HEADS UP!
Heads Up! A weekly update on the world of innovation brought to you by Innovation University, a best practices program of the Innovation Network.
Innovation Centers
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The good news...individual innovation champions CAN make a difference.
In the responses from our readers about centers of innovation and creativity
within companies, we heard many examples of individuals who were able
to get innovation centers started.
Suzanne Merritt founded The Creativity Lab at Polaroid. Lari Washburn co-founded Lucent IdeaVerse. John Tyson has been championing innovation for Nortel Networks for more than 20 years at Design Interpretive. Laurie Dunnavant got an Innovation Learning Center started at 3M in Utah three years ago.
The bad news...assuring succession of these centers of innovation when the champion leaves is a huge challenge. Polaroid's Creativity Lab lost corporate support and closed after Suzanne moved on. Lari left Lucent to go out on her own as a consultant when IdeaVerse lost funding. IdeaVerse remains as a strictly voluntary effort to provide facilitators for idea generation sessions. John Tyson recently retired, and people inside the Design Interpretive group responsible for future thinking are concerned that it may be difficult to continue support for their efforts. Laurie at 3M continues to oversee 3M's ILC on top of her "real job" as a manager in the Health Information Systems division.
A question to consider...how can we build our innovation efforts to continue and thrive even after the innovation champion leaves?
To see the list of internal and external creativity centers, go to:
http://www.thinksmart.com/articles/innovationcenters.html
Suzanne Merritt contributed "20 Lessons Learned" from the formation of Polaroid's Creativity Lab. Find that article here:
http://www.thinksmart.com/articles/polaroid.html
Sarah Palmer contributed an "Overview of Enron's eThink," online center for innovation and creativity. Find it here:
http://www.thinksmart.com/articles/ethink.html
The article that prompted this inquiry is a 1998 Innovation University study of innovation and creativity centers. (Although the page says "Members Only," in the spirit of sharing information, no password is required.) Find "From Cubicle to Cyberspace: Research on Innovation Centers," by scrolling down this page:
http://www.thinksmart.com/members.html
Thanks to all our readers for your responses!
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| Andrea Woodward |
E-mail: andrea@thinksmart.com PHONE: 805-563-1438
Join the Innovation University Fellowship Group
Call Ruth Ann Hattori at 303-604-1981 or e-mail andrea@thinksmart.com for more information.
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