Experience the thrill of Innovation
Summary
One definition of innovation is the creation of new knowledge either from scratch or by combining existing knowledge. The roles of creativity and knowledge management are vital in any innovation strategy. Innovation applies equally to products, processes and services and is the only true source of sustainable competitive advantage. The pace of innovation is increasing. There have been more significant inventions in the last 100 years than the previous 1.5 million! Innovation is necessary but it also requires effective management. Are you keeping up with the pace?
This session examines and demonstrates the roles of tacit and explicit knowledge and suggests that hindsight, foresight and intuition have a powerful role to play. Finally delegates will be introduced to a simple framework for gaining support for innovation.
After attending this session delegates will:
- Have a greater understanding of the interplay between tacit and explicit knowledge
- Know how to identify barriers to effective knowledge management
- Have practical experience of an innovation process
Your business will benefit through:
- More effective decision making
- Efficient use of knowledge resources
- An enhanced innovation climate
Detailed Description
Our only route to sustainable competitive advantage is through innovation, and one of the key components is the management of knowledge. On a personal level both tacit and explicit knowledge are used within different time frames e.g. hindsight, foresight and intuition. On an organisational level we often think of explicit knowledge such as manuals and procedures and ignore tacit knowledge. The sum of your organisational knowledge should be greater than or equal to the sum of the individual parts. Is this the case?
Delegates will examine the roles of tacit and explicit knowledge and their impact on organisational performance as well as taking part in a 'Knowledge Lab' exercise which demonstrates both the advantages and the pitfalls of managing such an abstract entity. It will also become apparent that the pursuit of excellence through capturing knowledge in procedures and quality systems is governed by the law of diminishing returns.
The issues of downsizing, redundancy and change will also be discussed in terms of knowledge and the traditional organisational structure chart will be seen in a new light.
Having covered the main components of innovation delegates will be introduced to a simple but effective framework for managing the innovation process and for gaining backing from peers, superiors and even financiers. Here participants are given a useful checklist for gaining acceptance of new ideas. This workshop is 'hands on' and often filled with laughter as participants take new ideas from brain to prototype or model and then try to obtain funding from hard-nosed venture capitalists in the form of other delegates or course facilitators. This exercise has been known to generate patentable ideas within the short timescales allowed.
Within sessions, the emphasis is on 'learning by doing' although necessary theory is covered in advance. In accordance with this philosophy, delegates are expected to actively participate by contributing their own ideas through questioning. Delegates are guaranteed to enjoy this learning experience. This is a valuable opportunity for individuals to learn about an emerging concept that is becoming increasingly important in the business world.