Building HOT teams—Revolutionizing how teams THINK together! by Min Basadur of Basadur Applied Creativity

Revolutionizing how teams think together to deliver return on innovation (ROI)

Cincinnati 2012 Innovation Summit PDMA & AMA

October 18, 2012

Building Hot Teams

Min Basadur

Copyright Basadur Applied Creativity 2012


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1. Follow an innovation process together

2. Ask the right innovation questions: “How might

we?” and “Why?-What’s stopping us?”

Hot Teams learn how to:

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• The innovation process hot teams learn to follow.

• The questions hot teams use over and over:

How might we?

Why might we? What’s stopping us?

• How hot teams synchronize their diverse cognitive styles

• Real world examples of bottom line ROI

• An On-line hot teams profiling tool

• Questions and Answers

Agenda



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• Engineering Physics, University of Toronto

• Procter & Gamble

• University of Cincinnati, Ph.D.

• McMaster University

• Basadur Applied Creativity

Min Basadur

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• 6 Certified Trainers in US, Canada

• 50+ Certified Facilitators across the globe

• IP licenses with 2 firms – US and Spain

• Academic Research Partners & Publications

• 15,000+ people have taken the Basadur Profile in last 5

years – translated into 15 languages

The Basadur Network



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Some Recent Clients



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Real And Tangible Results for ROI

Procter & Gamble ROI

$400M per year to the bottom line – 4% of sales

The question: How might we

spend our money in more

innovative ways?



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P&G’s People Engagement Strategy


The Goal:

$400 Million Savings

Common

Team

Innovation

Process

The Structure: Inter-disciplinary hot

teams deliberately

seeking innovative

changes


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Real And Tangible Results for ROI

Frito-Lay ROI

Bottom line cost savings of $500M in four years .

The question: How might we engage our people in using their creativity to offset inflationary cost increases?



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Frito-Lay: Make the Business Need as Measurable as Possible and Start at the Top


The Goal:

$500 Million in Five

Years to the bottom line

Common

Team

Innovation

Process

The Structure: Begin with

Vice-Presidential

Inter-disciplinary hot team


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Step 1: Ask “Why? / or What’s stopping?

Step 2: Answer in a complete simple statement

Step 3: Transform the answer

Asking the Right Question: Why Might We Want to?



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Irish Spring



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Challenge Statement


HMW make a better green striped bar?


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Irish Spring Challenge Map


HMW make a better green striped bar?

HMW regain market share?

Wh

y?


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Irish Spring Challenge Map


HMW make a better green striped bar? W

hy?

HMW make a more refreshing bar?

Wh

y?

HMW regain market share?


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Coast



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Hot Teams Do Not Jump From 1 To 8


But, Hot Teams DO Proceed 1 Through 8

Most people think in terms of solutions, not in terms of problems. They often solve the wrong problem because they are in too big a hurry.


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Speaking of ROI

The team could have saved about $150,000 … if it knew

how to follow the innovation process ….and defined the problem at the beginning.

Also it could have entered the market 6 months earlier



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Research: Characteristics of Effective Organizations


React

Routine

Proactive


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Anticipating problems, trends, opportunities

Seeking new technologies and methods

Deliberately disrupting

Finding new work

Accepting new ideas promptly

Proactive Adaptability



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Good Examples


Tylenol

Toyota, Honda

Amazon.com, 3M, Apple


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Today’s organizations must deal with complex problems requiring creativity and team work

much more so than in the past.



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Adaptability Requires Different Thinking Skills.

Problem Finding is the key.

Adaptable Organizations do not wait for problems.


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New Scientists and Engineers

Problem Finding Cultures


World Class Employee Suggestion Systems


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Japanese World Class Employee Suggestion Systems

• Not optional

• Golden eggs

• Natural work teams

- find, solve and implement


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Problems Solutions Actions

Nippondenso Work Team Example



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Japanese World Class Employee Suggestion Systems

The main objective:

• Motivation

• Group interaction

• Job satisfaction

660,000 implemented suggestions in one year from 9,000 people



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• Maslow

• Herzberg

• Berlyne

• Whyte

• McClelland

• Deci and Ryan

• Locke and Latham

Opportunity for creative activity results in motivation (not the other way around)



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By reversing negative thinking

How might we …? Becomes

part of a new language of

innovation .

Hot teams help Create a New Culture … They learn to say “How might we?”

We can’t because …

Would cost too much …

It’s not budgeted …


By looking for problems to

turn into golden eggs


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Research: Teams who learn to use the innovation process produce better results (ROI)

Innovative Results = Content (The What)

+ Process (The How)

+ Process Skills

(to make the process work)



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The Innovation Process Has Four Continuous Stages



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Different people prefer different innovation process stages


We call these innovation process styles


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A Fundamental Concept

Successful Innovation requires a combination of Knowledge, Imagination, Evaluation, and Action

But we have different styles of using this combination …


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Two ways of gaining knowledge:

- Through direct experience

- Using abstract thought

The Basadur Profile : How we are different:



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• Two ways of using knowledge:

- To ideate (create options)

- To evaluate (judge options)

The Basadur Profile: How we are different



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Two Different Ways of Gaining and Using Knowledge



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Implementer Generator • new problems, challenges • different perspectives • create options (diverge) rather

than evaluate • enjoy ambiguity • keep all options open

Which might be your most preferred style ?

• action, results

• understanding not necessary • adapt to changing circumstances • enthusiastic but impatient • bring others on board, but … • dislike apathy

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Optimizer Conceptualizer • abstract thinking • create new insights

• problem definition; big picture

• clear understanding necessary • high sensitivity to and

appreciation of ideas • not concerned with moving to action

• analytical thinking

• practical solutions to well

defined problems • find the critical few factors • evaluate options rather than

diverge • see little value in “dreaming” • dislike ambiguity

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Quadrant Tensions

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• Wonder why they get paid

• Never see them do anything

• Always see them thinking

Implementers View of Conceptualizers

QUADRANT TENSIONS 39


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• Dangerous because they’ll do anything

• Don’t appear to think first

• Bang their heads against the wall

Conceptualizers View of Implementers



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• Unable to focus on the “real” problem

• They start working on five new

problems before one is solved

• Are hard to “pin down”

Optimizers View of Generators



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• Too narrow minded

• Cannot see the big picture

• Think they know the right

answer but might be for

the wrong problem

Generators View of Optimizers



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1. Everyone is a blend of preferences

2. States not traits

3. You can be skilled in all four quadrants

4. Heterogeneous teams perform more innovatively

(but have less satisfaction)

5. Generators are in shorter supply in corporations

6. Different jobs/functions favour different styles

What Our Research Shows About the Different Process Style Preferences



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1. One quadrant very preferred

2. Two quadrants equally strongly preferred

3. One quadrant most preferred with two adjacent

quadrants substantially preferred

Examples of Blends of Styles



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Quadrant 1 Very Preferred, All Others Small

45 EXAMPLES OF BLENDS OF STYLES


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Quadrants 4 and 1 Equally Strongly Preferred



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Quadrant 1 Most Preferred Two Adjacent Quadrants Also Substantially Preferred



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• Overly Short-Term Focus

• May be overloaded with Implementers and Optimizers

- “Fire fighting”

- Constantly re-working failed solutions

- Missing opportunities to improve and change

Imbalanced Teams



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• Overly Short-Term Focus

• May be overloaded with Generators and Conceptualizers

- Develop good ideas but don’t get them implemented

- Slow to market with new products and services

- Satisfied even if not much is getting done

Imbalanced Teams



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Not Enough Time Devoted to Conceptualization and Optimization


An organization attempting to establish new financial products quickly in a very competitive environment, but encountering a high percentage of failures.


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Not Enough Generators?


A typical group of managers from a large aerospace company serving the aircraft, airline, and aerospace industries wanting to expand faster into new products and new market.


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Great Ideas But No Action!


Old fashioned company desperately needing a breakthrough idea forms a team and is successful.


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Maybe We Selected the Wrong Mix of People?


A small “Spin Off” company especially created for generating new product opportunities but only a few trickling in ….


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Too Many Conceptualizers?


An HR strategy development team in a large health insurance company is having difficulty moving forward. They are unable to decide which new strategy to recommend and keep on coming up with new ones.


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A Major High Tech Software Company Fearing Falling Behind …



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Air Traffic Controllers, Aren’t We Glad?



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A Pretty Well Balanced Team, Wouldn’t You

Say?


An interdisciplinary team leading a new quality of work life initiative at a large hospital.


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Is It Going To Be Difficult To Get Their Attention?


The leaders and staff of the hospital are being asked to get involved a new quality of work life HR initiative.

But they are awful busy doing the day-to-day work.


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The Market Research Team Looks a Lot Like This



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Is the market research team in for a big surprise?


The Market Research team is eager to present 57 pages of great new data to the Sales Team (assembled and waiting).


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A Financial Services Division Wanting to Differentiate Its Credit Cards and Needing Help



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Ontario College of Art and Design: Students

Entering Master’s Program in Strategic Foresight and Innovation



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Lean Six Sigma Symposium



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More Examples of Return on Innovation

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Impact of Integrating Innovation Process And Skills Into CI Teamwork



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It is: Diversity in How people think and problem solve

It is not: Diversity in What people know (due to differences

in function, education, race, ethnicity, gender, etc.)

What Is Cognitive Diversity?



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• Using the process continually: finding and defining

problems, solving them, and implementing the solutions

• Performing the skills that make the process work

• Respecting others’ problem solving styles

• Devoting special attention to problem definition and

implementation

Simplexity Thinking: A Process Driven by Skills

And Synchronized Styles



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Innovative Behavior: A Continuous Process Flow


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Here’s how:

1.Visit our profile website www.basadurprofile.com

2.Follow the instructions

3.Sign up as an individual or create a team account

4.Purchase the Team Builder Kit to facilitate a fun

hot team session

5.You will receive an Instructor's Guide and a set of

facilitator’s slides

Would You Like to Try Out the Styles Profile?



The Basadur CPSP Profile

Facilitator’s Guide to Debriefing the CPSP Profile Experience


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• Hot Wax

• Automatic Case Pack: Lay the Bags Flat

• Cube Utilization

More examples of ROI



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Hot Wax

83


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The team is stuck.

It s not a hot team.

84 HOT WAX


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The team has been working very hard for 12 months to

find a solution to the challenge: “How might we mix the wax and water without violating the competitor’s patent?”

85 Hot Wax


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“How might we develop something we could call a hot

wax that is compatible with water and provides a

benefit to cars?”

ROI: a unique product with a patent … to the market in

five months.

ROI: 12 months of wasted time $100,000

Redefining the problem

86 Hot Wax


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The Automatic Case Packing team

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The team is stuck.

It is not a hot team.

88 THE AUTOMATIC CASE PACKING TEAM


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Fact: Manufacturing has found a way of automatically packing

bags of potato chips into cartons instead of manually. This

saves $30 Million but the bags must be laid flat instead of

upright in the carton.

Fact: Sales people need to let the grocer count the number of

bags in a carton quickly before he will pay. If the bags are

flat this will take longer and this will prevent the

salesperson from making the target number of sales calls

per day.

Fact: The group is stuck and management is frustrated.

Lay the Bags Flat



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“How might we lay the bags flat yet still let the grocer

quickly know how many bags are inside the carton?”

ROI: $30 Million per year… directly to the bottom line

Defining the Problem Creatively



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Cube Utilization

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The team is stuck.

It is not a hot team.

92 CUBE UTILIZATION


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Fact: Frito-Lay trucks go out only half full of potato chip cartons.

Fact: A new method of loading trucks has been identified.

• Trucks would be 95% full.

• $12 Million would be saved.

Fact: A team has been testing the new method to ensure the

new method will not result in more chip breakage.

The team is also trying to determine if there is an optimal

level of chip breakage that consumers prefer.

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The facilitator repeatedly asked the team the question:

“What else is stopping you from making a

recommendation to adopt the new method?”

Someone on the team finally answered:

“We are afraid of making the recommendation without

being sure there is no risk ”.

Digging out the Hidden Facts

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“How might we write the recommendation in such a way that

management understands the risk and shares it with us?”

The recommendation was written that same day and adopted

by management immediately.

ROI: Saving $12 Million directly to the bottom line

Hot teams learn to say :’What’s stopping us?”

Defining The Problem Creatively for ROI !

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Additional Examples of ROI



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The management team is very worried. None of their solutions have worked. Their team styles profile looks like this:

Ford Motor Company 40 cases/shift


Eight Implementers

Seven Optimizers

Zero Generators

Zero Conceptualizers


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The team agreed to devote two days to fact finding and problem defining.



Problem finding Fact finding

Problem definition


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The team defined three new problems, solved them, and implemented the solutions.



Generating (Problem finding, fact finding)

Conceptualizing (Problem definition)

Implementing (Action)

Optimizing (Solutions)


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Toronto Sunnybrook and Hamilton Ontario Juravinski

Regional Cancer Centers

- Innovation teams reduced Radiation Therapy Wait Times by 39%

J.P. Morgan

- Innovation process used as a RAPID BUSINESS ANALYSIS tool to strategically plan company wide IT investments.

- Prioritized 300 projects down to 16 in 4 months vs. traditional tools which take more than 1 year.

- Breakthrough success resulted in 50% increase in IT budget.

Real & Tangible Results for ROI (continued)



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Real And Tangible Results

Pfizer

• Aspirational strategic planning and bold business-accelerating ideas for double-digit growth

• Unified regions under a single World HQ vision and imperative



For further information on the Profile or the Simplexity Applied Creativity process, please visit

www.basadur.com

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Thank You!