Large organisations can get bad press for being unwieldy and lacking in imagination and smaller companies tend to get good press for being nimble and innovative. But the story is not so straight forward.
Big companies are in a unique position where they have the resources and market position to turn creative ideas into ‘game-changing’ innovations. These innovations can disrupt the status quo in the market and define a new niche or new marketplace entirely. There are many good examples of this out there, but they tend to come from just a handful of companies who already live and breathe creativity.
Employees at large organisations, where creativity is not an everyday habit, can be sub-consciously limited by the current operational and market models. These cause mental blocks that inhibit and organisation from becoming fluid, dynamic and innovative.
It’s not fair to blame the individual for this. They have been praised, rewarded and promoted for their analytical prowess. They have probably not been given practical methods for shifting their thinking and working in collaboration with others to generate new realities and new revenue streams. But this is often what is asked of them and when this isn’t achieved, it results in frustration, tension and dwindling margins.
For the last 50 years Dr de Bono has been promoting and teaching the importance of ‘design thinking’. For Dr de Bono it is essential to ‘analyse the past and design the future’. In his eyes data and analysis is hugely important, but the ability to break traditional patterns of thinking and re-design the future is central to individual and organisational success.
Indigo are proud to have been UK distributors for Dr de Bono’s practical techniques such as Six Thinking Hats® and Lateral Thinking for over 10 years. For more information about how you can learn to apply the techniques, contact the Indigo team on +44 (0)20 3836 8640.
