9 2 5 D E S I G N P R O U D L Y P R E S E N T S :

Time of experimentation has begun

9 2 5 D E S I G N

In 2011 we started a project called

Redesigning the work week, in which we explored

how design thinking could be utilized to build a better

working life. Our goal was to help people

accomplish more and get less tired.

R E D E S I G N I N G T H E W O R K W E E K

The issues were similar everywhere:

People are busy, work is scattered

and energy levels are low.

W O R K I N G L I F E I S S U E S

Based on the project results we created a model for a good working

culture, which we call the 925 Diamond.

9 2 5 D I A M O N D

I understand, how my work supports company goals

We have fun at workI know what is expected of me

We work smartly

I feel well

Meaning

Ways of Working

Life

Roles Joy

Having worked with tens of different-sized companies

to increase energy and productivity, we noticed that

sustainable competitiveness requires also a third element -

creativity, the will to do things differently, better.

And many organizations were wondering how to increase it.

C R E A T I V I T Y A N D C O M P E T I T I V E N E S S

This is why in spring 2014 we decided to do a new study. We wanted to find

out, how a creative and productive organizational culture is built.

Over a 1000 people from different-sized companies participated.

L U O V A Y R I T Y S K U L T T U U R I - T U T K I M U S

What did we find out?

View on creativity

!

Creativity is seen as everyday activities that

belong to everyone. Almost every single person

sees themselves as creative.

!

Most of the people feel that creativity should

play a central role in their company.

V I E W O N C R E A T I V I T Y

13 %

87 %

I consider myself creative.

“Creativity means the ability to look things in many different ways

- to not stay put.”

V I E W O N C R E A T I V I T Y

But…

!

Ideas are almost always said aloud, but

unfortunately often nothing happens to them.

People feel that they are left alone with their

ideas and that’s where the implementation

stops.

!

Brave ideas are still taken with caution.

Ambitiousness is still a foreign concept to most.

P R O C E S S I N G I D E A S

60 %40 %

Brave ideas are welcomed without prejudice.

”The advancement of ideas is hindered by stiff processes as well as

”none of my business" and ”it’s never going to work out anyway"

-attitudes.”

P R O C E S S I N G I D E A S

T H E L I F E O F A N I D E A

The life of an idea

If I have an idea, I usually tell it to

others

I get fast feedback

to my ideas

If I say my idea out loud, I know what is going to happen with it

We implement ideas

quickly

Brave experiments are received

without prejudice

91%

60%51%

46%40%

Biggest obstacles

!

It seems that instead of lack of money

experimentation of new things seems to be

hindered above all by fear of failure and

busyness.

!

Organizations need a more curious attitude

towards new things and a permission to use

time to experiment new things.

O R G A N I Z A T I O N A L C U L T U R E

52 % 48 %

Failure is not a problem for us.

”It would help build a creative organizational culture if we could forget

the fear of failure and the eternal ”have to get it right the first time”-

thinking”

O R G A N I Z A T I O N A L C U L T U R E

What is the central issue?

The central issue seems to be, that people consider

themselves creative but ideas don’t progress.

Problems are dwelled upon,

but nobody takes action.

C E N T R A L I S S U E

What could be done about it?

We believe that the solution is a culture of experimentation.

T H E S O L U T I O N

We have developed the #creativity–model,

which explains briefly, what creativity is about,

what are its biggest obstacles

and how they can be solved.

# C R E A T I V I T Y

# C R E A T I V I T Y

Creativity consists of four areas.

# C R E A T I V I T Y

A B I L I T Y T O S E E

Ability to see

!

It is impossible to do things

differently, if nobody recognizes the

problems or opportunities and finds

solutions to them. This is challenging

for the human mind because we

easily get in a rut and start to repeat

ourselves.

# C R E A T I V I T Y

Are issues identified regularly in

your company and

do you say them aloud?

W I L L I N G N E S S T O D O

Willingness to do

!

However seeing is useless if it doesn’t

lead to doing. But doing differently is

scary and arduous. That’s why

repeating yourself is such a tempting

option.

# C R E A T I V I T Y

If somebody figures out

a new better way

of doing things,

do you try it out?

A L I T T L E B E T T E R

A little better

!

When you want to do things

differently, a little better is a tempting

option. This is called incremental

improvement. There are several

approaches in the world for this

(lean, agile, hacking, etc.).

# C R E A T I V I T Y

Does your company have

a culture of

continuous improvement?

A L O T B E T T E R

A lot better

!

Sometimes it’s worth trying to do

things a lot better. This refers to

disruptive or out of the bow thinking.

But the more differently we think, the

scarier it gets.

# C R E A T I V I T Y

Do people in your company

have the courage to

think really boldly?

T W O G A P S

Based on our observations and research there seem to be

two central issues in creativity: we are not very good

at moving from ideas to actions and we use a huge amount

of time to figure out, what is a small and what is a big idea.

T W O G A P S

C U L T U R E O F

E X P E R I M E N T A T I O N

So what is a culture of experimentation about?

It’s about moving more quickly from seeing to doing and

instead of deciding beforehand whether an idea is big or small,

we start testing it through experimentation and observe

its development along the way.

C U L T U R E O F E X P E R I M E N T A T I O N

The core of creativity is the will to do things differently, better.

Creativity is not a characteristic, it’s a way of acting.

D E F I N I T I O N O F C R E A T I V I T Y

How could we promote a culture of

experimentation in practice?

Give everyone the

permission to be

creative

P E R M I S S I O N T O B E C R E A T I V E

Building a genuinely creative organizational culture requires deep changes in the ways of thinking and acting that encompass all

levels of the organization. !

Creativity is not a privilege of ”creative departments” or management. The will to do things differently, better should be visibly in all actions: how the cleaning lady comes up with a new

way to mop the floors faster, how accounting develops a smarter way to reimburse traveling expenses or how the board innovates a

more effective way to carry out their meetings.

Let’s remove

obstacles to

creativity

R E M O V I N G O B S T A C L E S T O C R E A T I V I T Y

Nothing is more frustrating then having a lot of great ideas that are impossible to implement because it requires such a complicated

and multi-phased process within the organization. !

The key to increasing creativity is removing its obstacles. !

This means reducing bureaucracy and making it easier to test ideas.

Let’s create

a fruitful

environment

to creativity

L E A D I N G C R E A T I V I T Y

A culture of experimentation requires that people have the courage to try out new things.

!

A leader’s task is to create an environment where it’s safe to take risks and where failure is not punished.

!

The leader encourages people to experiment and gives positive feedback about trying -

regardless of the results.

Let’s increase

autonomy

on every level

of the organization

I N C R E A S I N G A U T O N O M Y

Experimenting calls for the freedom to progress your idea in the best suitable way.

!

People should have the possibility to decide how to implement their idea - within certain time and budget frames.

!

Strict controlling and steering groups are forbidden.

Let’s give people

the permission

not to know

P E R M I S S I O N N O T T O K N O W

None of us can actually predict, which ideas will work in practice and which will become a huge innovation.

!

Instead of trying to present fancy, made-up arguments to support our ideas, let’s give people the permission to say:

”I don’t know yet whether this idea will work.” !

And then send them to test it in practice.

Let’s question

things

in a healthy way

Q U E S T I O N I N G

Let’s relate to things with an attitude of a three-year-old but grown-up’s resources. Questioning things in a healthy way.

!

F O R E X A M P L E :

Why do we have to have meetings? Who decided that we should call them meetings?

Why do we have to sit in them? Why do they always last an hour?

Let’s encourage

people

to think

ambitiously

A M B I T I O U S T H I N K I N G

Many companies are using the so-called 10x thinking which has a simple core idea: Always when you have an idea, take another

moment and multiply it by ten. !

If you multiply by two, it’s a minor change. If you multiply by 100, it’s a joke.

!

But if you multiply by ten instead, you automatically have to think outside the box, but in a way that’s natural for the mind.

2 0 M O D E L

2 0 M O D E L

The 20 model that we have developed offers a concrete way of testing new ideas, regardless of whether they are big or small.

!

Instead of evaluating ideas on a theoretical level, the 20 model helps us to grasp things in practice.

2 0 S E C O N D S

The inventor of the idea needs 20 seconds of courage to say the idea out loud

2 0 S E C O N D S

2 0 M I N U T E S

The receiver of the idea should give feedback within 20 minutes.

2 0 M I N U T E S

2 0 H O U R S

The inventor of the idea makes a simple action plan on how the idea could be tested in practice.

2 0 H O U R S

2 0 D A Y S

If the action plan is accepted, a 20-day project is created to test the idea in practice.

2 0 D A Y S

2 0 W E E K S

If the idea still seems to work after the 20-day project, a more ambitious action plan is done and the project is continued for another 20 weeks.

2 0 W E E K S

2 0 M O D E L

An experiment is always successful

If an idea works on some level, it gives everyone more energy and courage to do new experiments. !

And if it doesn’t work, the knowledge is still useful and it’s easier for the inventor of the idea to accept that the idea is buried. !

That’s why an experiment is always successful. Even when it doesn’t work.

Are you ready to experiment?

Want to experiment together? Contact us.

Sonja Rajala sonja@925design.fi

045 850 8353