Transparency: If people see what others do it generates support and peer pressure.
Greenhousing: Innovative ideas often start out as fragile little shoots that need nurturing.
Benefit focus: Keep asking what it is you’re trying to achieve – don’t just tick boxes.
Diversity: Of people, background, experience and outlook. Avoid groups of people who all think the same.
Risk-taking: Recognise risks, watch out for politics, listen to people at the sharp end.
Avoid deficiency models: Telling people they need to be there rather than here does not work.
Mistakes: It has to be all right to say, ‘That didn’t work – let’s try something else.’
Long-term planning: Can’t be done for innovation. Sensible next step is best that can be done. Then look closely at what happens and take another step.
Nov 30, 2009
Conditions for Innovation - David Gilmour
Just saw this article linked in John Connell's blog and had to post David's "Conditions for Innovation." I'll comment later. I'm especially interested in his stance on long-term planning. For the full article, click here.
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2 comments:
Nancy Dowd has a different set:
Learn the five secrets of innovation
Guy Kawasaki has his own:
Rules For Revolutionaries
It's entertaining and occasionally enlightening to read/watch/listen to all the gurus talk about innovation. With as many different opinions as there are, I guess we can comfortably say there is no exact answer. Guess we'll just have to keep considering their suggestions, but see what actually works in our own contexts.
Maybe tomorrow someone will have THE answer, better go check my RSS feeds, it may already be waiting for me!
Thinking about the difference between ticking boxes and knowing what we're truly trying to achieve, I am reminded of a recent comment made by a teacher who was frustrated by the technical issues his students were encountering. An introductory lesson, students were exploring a new tool and the software needed to create their assigned project. Their attempts were riddled with roadblocks and hurdles. Out of frustration for the lack of time and solutions, the teacher began offering credit to students who ‘tried’ – his comment to the student standing before him, frozen laptop in hand, “that’s fine – you just need to be able to say you tried”.
Had this been the end of the conversation, what would the student have taken away from the experience?
When we consider the ‘benefit focus’ of digital literacy, are we talking about ticking boxes next to a wide range of tools, or are we talking about achieving something more? How can we help others see and value the difference between simply exposing students to the tools and actually providing them with the opportunity (and time) to dig in, to explore, to think about, apply, manipulate and trouble-shoot? How can we better articulate the benefits of not only allowing, but encouraging students to struggle through such roadblocks and hurdles?
Perhaps we need sub categories of tick boxes…
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