There will always be resistance in any innovation initiative. Yet if nothing changes, nothing change

Scepticism among team members towards innovation initiatives is understandable. Yet if organisations and their members aren’t willing try anything new, they won’t develop anything truly innovative.

I was recently called by Melbourne’s top radio programme ‘Breakfast with Ross and John’ on 3AW to discuss the value of using the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY™ methodology to generate creative thinking in organisations.

I was interviewed to discuss my thoughts about an article that had appeared the previous day on the front page of the national Australian newspaper, in which it was suggested that Australia’s public broadcaster, the ABC, had faced some internal derision for using LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY™ as a way of considering the future direction of the organisation. The article mentioned that some employees of the ABC were sceptical of the process and its aim of encouraging staff to be innovative.
(Click here to view the article)

This is the challenge that those who want to encourage organisations towards doing things differently often face as creative initiatives are begun. The key question proactive managers interested in innovation must ask is how they can convince the resisters and sceptics in organisations to abandon hostility to methodologies designed to facilitate innovation and creativity.

At Management Consultancy International, we know that through play and hands-on, minds-on thinking, the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY™ methodology can open the doors to possibilities that we might not otherwise have access. We have seen time and time again that it can help groups to think not just outside of the square, but outside of the building.

The LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY™ methodology is not about closed solutions that follow strict guidelines. In sessions based on this powerful methodology, everyone contributes to the formation of ideas and is involved in innovation mining. How many times have we attended meetings where 20% of the people contribute 80% of the time? In LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY™ based sessions, there is no more ‘lonely guy’ – the person who is not engaged and sits back despite having valuable insights to add. In such sessions, there is 100% participation and the diversity of ideas is astounding.

Everyone in the session or in the meeting can experiment with the LEGO bricks and feel, literally feel, the power of their imagination. The process mandates that there is no right or wrong. This freedom from judgement encourages a myriad of ideas to emerge without fear of criticism. If you do not have a large group of ideas to begin with, you are often left with only poor or imperfect solutions. Later these ideas are screened against criteria for suitability (including, for example whether they meet budgetary requirements).

We at Management Consultancy International have witnessed resistant and critical individuals who have said “I am not creative” and “What is the point of playing with these toys?”. When these same people begin to use the LEGO bricks, lead by our team of LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY™ Facilitator Diploma Holders, they quickly enter what is known as ‘flow’ state and begin to propose incredible ideas and surprise themselves with the richness of their thoughts and visions. As we use our hands, we engage both our left and right brain hemispheres; whole-brain thinking emerges.

There is substantial academic theory to back up these claims. Researchers in universities worldwide have developed insights into why the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY™ process works so well. One example, the notion of ‘Systematic creativity’ is documented here in a key paper (click here).

Become accredited to use the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY™ methodology in your strategy workshops, team events and meetings to brainstorm new ideas. Boost your ability to apply this process and take your team or organisation to the next level when it comes to being innovative.

As Einstein so clearly put it; “Logic will take you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”

Management Consultancy International is one of four organisations worldwide to offer Facilitator Training Workshops to train you to apply the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY™ methodology to enhance the innovative capacity of your clients or team members.

Join us for our 1 or 3 day training program and benefit from our experience in showing you how to best apply this process in your unique context. For more information, call 1300-768-550 or +612-9299-5089 or email info@mci.edu.au