As we’ve learned from thought leaders like Carol Dweck and Adam Grant, a workforce with a growth mindset is a powerful asset. When your employees view learning as essential for improvement and feedback as a productive tool, your work culture is both healthy and capable of evolving further.
The next iteration is an innovative mindset, which sees the world through a lens of disruption. People with this mindset are able to see beyond what exists—and envision what could be. For a lucky few, this superpower comes naturally. For the rest of us, there are techniques designed to re-orient our perspectives.
As an innovation expert and author, I’ve led hundreds of thousands of people through techniques that shift mindsets away from the status quo. Three of my favorite exercises for cultivating an innovative mindset are below and they’ve all led to innovations at Citibank, Novartis and Farmers Insurance.
1. Shed the skepticism. Establish an environment where wild ideas get a chance to shine, instead of being instantly dismissed. During your next brainstorm, introduce the following four-step framework for civilized feedback. Before anyone can say anything negative about an idea, they must first answer these four lines of inquiry: What’s good about this idea? What possible benefits could result from this idea? In what ways could we overcome [insert key concern about feasibility/funding/etc.]? And finally, what’s an example of a solution that would address my key concern?
From engineering new airplane designs to creating pill bottles with smart caps, this exercise helps people in all industries be more receptive to rough concepts while establishing a common language for idea evaluation among teams.
2. Reverse assumptions. Breaking down a problem or challenge into parts can help teams think differently and more creatively about solutions. To demonstrate, let’s use the hypothetical challenge of “Generate new ideas for a restaurant.” Ask your teams to name all the things they assume should exist at a restaurant: Things like “food,” “recipes,” “menus,” “prices,” “employees,” etc. From your list, circle three assumptions and then reverse them. Beyond “no food,” reversals could include “guests bring their own food’ or “sell food for carry-out or delivery only.”
The goal is to expand people’s thinking to include as many reversals as possible. From there, try to combine a few reversals into a bigger concept. Let’s say your teams chose “employees,” “menus,” and “food” as their three assumptions. A combination of these reversals might be a restaurant without employees where menus exist online and no food is served in-house. While this may have sounded absurd pre-2020, it’s now a contingency plan for launching restaurants in the New Normal.
3. Activate disruptive thinking. Lead people into a creative mindset with an exercise known for sparking unconventional ideas. To illustrate, let’s imagine that the goal of your brainstorm session is to “improve the features of Product X.” But instead of focusing on the product, choose a random object that’s visible to the group: a dry-erase pen, hydroflask, exit sign, etc.
For this example, let’s use a hydroflask. Ask the group how they’d describe the object in terms of color, texture, and functionality. You’ll likely hear words like “insulated,” “durable,” “smooth,” “portable,” etc. Now direct them to narrow their list of characteristics down to three. Once they’ve chosen, tie each one back to your brainstorming goal using an open-ended question.
For instance: “In what ways might we improve the features of Product X or Service Y to make it insulated? Or portable? And durable?” I’ve been in the room when participants start spit-balling and the creative energy is palpable. Someone might connect “insulated” to “insular,” which then brings to mind “supply chain” and ideas for better quality control. Or maybe “portable” leads a participant to “mobile,” which prompts insights about adding geo-location or developing a service app. Perhaps “durable” generates ideas for a longer-lasting product or extended battery source.
Like the two previous techniques, this exercise can also produce breakthrough ideas or a burst of creativity that helps people jump a few leaps closer to a solution. By using all three regularly with your teams, you can help them see the world through a lens of disruption and cultivate a truly innovative mindset.
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