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The Thunderbolt Thinking Sustaining Innovation program is a multifaceted initiative designed to drive
Innovation from the executive level to the front line. As part of the process we
facilitate thinking experiences for leaders and teams in which they build strategies to
sustain Innovation in the workplace.
The program originated from our secondary
research and field work, which revealed 7 Innovation Success Factors:
- A culture that
passionately embraces innovation—not just in the "obvious" places (i.e.,
product/service development, process efficiency and customer relationships), but
everywhere.
- Strategic alignment
of
innovation initiatives with business goals, policies and processes.
- A focus on the customer and
an eye toward the market when assessing and undertaking opportunities for innovation.
- Risk acceptance
and an
understanding that inevitable mistakes and even failures are often the basis for future
success.
- Emphasis on, and tangible support for, exploratory
thinking, idea generation and experimentation.
- Solid interpersonal relationships
and internal teamwork, with a climate of mutual commitment and support.
- Cross-functional, cross-discipline communication,
collaboration and teaming—within the organization and with external
partners.
Sustaining Innovation requires approaches
that have structural impact--deliberately creating an environment in which Innovation is
integrated into every process and developed within every individual. Our
multifaceted, facilitated initiative drives Innovation from the executive level to the
front line.
Phase One—EXECUTIVE ORIENTATION: This high-level session provides an opportunity for your
senior executives to get "totally immersed" in Innovation concepts as a way to
build a strategic foundation for leveraging Innovation. They construct an
organization-wide model for innovation, linked to business goals.
Phase Two—INNOVATION CAMP: Your core team prioritizes specific areas for Innovation and
identifies internal processes and procedures that support or create barriers to the
Innovation process. In addition, they focus on developing concrete action steps to ensure
that their teams/work groups have opportunities to practice Innovation: building creative
skills and leveraging analytical skills.
Phase Three—TEAM BUILDING: Despite the importance placed on technology today, people
remain the core drivers behind Innovation. Barriers to effective team performance prevent
organizations from reaching peak productivity. To be innovative, teams need relationships
that promote the free flow of ideas. With commitment to team values and solid
communication strategies, teams become efficient. |
Case
Study: BB&T
Our Sustaining Innovation process
fit with this North Carolina based bank’s theme, "The Year of the Mind."
The in-depth, hands-on process enabled leaders to focus on transforming the workplace into
an environment that fosters Innovation. In an intensive, two-day session we worked with
key stakeholders to create an Innovation Model for BB&T. The program met
BB&T’s needs: an initiative that would leverage existing tools and
learning technologies with a process that could be acquired, transferred, and applied.
They wanted to build an innovative workplace where employees could learn and grow,
resulting in excellent client relations and profitable innovations. They also wanted to
integrate their long range corporate vision, business strategies, and values to
achieve a high performance culture.
Read about other
organizations with whom we've worked. |
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Phase Four—LEADERSHIP COACHING: This Phase focuses on helping leaders recognize their role
in the Innovation process. They sharpen their leadership skills and spirit by enhancing
flexibility, awareness, courage, humor, and action to develop new possibilities that break
with tradition. Phase
Five—PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT: At
the heart of every organization’s success is the performance of its people. To
achieve structural impact in Innovation, individuals must be prepared to be innovative. An
organization’s success—even its survival—depends on having employees who
can consistently and deliberately think about problems and develop new ways
to address them. Thunderbolt Workshops teach people to do just that, using field-proven
techniques that have helped thousands improve their thinking and build a workplace that
sparks and fosters Innovation.
Learn About Other Thunderbolt
Thinking Services and Products:
Thunderbolt Thinking Experiences
Innovation Training
Innovation Survey
Keynote Presentations
Tools for Thinking
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