The Many Faces of Innovation

Tom Kelley of IDEO has a new book out - - The Ten Faces of Innovation: IDEO's Strategies for Defeating the Devils Advocate and Driving Creativity Throughout Your Organization.

The ten faces of innovation can be divided into three different personas.  The Learning Personas (#1, #2, and #3) are driven by the idea that no matter how successful a company currently is, no one can afford to be complacent.  Individuals and organizations need to constantly gather new sources of information in order to expand their knowledge and grow.  The Organizing Personas (#4, #5, and #6) focus on organizing roles, played by individuals who are savvy about the often counterintuitive process of how organizations move ideas forward.  The Building Personas (#7, #8, #9, and #10) are building roles that apply insight form the learning roles and channel the empowerment from the organizing roles to make innovation happen.

The ten faces of innovation are as follows:

1. The Anthropologist brings new learning and insights into the organization by observing human behavior and developing a deep understanding of how people interact physically and emotionally with products, services, and spaces.
2. The Experimenter prototypes new ideas continuously, learning by a process of enlightened trial and error.  The Experimenter takes calculated risks to achieve success through a state of "experimentation as implementation."
3. The Cross-Pollinator explores other industries and cultures, then translates those findings and revelations to fit the unique needs of your enterprise.
4. The Hurdler knows the path to innovation is strewn with obstacles and develops a knack for overcoming or out smarting those roadblocks.
5. The Collaborator helps bring eclectic groups together, and often leads from the middle of pack to create new combinations and multidisciplinary solutions.
6. The Director not only gathers together a talented cast and crew but also helps to spark their creative talents.
7. The Experience Architect designs compelling experiences that go beyond mere functionality to connect at a deeper level with customers' latent or expressed needs.
8. The Set Designer creates a stage on which innovation team members can do their best work, transforming physical environments into powerful tools to influence behavior and attitude.
9. The Caregiver builds on the metaphor of a health care professional to deliver customer care in a manner that goes beyond mere service.  Good Caregivers anticipate customer needs and are ready to look after them.
10. The Storyteller builds both internal and morale and external awareness through compelling narratives that communicate a fundamental human value or reinforce a specific cultural trait.