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Mindsets for InnovationThe HSATM Roundtable meeting, on Mindsets for Innovation, took place on Wednesday, May 2, 2007 from 1:30-4:30 PM (networking lunch 12:30-1:30) at ARDEC, Picatinny Arsenal.
Our primary facilitator will be Dr. Christopher Barlow, who spoke at last year's HSATM Conference. Chris received outstanding reviews for his talk, and we have invited him back to speak at this year's Conference on June 12. He is a researcher, professor and author who has been involved in the management and teaching of team creativity and innovation for more than twenty years. Our Alliance Partner facilitator will be Geza Pap of ARDEC, who has facilitated three past Roundtable meetings.
To set the stage, Chris has provided the following abstract:
Innovators need to know how and when to influence mindsets. Focused mindsets provide great leverage for creativity, decision-making, and action, but they often need to be shifted before people and organizations can see the full potential of ideas and innovations. Those attempting deliberate innovation need to apply leadership skills to shift those mindsets that they see as "resistance to change". However, their own mindsets about their ideas and about the innovation process may be part of the problem.
It is important to remember that the mindsets blocking innovation are the very fabric of organizations, allowing efficient execution of previous innovations. It may be even more important for innovators to realize that the "resisters" are often justified in their objections to ideas and to specific investments in innovation. Ideas obvious to the innovators may need more work to be responsive to issues relevant to real world success. Also, other areas and types of research might be more strategically valuable to fund. Roundtable participants will discuss the variety of conflicting mindsets and values they have experienced and consider more effective approaches in their own organizations.
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