A642.6.3.RB – Practicing Creative Thinking Skills
According
to Eric Hoffer, “In a world of change, the learners shall inherit the earth,
while the learned shall find themselves perfectly suited for a world that no
longer exists” (Mckeown, 2014, p. 2370). Innovation comes from creativity and
also from challenging those who dare say no. While ideas are generated out of
necessity, organizations need to stay up to date with the continuous growing
business of others’ innovations to remain relevant. Thankfully, there are
several strategies to help organizations lead innovation projects to reach
their full capacity and goals. The top five strategies I chose are the Edward
de Bono’s six thinking hats; the Osborn and Parnes’ creative problem solving;
the Altshuller’s innovation pyramid; the Burgelman and Seigel’s minimum wining
game; and Osterwalder’s business model canvas.
To begin
with, Edward de Bono’s six thinking hats strategy allows a team to direct their
focus into solving a problem while the decision making process involves every
team member of a group as a whole. In other words, everyone is affected by the
decision they all make as a team. De Bono suggested there are six kinds of
thinking hats that help get rid of the constant self-centered behaviors from
individuals seeking more attention. The “White Hat focuses on factual
information, a Yellow Hat on positive perspective, a Black Hat on caution and
risk, a Green Hat on creativity, a Red Hat on emotions and intuition, and a
Blue Hat on control, overview and organization” (Canfield & Smith, 2011, p.
150). This thinking processes is important because when it come to decision making,
it encourages people to separate fact from opinion, which results in making
smarter decisions. The application of this process to my current job as a
medical assistant could potentially aid our office when it comes to helping
patients who are addicted to narcotics and come to the office demanding to get
a new prescription for pain medication.
The second
strategy to lead innovation projects is the Osborn and Parnes’ creative problem
solving. The creative problem-solving tactic recommends generating endless
ideas. By doing so, the company guarantees having an approach to solve any
problem, should the problem arise. This strategy presents three stages:
exploring the challenge; generating ideas; and preparing for action. One of the
benefits from using this element is the fact that it encourages different
unique ideas and break through normal boundaries and solidifies innovation at
its best. This should definitely be implemented on my organization to proclaim
innovative methods to treat patients, handle office work, etc.
Moreover,
the Altshuller’s innovation pyramid is the third innovative process strategy. The
pyramid innovation claims that ideas should not be rejected just because people
think they are not useful or because they are not as original as they should.
The importance of this process is to know if the idea will make anything better
and as an innovator, knowing the difference is imperative. For that reason,
thinking ahead into what will benefit an already existing idea is what makes
something good into something unique. For example, Apple never stops innovating
their iPhones. Each year they come out with a new phone version and the
competition tends to follow. In the same manner, I believe this could be
applied directly to my work. As my organization has moved to paperless charts,
we continues to have forms that patients need to fill out in paper, and then
transfer those form via scanning into the software. Despite the attempt to
eliminate the amount of papers we deal with, we still have almost the same
quantity with the software. I have advised my organization to bring over smart
tablets with pens, and that way have patient signs the documents electronically
and directly attach the document to the patient’s chart. That would help
tremendously by saving time.
Additionally, the fourth strategy is the
Burgelman and Seigel’s minimum winning game. In order to achieve successful
innovation, this strategy includes three definitive drivers: business strategy;
product development, and technology development. Many times, we loose track of
what is important, when in reality we should be planning a strategy to reach
that innovations we so badly crave. The implementation of a good strategy is
key to the success of a new idea. In the medical field, there is small room for
mistakes and not planning a strategic plan of care for a patient could be
fatal. Thankfully, protocols are always placed. A good example is when new
wound care products are out in the market. For them to finally reach out to
doctors or hospitals, they really make a lot of research. They know better,
than without it, even the smartest product would mean nothing to doctors.
“Quantitative analysis should also be used in execution plans to help clarify
the goals of the project and the technical challenges it must overcome” (Dugan
& Gabriel, 2013, p. 79).
Last but
not least, Osterwalder’s business model canvas. “The strength of the business
model canvas is that it is structured enough to give clarity to discussion
while also being flexible enough to adapt to your particular situation.”
(Mckeown, 2014, p. 2584). Osterwalder’s strategy implies that if a person has
an idea, just because he or she thought about it, it does not make it theirs if
they do not work to make it a reality. All in all, “the goal for an innovator
is not to become an expert in the tool but, instead, to use the tool to explore
and then exploit new ideas” (Mckeown, 2014, p. 2595). The doctor I work for,
also the owner for the organization, knew that podiatrist do not exist in the gray
color aspect of business. He knew that you were either the best or the worse
and the success of his organization depend it on being the best. That is why;
he dedicated many years of his life to make his organization a unique
experience for patient. So what makes his organization different from other
medical facilities? Two qualities. One is our customer service toward patient
and the second is they never wait more than five minutes to see their doctor on
the day of their appointment. Something most medical business would never
consider.
In
conclusion, these elements show me that the innovation process is not as simple
as most people think. Innovation requires a significant amount of planning and
strategic goals to achieve them. Additionally, I believe that most
organizations like mine, required of this strategies.
References
Canfield, J. & Smith, G.
(2011). Imagine: Ideation skills for improvement and innovation today.
Blake Lake Press.
Dugan, R. E., & Gabriel, K. J. (2013). "Special
forces" innovation: how DARPA attacks problems. Harvard Business Review,
91(10), 74+. Retrieved from
http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA343694270&v=2.1&u=embry&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&asid=f4c843166bba5421e905b3cdc85f8d1f
Mckeown, M. (2014). The innovation book: How to manage
ideas and execution for outstanding results (1st Ed.). FT Press.
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