INTERVIEWS WITH INNOVATORS

Okay. As a leader, you know you have to create an environment that stimulates creativity. Now what? Consider the advice of these Thunderbolt Thinkers:

• Rebeccah K. Neff, Director of Creative Solutions, SAS Institute, Inc.

• Michelle Mink, Market Manager, U S West Communications

• Glenn Blaylock, Vice President, Royal Bank Financial Group

• Lisa Lane, Associate Director of Special Events, Carnegie Mellon University

• Marj Dawson, Manager, Human Resources, Planning and Development, Royal Bank Financial Group

• Connie Schoeller, Vice President/Marketing and Branch Manager, National City Bank

• Dick Nye, Executive Vice President, Indiana Association of Realtors

• Jim DiPiero, President, General Systems Services

• Kathleen Hedland, Council of Logistics Management

• Melissa McLean, Director of Operations, Tourism Victoria

• Russ Abolt, Executive Vice President, International Sleep Products Association

• Steven R. Zirkel, Product Segment Leader/Composites, Owens-Corning

• Roger Parent, Executive Director, American Association of Law Libraries

Want to learn more? You can become a Thunderbolt Thinker, with the book Thunderbolt Thinking: Electrifying Ideas for Building an Innovative Workplace. And check out the Jump Starts,  Thunderbolt Library and Thunderbolt Case Studies for more ideas!

At US WEST, Michelle took part in a forum whose purpose was to present ideas and initiatives, find out what other groups were working on, and discuss opportunities to use and expand the ideas. For her part of the meeting, a presentation on a "Free Installation Proclamation" known at the company as "FIP," Michelle wrote a song entitled "Frosty the FIP Man," printed out lyrics for everyone at the meeting, and had them all sing along with her (to the tune of "Frosty the Snowman," of course) right before her presentation.

The results? Michelle says, "Everybody sang. I was surprised. Everyone lightened up a little bit." Michelle thinks that the lighter atmosphere in the room may have allowed for a freer exchange of information and questions during and after her presentation, which came at the middle of the meeting. "It got their attention, got their blood flowing," she says.

On the job, Michelle uses Thunderbolt Thinking techniques to keep her meetings upbeat and freewheeling. To inject life into her meeting notices, she uses graphics and avoids dry language in favor of "fun" words and phrases.

Michelle regularly uses Toys for Thinking, especially in long meetings. "If we’re working on a project that requires us to be (in a meeting) for a day or two, it helps people relax a little bit more. They can focus. (Playing with toys on the table) keeps their hands busy, and they listen better." Michelle also finds that using different colored markers, as opposed to blue and black only, helps keep groups focused, and the occasional impromptu tossing of toys across the room breaks up the monotony of a long, intense meeting, giving participants a chance to stretch.

Read more about U S West Communications and Thunderbolt Thinking.

Turbo-charging the Environment
At a General Meeting of the Business Center, Glenn gave a presentation on customer complaints, an issue that can be threatening to employees, causing defensiveness and shutting off productive discussion. To take off the pressure and create an environment conducive to open and positive exchange of ideas, Glenn brought a large stuffed toy lion to the meeting (Royal Bank’s logo includes a lion’s head). "Toys can really help distract people from a difficult issue," he says. He used the lion as a prop and asked the meeting participants to imagine working for a company that produced toy lions and had been getting complaints about quality, particularly loose stitching and lost stuffing. From there, he led the group into a discussion of how the company might respond to the complaints and "strengthen the thread."

Using the lion certainly lightened the atmosphere of the meeting, but it also "helped reinforce to people that...you’ve got to look at opportunities to improve rather than being defensive, and you’ve got to find ways to improve," Glenn says. "It helped people focus on continuous improvement rather than seeing (the discussion) as a career-threatening experience."

Limit Releasing: Rewarding a Flow of Ideas
Glenn says his group has used many different innovative thinking techniques to enhance its continuous improvement program, "SLUDGE" (Sludge: Looking at Unproductive Tasks and Processes, Developing Good Ideas to Improve Efficiency). This program rewards employees who identify unproductive and wasteful practices.

Glenn points out the Thunderbolt Thinking concept of limit releasing in regard to the second award: its purpose is to encourage employees to generate a lot of ideas. While it’s important to have strong ideas that can make a difference, it’s also crucial to have quantity. As a result, Glenn says, "Ideas continue to flow."

Read more about Royal Bank Financial Group and Thunderbolt Thinking.

As cross-departmental teams work on projects, resulting in the melding of a variety of perspectives as people from different areas collaborate on solutions, Thunderbolt Thinking has helped them work together more productively. When a special committee was formed to facilitate the relocation of campus organizations from the old student union building (it was torn down to make room for the new University Center), Lego blocks were distributed for members to build with as they built a solid plan for the move. "We find that taking toys into a meeting breaks the ice and sets a tone of teamwork...you’re not sitting across the table from the budget director, but another human being. It levels out the playing field." And people whose titles wouldn’t otherwise allow them a chance to lead are given the opportunity to emerge as team leaders.

Adherence to an effective thinking management process has helped these teams enhance their performance in concert with other programs--like Total Quality Management and interactive skills training. "Within these team efforts there’s a great deal of looking at problems directly and trying to view them differently. We look outside the box and expand our perspective instead of just doing things the way we’ve always done them." The result for Carnegie Mellon has been increased creativity and productivity--in short, enhanced performance at all levels.

The organization was introduced to Thunderbolt Thinking when Tecker Consultants began using the process to help ISPA through a comprehensive strategic planning program. At that point, Russ recalls, ISPA suffered from a condition he describes being "in the box" rather than in the world. The strategic planning process "stirred the pot and made it a real experience, not a bureaucratic gesture...Initial strong feelings of denial were exposed, and we found out where we really were." This finding has led to a literal trip around the world for ISPA members, beginning with a factory tour in England and a World Bedding Conference in Germany. As a result, members have begun to make the shift from seeing themselves as "the center" of their industry to seeing themselves as part of a larger world.

Still, there are times when people seem to be at risk of crawling back into their insular boxes--something that is easy to do when trying to break a mold. At times like these, an inflatable beach ball can be seen bouncing across the ISPA meeting table; it serves as a gentle reminder that innovation and risk are new values within the organization.

To build on that potential, Connie instituted daily "pep rallies" to celebrate successes. In weekly sales meetings, she helps the team raise its customer-service awareness. In one meeting, Connie had the team devise a marketing plan for selling panty hose to men (Thunderbolt Thinking TNT#2: "The Birth of Bun Huggers"). To help build awareness of the customer, she reminded her mostly female team to "place themselves in the body of the man," and design a useful product. The group included a "freebie" cross-sell: a package of razor blades and shaving gel in each packet, and some other interesting suggestions.

Another day Connie came to a meeting wearing mismatched shoes and earrings. She gave the group five minutes to write down a description of her appearance. This exercise launched a discussion of awareness--the importance of attention to detail and listening when communicating with customers--but it also helped Connie learn more about individual staff members.

When a customer service representative’s sales figures lagged behind others in the branch, Connie found that awareness-building helped to enhance performance. She asked the team to draw their brains on easel-size paper (Thunderbolt Thinking TNT#10: "Draw-a-Brain"). When they reviewed the drawings, team members saw how they viewed themselves. The most noticeable differences were the brains’ sizes: some were as small as dimes, others as large as pumpkins. When the customer service representative saw her drawing next to others, she recognized that she’d been focused on her own "inability" to succeed, which kept her from listening to her customers. She began to shift her perspective. As a result, Connie says, "In the last six months, she has often been the (sales) leader."

With Thunderbolt Thinking, Connie has gotten even more results from an already effective team: more referrals from the teller line, more openness and willingness to discuss successes, greater awareness of the customer. A fringe benefit, she adds: "I see more smiles."

Creativity comes with risk-taking and shifting perspective to see multiple solutions to problems.

Melissa develops these abilities in her staff by integrating play into the work environment, using Toys for Thinking (Thunderbolt Thinking TNT#22). To enhance team effectiveness, Melissa invented a game using Lego^® blocks: she directs three teams to build the tallest free-standing tower. Each team has five minutes to discuss how to build the tower, and two minutes to construct it. When the teams finish building, a winning team is recognized. Melissa asks specific questions about how the teams performed. She has the participants identify how their strengths in the game might be used on the job. The after-game discussion is a key point: "It helps the light bulb switch on about how we can translate team effort in the game to success at work."

Melissa has found Thunderbolt Thinking techniques effective during stressful times. During a period when staff members seemed unhappy but were unwilling to discuss issues openly, she handled the situation in a direct but non-threatening manner. She had everyone write down on cards five things they would change. She promised that no one would read what they wrote. When each person had written down his or her ideas, she had them tear up their cards and toss them into a trash bag (Thunderbolt Thinking TNT#13: "Garbage Bag Dump"). She tied up the bag and threw it away, telling them that their "baggage" was now gone. She encouraged them not to focus on problems, but to work together on developing solutions for getting where they wanted to go. As a result, the group had "an incredibly positive and productive discussion" on moving Tourism Victoria forward.

Melissa acknowledges that Thunderbolt Thinking takes commitment. "You do get caught up in day-to-day crises," she admits. But she sees this challenge as an opportunity: "You can capitalize on (the crisis mentality) by using the element of surprise." For her, the heart of Thunderbolt Thinking is spirit. "With the number of hours over a lifetime that we work, it is critical to have spirit for the health and productivity of organizations. People need to be allowed to be alive."

The Blooper Award consists of a package of bubble gum disguised as a compact disc. When a staff member receives one of these, he or she knows instantly that there has been an error.

What's the rationale? Marj explains: "When someone gives you a CD bubble gum, you expect a CD. But you open it up, and it's bubble gum. Similarly, when a manager or supervisor hands off a project to me, I have certain expectations about what will be there." If those expectations aren't met, the responsible party receives the message via a non-threatening package of gum coupled with a coaching session designed to address how the person can learn from the mistake. The whole purpose is to acknowledge mistakes without instilling fear of making them. "It's really to facilitate coaching," Marj says.

A fringe benefit of the Blooper Award has been increased knowledge sharing within work teams. When the CD bubble gum appears on someone's desk, often the immediate response is to find out what went wrong. Team members follow up with one another, debriefing on the project and working through issues.

Read more about Royal Bank Financial Group and Thunderbolt Thinking.

The remaining 20% resist initially, but can be converted. "They're used to keeping their guard up. But there's a groupthink dynamic at work; as they observe the participants having fun and getting a little silly, they will slowly get into it and throw out a comment or two. From there, they're able to get involved in the process and add a richness to the conversation that wasn't there before." What's at work here? A change in behavior that drives a shift in attitude. Rather than trying to force people to develop a positive, risk-taking attitude, letting the attitude develop as a by-product of behavior shifts allows people to change gradually and naturally, which makes for a longer-lasting effect.

Read more about Owens-Corning and Thunderbolt Thinking.

Recently, he opened a meeting with a parody of The Wizard of Oz. Posing as the Great and Powerful Wizard himself, Jim gave each person a "share" in the company, and a fancy title for the meeting. "The Wizard of Oz gave each character what they lacked," Jim explains. His purpose was the same--to give his staff what they needed to help determine the direction of the company: ownership.

"The levity helped everyone to loosen up and had an uplifting effect on the meeting," Jim recalls. And by taking responsibility for that levity, Jim conveyed some serious messages: that it is okay to take risks, and that the company values everyone's input. The discussion that ensued was dynamic.

"I try to make each meeting fresh," he continues. "I'm always looking for ways to have a productive meeting." Staging thematic, "off-the-wall" events and holding meetings off-site have worked for GSS. "Because we are small and close, it can be hard to break down the barriers," he adds. Staff members might feel inhibited by management's presence. Jim has found that a professional facilitator can stimulate and maintain free-flowing conversation.

"It takes some bit of risk to try some of these things," Jim admits. "But I'm a firm believer in the creative process. I try to stimulate people to come up with new ways to do what we do...It's a way to make the job more fun, and it helps to enhance our day-to-day performance."

"We’ve gone through a tremendous amount of change--downsizing and refocusing--over the last few years. Once you do that, the question is, ‘where do we go from here?’" To answer that question, Dick and his staff used Thunderbolt Thinking to build cohesion.

One technique IAR uses is to rotate the chairmanship of its staff meetings. This provides everyone with a chance to stretch, and gives Dick the opportunity to be part of the team, rather than an authority figure. At a recent staff meeting, the chairperson assigned each staff member to visually represent his or her job in a drawing, sculpture, or model. This exercise helped the staff to think in terms of their commonality. Dick says, "It really was helpful in seeing some of the commonality that I didn’t realize we had a grip on."

The chairperson of the next meeting decided to build upon the visual representations by focusing on how each job relates to the organization’s mission. The purpose of these exercises and the powerful discussions that arise from them is to build better teamwork and, ultimately, ensure that the customer remains the focus of the organization’s efforts.

"I have always had the philosophy that ‘we’re all in this together,’" Dick says. "When it’s a small staff, you don’t have two or three people that do the same job." A team mentality helps encourage staff members to step in and fill gaps--even if they have to go beyond their job descriptions--so that customers receive a high level of service.

A crucial element of change is continuous improvement, and IAR has built a formal structure to reward people who submit ideas for improving organizational function. Building on the benefits of an outside perspective, IAR created the "Thunderbolt Awards," which recognize staff members who propose solutions for problems outside their own realm. From this program came an ingenious member-processing system that drastically improved efficiency in the membership department.

Taking these chances is important, Dick says, and he tries to foster an environment that allows risk-taking and accepts the reality of mistakes. "It’s letting people know it’s okay to give it a shot--and fail. And if that happens, we missed the mark--not you."

Just as it sounds, the field of logistics management is serious; CLM’s Kathleen Hedland describes it as "the last area where organizations can see that cost can be wrung out." People in the field are accustomed to a professional, somewhat conservative environment. So CLM has generally kept its activities focused on professional development and education, with little socializing. However, Kathleen says, "Many of (the volunteers) are tired. They’re taking their personal time." Without an element of fun, Roundtable volunteers saw their CLM activities "almost like a second job."

The solution: keep the seriousness of the subject intact, but vary the presentation to make it more fun. CLM has done this on two levels. First, in its training of Roundtable officers, CLM works to create an environment that will keep everyone’s interest and enthusiasm alive. Second, CLM uses these opportunities to encourage officers to take the levity back to their own Roundtables, thereby spicing up offerings for members.

At an annual conference for Roundtable officers, Kathleen decided to send a message to the group: that they needed to be leaders in having fun. As the conference opened, they were assigned to work in small groups to create an innovative way of defining logistics. They could build, draw, perform, or present their definition in any way. The assignment required that the participants discuss their task in depth, thus beginning the process of sharing ideas, and also provided a way for them to quickly put each other at ease, which set the stage for developing effective ideas.

Similarly, at a long-range planning session held with CLM’s advisory board, Kathleen provided a lunchtime diversion by giving each participant small toys. It gave the group a chance to let off steam after an intense and rigorous morning in which everyone had sat behind a computer in a windowless basement room. "Had we gone to lunch in a traditional way that day," Kathleen predicts, "we probably all would have talked business and then checked our voice mail messages." Instead, she redirected the group away from business concerns and give them a chance to re-energize. Kathleen notes that the ideas and solutions presented during the afternoon session were much more creative.

"We haven’t given up one iota of professionalism or diminished what we do," Kathleen adds. "We’ve just added an element of fun."

Roger describes AALL's Board as "functioning very well. They've been through a lot of training, and the members have a good sense of their roles." They've engaged in sophisticated strategic planning and identified ideas for improving customer service. But, he adds, "emphasis has always been on the business side of the Board…not the quality of the relationships." At the most recent annual retreat, members recognized that AALL could benefit from strengthening the relationships. "The bonding that occurs usually lasts about a year…[but] as new people come on the Board, we tend to lose that continuity," Roger notes.

Effective communication is one important element in maintaining continuity among Board members. At the retreat, the Board outlined strategies for different types of communication, all of which use a variety of media, involve the exchange of information among multiple participants, and is pleasant. Eighty-five percent of what we learn, we absorb visually. We communicate faster and more easily through pictures than with words. Drawing pictures also energizes people, especially during long, intense meetings. So, by drawing pictures, board members indicated how they wanted to be communicated with.

It's easy to think that building a more cohesive organization is a matter of adopting principles that value individuals; but without practice, the best set of principles is worthless. The AALL Board recognized the need to build opportunities for practicing their values. Practical guidelines for communication emerged as one Board member indicated that she had to have a deadline; another mentioned a preference for messages with humor and others noted the best times and venues to contact them.

Linked to practice is leadership. Values and principles adopted by a Board need to be lived on a day-to-day basis. When Board members are given the resources they need to perform effectively, the next step is to take the initiative and become the leaders they are. This is done simply through taking action. A Board Governance subcommittee was formed during the retreat. This committee is charged with putting on paper the various responsibilities of Board members and creating a set of values and will play a crucial role in AALL's future development.

"Everyone is creative, whether individuals think they are or not," Neff asserts. "My production manager doesn’t do graphic design, but I expect her to be creative when she buys print. We try to challenge our creativity, but we do it within the parameters of our corporate design guidelines, and to satisfy our clients’ needs." That means providing high quality graphic design and printing solutions that are cost-effective, timely and relevant.

"Some people are inhibited by this; others view it as a challenge. It can be stimulating, or it can be off-putting. We have lost some people over the years because they couldn’t make that shift," Neff adds.

How does an organization innovate? By merging creativity with a practical focus on the bottom line. That’s where the Thunderbolt Thinking spirit comes in—the development and/or enhancement of flexibility, awareness, courage, humor and action in the workplace. The first two are directly developed and applied in Neff’s organization.

To be flexible, organizations must foster in their people the ability to look at situations in new ways to devise unique solutions. Furthermore, organizations must help individuals heighten their awareness, so that they are ready to see opportunities for change. Neff has done both through her institution of task forces that meet regularly to analyze, assess and continuously improve specific work processes. These groups have such diverse titles as The Printing Task Force and The Digital Color Team. Because they are employee-driven rather than management-driven, the groups foster a sense of ownership and accountability among all staff members, which helps to heighten awareness.

Another important way to merge creativity with analytical pragmatism is to use both kinds of thinking deliberately in the work environment. Neff describes something she calls The What-if Game: "I’ll ask people to think individually about finishing the sentence, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if...’ They are given permission to fantasize, and their fantasies become the basis for a serious discussion. We look at their blue-sky ideas, and we find the priorities within them, as well as practical action items based on them. This is much more effective than brainstorming, where you’re just generating lots of ideas. You have to give people some structure."

The results of working in ways that develop flexibility, heighten awareness, and merge creative and analytical thinking can be extraordinary. Last year, when SAS was preparing for a major software release, Neff’s organization revamped its project process. In the past, individual designers had been assigned to singular aspects of a product—e.g., one designer would focus on packaging, another on marketing materials, etc. As a result, the materials lacked a cohesive identity. Because their awareness was heightened, their flexibility developed, and their creative and analytical skills honed, Neff’s staff was able to proactively devise and implement a new design team approach that better met the clients’ needs, resulted in a cohesive identity for all pieces related to the new product, and resulted in what they consider one of their most successful logos. Their experience had taught them the importance of collaboration and efficiency, and they were ready, willing and able to put them into action.

"The design team felt a strong sense of accomplishment. They learned from each other, there was a lot of synergy," Neff recalls. "It was one of the most successful projects we’ve done."

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