Creating a Culture of Innovation: Design an Optimal Environment to Create and Execute New Ideas

1. Introduction (5 pages)
2. Space and tools (40 page)From the way a space is laid out to how often teams eat with each other as a proxy to family life, this section will link existing research and anonymised interviews to discuss the power and impact of these tools and strategies.
a. Stationary & interior designi. Open plan offices ii. Hot desking & Co-Working spacesiii. Canteens & eating ritualsiv. Post-its & Whiteboards1. Power & Opinions
3. People & Knowledge (30 pages)From 'Master Inventor' to 'Head of Labs' the way companies assign power to people and departments in charge of innovation shapes how that work happens but also is perceived. In this chapter we will examine the way we view the innovation coming from within and outsiders, the culture of youth around innovation and the segregation we create to manage the impact the 'real world' has on cultures of creativity and innovation.
i. Job titlesii. In-house1. Futurists & Evangelists2. Internships
iii. External1. Consultants2. Gurus, Nomads & Piratesa. Case studies3. Attending conferences4. Brown bag lunches & other internal training
4. Communication (30 pages) The structures we use for people to work together is also part of how companies identify themselves as innovative. Whether its written communication or how collaboration is organised, there are myths and data about the effectiveness of these approaches and patterns but they are rarely considered in a 'monkey see monkey do' culture of innovation. This chapter will look at each and present the pitfalls and limitations of each tool and approach.
i. Written1. Email2. Slack3. Trelloii. Collaboration1. Buzzwords, in-jokes & office language 2. Meetings a. Formats i. Stand upsii. Walk & Talkiii. Note taking3. Conference calls4. Away days5. Methodologiesa. Brainstorming b. Design Thinkingc. Agiled. Business Model Canvas6. The IT department a. Security strategies & Clean desk policiesb. BYOD
5. Sharing Innovation (40 pages)Finally innovation isn't recognised unless it is shared. Here again the patterns most companies adopt are the same, from client-facing innovation physical spaces with blue LEDs in their offices to PR stunts at CES, the effectiveness of these efforts is rarely measured and this chapter will focus on questioning these approaches with case studies.
a. Dedicated innovation spacesi. Their purpose & design 1. Case studies b. Maker spaces c. Incubators, Accelerators & Hubsd. PRi. Videoii. Social mediaiii. Tradeshows & conferences1. CES2. SXSW3. TED
6. Conclusion (5 pages)
Total page count: 150