Theatre techniques for fostering innovators in business?
The Harvard Business Review (HBR), Dec 2009, had a wonderful article exploring 5 qualities displayed by innovators; qualities that can be nurtured to promote innovative thinking.
1. Associating – this is when what appear to be unrelated ideas or problems from different disciplines are brought together to create something totally new. For example, eBay, the idea for which was the result of associating the wish to establish more efficient internet markets with the wish to get hold of rare Pez dispensers with the failure of classified ads in helping find them. The magic of connecting sure paid off!
2. Questioning – constantly asking questions that challenge the status quo. Did you know that the idea behind Dell computers came when Michael Dell asked himself ‘why does a computer cost five times more than all its parts?’ He clearly asked the right question!
3. Observing – watching closely what people (potential customers) are doing; how they are behaving and what they are struggling with. The Nano, at $2,500 the world’s cheapest car, was developed in India from regularly observing the difficulty a family of four was having riding on a scooter!
4. Experimenting – trying out new paths without the fear of failure or reprimand. Amazon.com has made experimenting part of its working ethos so that employees are expected to experiment. That is how Amazon.com has gone from selling books, to selling equipment to becoming an electronics manufacturer!
5. Networking – getting out there and listening to other people in other industries with different ideas and ways of working. Did you know that both the idea for the Blackberry and for JetBlue (satellite TV in every seat on planes) came to the creators while attending conference on totally different themes? Attending had great returns!
I read the HBR article excitedly as I realized how useful theatre techniques and activities we use at ACT OUT are in stimulating exactly all these qualities!
Associating is about getting the brain to reach into its stores of experiences and knowledge and connect what it has not yet connected. This happens in so many of the non-linear, creativity activities used in theatre. Questioning happens all the time when a particular theatrical image is constructed and deconstructed. It is how alternatives are rehearsed as they are put forward by participants. Similarly, observing other participants closely, mirroring and mimicking exercises train specifically for this skill. And using theatre in organisational development is experimenting at many levels, especially when it is a form not common to those participating. Finally, when a workshop is conducted with participants from different departments, companies and organisations the result is some serious networking in very safe settings.
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