EMP5111

Creativity &
Innovation

Welcome Module

Creativity & Innovation

Innovate like
Einstein

Andrew Faulkner

Creativity & Innovation

 introductions 01

the imperatives for creativity

02
and innovation

Module flyby 03 Agenda

unleashing your
creative genius
Introducing TRIZ 04

Summary 05

Q&A 06

Creativity & Innovation

 1. introductions

Creativity & Innovation

Introducing
Andrew Faulkner
• Career in high-tech.

• MBA + Electrical & electronic engineering.

• B2B product management, product marketing,

and market communications.

• Ran my own company with a focus on sensors for

the IoT industry.

• President of the Ottawa Management & Marketing

Association and ProductCamp Ottawa.
Great Engineering Managers, make great
• Part time professor on EMP. products, make great companies!

Creativity & Innovation

 ?
What is your
In zoom chat discipline?
Creativity & Innovation
EMP/MEM 5111 | Creativity & Innovation
• 5111 will help you raise your “game”.
The Reality
• In today's world world the ability to be creative, and to
"If you don't move forward- innovate is not just desirable -it is the only way!
you begin to move
backward”
• Creativity is not just a gift of a few, that happens
-Mikhail Gorbachev randomly, but techniques, and a mindset that can be
learned, coached, and developed.

• 5111 will provide you with the Skills, Knowledge and

Methods to unleash the creative talents for yourself
and your teams.

• Creativity can become a systematic process that can

be repeated efficiently and effectively.

Creativity & Innovation

 ?
Creativity and
Innovation –what
comes to mind?

In zoom chat

Creativity & Innovation

Creativity & innovation |
working definitions a new, very novel idea

• Creativity: to originate, make, or bring

into existence an entirely new concept,
principle, object or outcome.
• Relativity, neural networks, polymers…

• Innovation: to make something new by

purposefully combining different
existing, ideas, and knowledge.
Combination of different
• Velcro, the internet, the printing press, composites, the
ideas to create something
electric car…
of value!

Creativity & Innovation

 SWIFM?
Innovative individuals
are more attractive to
prospective employers
Innovative individuals
become active
contributors to society
Creativity & Innovation
Innovative individuals
with an ability to
develop and foster
innovative TEAMS are
valued in the workplace
Innovative teams &
organizations bring value to
stakeholders and to the
markets they serve.
 2. the imperatives for
creativity and innovation

Creativity & Innovation

Video by Mikhail Nilov from Pexels
 ?
What are the
imperatives for
creativity?

In zoom chat

Creativity & Innovation

Three Imperatives for
Creativity & Innovation
• Surviving then thriving

• The whole world needs you!

• Having Fun

Creativity & Innovation

 Imperative 1 | thriving
Globalization brings a new competitive dynamic, accelerated by the
global pandemic to the workforce
• Competing with global professionals

• Highly qualified

• Highly skilled

• Highly motivated

• Often at a lower cost

…but more crucially…

• AI is coming very fast and is taking over any work that can be
reduced to a set of rules, routines, instructions…

Creativity & Innovation

The 5th industrial
revolution is
…..coming
• AKA the conceptual age: holistic; about identifying opportunities!
• Humans and technology

Read more HERE.

Creativity & Innovation
Three core skills
to thrive in the
conceptual age empathy

logic & analysis creativity

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Imperative 2 | the whole
world needs you

• We only have one world- which we

share…

• We face serious challenges to

overcome.

• Challenges that are not the sole

responsibility of politicians or ‘others’
to solve.

• Don’t leave it to others -use your

training and skills for the betterment of
your fellow world citizens..

Creativity & Innovation

 ?
What challenges
do you think we
are facing ?

In zoom chat

Creativity & Innovation

 The Challenges
“we” face?
As one humanity we have serious
challenges to overcome, that are not the
sole responsibility of politicians or
‘others’ to solve.

Creativity & Innovation

 Reason 2 | What Challenges do “we” face?

Environment degradation
Make solar energy economical Energy from nuclear fusion

Manage the nitrogen cycle War

Carbon sequestration methods
Poverty & hunger Climate change
Access to clean water Sanitation for everyone
Safe cities Engineer better medicines
Global pandemics
Prevent nuclear terror Restore & improve urban infrastructure
Advanced health informatics
Advanced personalized learning
Engineer the tools of scientific discovery
Secure the cyberspace Reverse-engineer the brain
Enhance virtual reality
Space exploration and population
Forced migration

Creativity & Innovation

Imperative 3 |
because it is FUN!
• Doing what has not been
done:
o Is that not precisely why
you’ve taken up
engineering in the first
place?
o Is this not what
engineering is all about –
beyond calculations and
analysis?
Creativity & Innovation
 • Augmented Reality
10 Best Inventions in the Last Decade that
• Artificial Intelligence
Changed the Technology Sector
• Internet of Things
• 3D Printing
• Computer Vision
• Touchscreen and infinity display
• Crowdfunding websites
• Cloud computing
• Human-like Robots
• Social Networking

Creativity & Innovation

…and if Earth is not big enough for you!

Creativity & Innovation

 3.
Module flyby

Creativity & Innovation

Video by Mikhail Nilov from Pexels
 Introduction | Engage the Whole Brain
• The typical analytical capabilities used by
engineers and reinforced by their training is highly
valuable: verbal, analytical, logical, literal,
temporal, symbolic.
• Our technical education focuses on these, and
engineers make abundant use of them -successfully.
• What about other holistic capabilities? Non-verbal,
synthetic, intuitive, emotional, non-temporal.
Useful?
• Start with some basic understanding of the brain
and of the mind: structure, left vs. right
hemispheres, neuroplasticity, conscious and
subconscious thinking, habits, negativity bias.
Goal: work more effectively using
‘whole brain’ methods.
Creativity & Innovation
Divergent & Convergent | Thinking

There are 2 phases to the process of dealing

with an I/P/O:

• Divergent Thinking: Generating lots of

options.

• Convergent Thinking: Evaluating options,

making decisions.

• The divergent phase comes first, used to

define the problem correctly

• Only once this is done, move to the

convergent phase to solve the problem!
Creativity & Innovation
Technology
Innovation |
Context
• At the onset of an innovation phase the
team starts from the current state of
an organization’s current products and
offerings.

• Innovation requires knowledge that

extends well beyond these current
products and offerings.

Creativity & Innovation

Technology
intelligence |
The Audit
• Take stock of your in-house
current situation

• Conduct a market audit

• Identify the GAP

• Bridge the gap

Creativity & Innovation

Innovation Strategy |
The need for alignment
• Nearly all organizations will have some form
of a business strategy, although it may not
always be clearly documented

• Many organizations may also have some form

of Innovation Strategy.

• However, few align their innovation Strategy

with their business strategy.

• The need to align these documents is obvious

–without it the main parts of the organization
may “row” in different directions.

Creativity & Innovation

Innovation Categories | Innovation Map

DISRUPTIVE ARCHITECTURAL
REQUIRES
NEW
BUSINESS
MODEL

ROUTINE RADICAL
LEVERAGES
EXISTING
BUSINESS
MODEL

LEVERAGES EXISTING REQUIRES NEW TECHNICAL

TECHNICAL COMPETENCES COMPETENCES

Creativity & Innovation

Ta
kin
ga
Br
ea
k
Creativity & Innovation
Trait vs Behavior

• Are Leaders born or are they

developed?
• “A natural born Leader?”
• Some Definitions
• trait/characteristic/attribute
is a distinguishing quality or
characteristic, typically.
• be·hav·ior . The way in which
one acts or conducts oneself,
especially toward others.
Read more HERE.

Creativity & Innovation

?
What do you think are
the key behaviors of
creative people?

?
In zoom chat

Creativity & Innovation

Some Key | Creative Traits/Behaviours
Creativity Requires some (not necessarily all) of these traits

Empathy

Curious.

Passion and Energy.

Intuition.

Openness , agreeableness and Collaborative.

Playful, Experimental, and risk taking.

Persistent.

Thorough.

Creativity & Innovation

Playful
• Children learn by playing.

• Adults have forgotten how (trained out) to

play.

• Traits of Play

• There are lots of examples of how “innovative”

companies encourage play.

Creativity & Innovation

 4. introducing TRIZ

Creativity & Innovation

Video by Mikhail Nilov from Pexels
 What is a Problem?
• “A perceived gap between the existing
state and a desired state, or
a deviation from a norm, standard,
or status quo”
• A problem arises when we need to
overcome some obstacle in order to
get from our current state to a desired
state

Creativity & Innovation

 Solving I/P/Os
• Issues, Problems and
Opportunities.

Creativity & Innovation

 TRIZ | What is it?
Tools that leverage patent
analysis and unlock
scientific databases

Tools and concepts that

promote lateral thinking

A structured framework that

promotes creativity!

Read more HERE.

Creativity & Innovation
Course Team Project
Artificial intelligence

Cybersecurity.
Cybersecurity.

Greenhouse gas emissions.

Creativity & Innovation

TRIZ leverages
your whole
mind!

Creativity & Innovation

 ….and in summary
• Being creative benefits your career.
• Being creative is required for companies to survive….and thrive.
• You have a responsibility to be creative…the world needs you.
• Anyone can develop creative skills.
• TRIZ is a useful problem-solving tool kit that uses the whole of the mind.

EMP/MEM 5111 is the right choice!

Creativity & Innovation