April 2010 - Posts

• Imagination: the Door to Outstanding Innovation

  Imagination: the Door to Outstanding Innovation By Mick Mortlock I’ve audited the US government twice to see whether they’ve taken the “failure of imagination” warning from the 9-11 Commission seriously. They haven’t, and the audit results are detailed in the Spring 2010 issue of The Public Manager (TPM). Now I think it’s only fair to audit TPM and publish those results right on the TPM Blog. I performed a simple audit of two recent issues and found that imagination is not on the mind of TPM writers. Here are the results: Winter 2009: zero references to imagination, two to creativity, and 22 to innovation. Spring 2010: zero references to imagination (outside the article that I wrote), four to creativity, and six to innovation. Unfortunately among TPM writers, imagination is not perceived as a tool, and the failure of imagination is not seen as a problem. Definitions The definitions and differences between innovation, creativity and imagination are fuzzy. Here is how I am using the terms: Imagination is that unfettered, chaotic space where anything can come up. For parents and grandparents, it is the “Harold And The Purple Crayon” approach The child Harold draws the world ahead of himself and then moves into that newly created world. By adulthood when we join government or business, the metaphor becomes laying runway seconds before lift-off. The adult version loses some of its imaginative potential. Innovation is applied imagination. It has been narrowed to a particular problem or goal. The Gov2.0 work that I have seen,  the collaboration efforts that are sweeping the government and the potential suggested by Data.gov are all very innovative. Several years ago, I wrote in TPM that with caller ID and automatic dialing systems, I shouldn’t have to wait on hold. The IRS should call me back. This is an innovative idea.  Innovative ideas are sparks that can make government more responsive and effective. Creativity is a tool applied to a subset of a problem that can spark new, agitational ways to grasp and perhaps resolve a particular issue or opportunity. While often used interchangeably with imagination, it carries the responsibility to add value. Creating strategic solutions to the nation’s problems whether we are working in the IRS, Fish and Wildlife or the TSA requires that imagination be folded in to our worlds. The reason is, that if we fail in the imaginative process we may not see a critical component of the solution. Opening Up Imagination Here are a couple of the ways to improve access to imagination. Brainstorming. Many people use classic brainstorming as a catalyst for imagination. Two mistakes that are often made is to cut it off after a few minutes, or allowing people to criticize the ideas. My advice is to “let it breathe.” Oblique Strategies. Oblique Strategies is an approach, created by musician Brian Eno. It consists of a deck of cards that provide many ways to break a mental or emotional impasse. This and other stimulators that exercise imaginative circuits are on my website. I have evaluated a number of government agencies to help them determine how to exercise more of their imaginative potential. While it was fun for me, you don’t need my help to do it. Use the power of collaboration inside and outside your organizations to help each other break through to more stimulating and effective solutions. Mick Mortlock Mick@ImaginationGardener.com www.imaginationgardener.com Posted Apr 26 2010, 07:59 AM by Maribeth Tisdale with no comments

• Strategic Workplace Learning in the Public Sector – Part II

  My last post on this blog highlighted two recent public sector training efforts that demonstrated strategic alignment with priority agency outcomes – both in the US Department of Defense (http://community.thepublicmanager.org/cs/blogs/agile_bureaucracy/archive/2010/03/29/strategic-workplace-learning-in-the-public-sector.aspx): §  enabling success in Afghanistan by building cultural expertise at the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) §  creating a collaborative culture at DIA through an effective onboarding program in which employees learn that knowledge sharing is their own personal responsibility Other Public Sector Case Illustrations Here are brief highlights from other government training efforts that tackle a wider array of challenges – many of which will be featured as articles in the summer 2010 issue of The Public Manager and presented at the American Society for Training and Development’s (ASTD’s) 2010 International Conference & Exposition to be held in Chicago, Illinois, May 16-19 (http://www.astdconference.org/): Business Analysis Center of Excellence: NY State Office of the State Comptroller This case illustration explores the New York State Office of the State Comptroller’s intensive, cross-agency learning experience aimed at more effectively aligning business analysis with management initiatives. With the assistance of an outside management consulting group (ESI International – www.esi-intl.com), the state organization developed key strategies – including coaching and mentoring programs complemented by skills assessments and other learning programs that continue to refine business analysis (BA) best practices.   Education Transformation for Results: Sandia National Laboratories This case study at Sandia, one of the US Department of Energy’s prestigious national labs, demonstrates an approach to begin the process of transforming corporate education into an effective education partnership between an organization's executive and line management and its HR organization. Sandia Labs' focus on fostering a learning culture drove its transformation of the Labs' education process to enhance individual capabilities and behaviors that produce tangible results. It offers a blueprint of how a line management and human resources team, commissioned by the organization’s leader, can create a charter, establish a plan, gather and analyze data, prepare and present recommendations to executive management for action. Practical concepts, checklists, and tools are explained as application opportunities, and innovative approaches to obtain and sustain executive engagement and partnering early in the transformational education process are identified as essential success factors.     Pushing Management’s Buttons to Improve Performance at the US Coast Guard This case study highlights several of the most powerful, but under-utilized, approaches to improve workplace performance. The old maxim: “If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail” rings true in the workforce performance field. If all you have is a training solution, then everything is a skills-and-knowledge problem. Yet, research and common sense have demonstrated that oftentimes the performance problem isn't with the people in the organization, but with the organization itself. This experience brings focus to many of the areas the organization’s leadership should examine before assuming a problem will be solved through training. It includes real-world examples and case studies from the US Coast Guard on how a true performance perspective results in quantifiable and cost-effective returns in individual and organizational performance.   Share Your Observations   I’ll continue sharing examples of how government organizations at all levels are aligning training efforts with strategic agency goals. If you know of others that align workplace learning efforts with priority mission and management challenges, please let me hear from you.   Posted Apr 14 2010, 11:59 AM by Warren Master with no comments