Creativity Case: Structuring and leading innovation

Situation:

Struggling to have a unified approach to innovation, an international network of marketing companies was not leveraging the competencies it had across its network. While some markets were successful, the growth was uneven and an antiquated organisational structure was starting to show its faults. When clients started to walk away due to a lack of cooperation across the group, the top team said it was time for a change.

Intervention:

Working with the CEO and a select task force, innovation was highlighted as the theme that could unite the disparate groups and help them each get better results. A methodology for innovation was designed and a creativity toolkit equipped with techniques to support work groups to move from problem interpretation to brainstorming to concept improvement to implementation.  The EMEA top management were briefed on the resources and led through group exercises as a proof-of-concept; then working with the local leaders, workshops were held with their teams. The local workshops focused on understanding the approach and techniques and directly applying the theory to their current client work.

Results:

Beyond the natural fruits of learning and quick wins with current clients, the memorable outcome from this initiative was the cohesion of the management team and the shift in the group's work habits. For the top team, innovation was a rallying call that let them show off their brilliance while recognizing the benefits of coming together: for the staff, the long lasting result was having an aligned approach and instinct to continually spot opportunities for improvement.