts, such as brainstorming risky ideas, involving outsiders in problem-solving, and empowering team members to make independent decisions.
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“Killer Queries”
Lisa Bodell, Founder and CEO of FutureThink, emphasizes that the key to innovation lies not in access to information but in improving our questioning skills, advocating for provocative thought experiments to elicit meaningful insights.
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“Kill A Stupid Rule”
Lisa Bodell, Founder and CEO of FutureThink, discusses her “Kill a Simple Rule” exercise, which empowers teams to challenge existing rules and foster innovative cultures by allowing them to change two rules while identifying non-negotiable ones.
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“Kill Your Company”
In this video, FutureThink’s Lisa Bodell presents a team exercise that encourages companies to adopt their competitor’s perspective, identify their weaknesses, and strategize on how to leverage those insights for innovation and change.
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A Framework for Creating a Culture of Innovation
Lisa Bodell, Founder and CEO of FutureThink, outlines effective strategies for managers to embrace and implement change, emphasizing the importance of collaboration, identifying competitive weaknesses, and fostering a culture where change is collectively supported and simplified.
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How to Help Individuals Achieve Progress as a Group
Organizational psychologist Adam Grant argues that traditional group brainstorming stifles potential, advocating for individual idea generation followed by group evaluation to harness diverse perspectives and overcome self-limiting beliefs, ultimately enhancing team effectiveness and leadership.
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Don’t Just Stay in the Game – Win It
In a video lesson, restaurateur Will Guidara emphasizes that both defensive and offensive strategies are crucial for business success, advocating for small, impactful cuts during tough times and encouraging team creativity to drive innovation and revenue growth.
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Conversational Moves for Engaging Your Team in Creative Collaboration
Managers and leaders must foster team agility by creating an authentic, structured environment that encourages open dialogue, shared goals, and critical analysis, while also helping team members navigate uncertainty and build resilience through collaboration and creative problem-solving.
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Develop Superpowers by Investigating What Others Won’t
Zen masters refer to “know-nothing mind” as a state of openness where asking seemingly “dumb” or “absurd” questions can lead to breakthroughs, encouraging individuals to overcome the fear of embarrassment and challenge their assumptions for transformative insights.
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How to Find a Third Way Through to Reconciliation
Ginni Rometty, former CEO of IBM, advocates for reconciling differences and co-creating a viable third option instead of compromising, emphasizing the importance of understanding both parties’ end goals and motivations through respectful debate.