The Ten Faces of Innovation - Tom Kelley

My interest in design thinking was sparked off recently cos of a conversation with a former colleague who is rather involved in doing design consultancy. More recently, I attended a talk by the Dean of Rotman School - Roger Martin, where I got an upfront look at one of the leading thinkers in this area. In keeping with this sudden interest in design thinking, I picked up Tom Kelley's book to learn more about the topic. Had been wanting to read this book for quite some time now anyway.

The book makes use of "persona" to represent various archetypes of personalities involved in the design and/or creative process. While many of these persona are closely pegged to certain specific skillsets, I believe that they border on being mental states that we can all assume at one point or another in our profession. Taken in this light, I interpret Tom Kelley's book as stating that too many of us assume the devil's advocate persona when dealing with innovative issues, and risk killing off good but budding ideas. There are other mental states where we can adopt to boost our organisations' innovative capacities. If we are really keen, we could even pick up the necessary skillsets and become an expert persona (of sorts) in our own right.

Here's my take on some of the persona that stood out more for me.

1. Cross-pollinator. I think that it is very critical for managers/leaders to have T-shaped competencies, and the cross-pollinator role is actually one that many leaders can (because of their T-shaped competencies) and should play. However, I see too many of them, including myself, developing the tunnel syndrome and fail to see the linkages or potential knowledge transfers across many disciplines.
   
2. Hurdler. I often lack the "get things done" mentality. I think this is something that many of us share. Our society and education system seems to have placed a premium on the thinking as compared to the doing side of things - sometimes I have the illusion that simply having a good idea is 99% there. I think we need more people (and also more capacity within myself) to have the drive and will to bring a first order concept into implementation. I think the hurdler persona finds relish in leaping over the obstacles - seeing them as challenges rather than troublesome "operational" details.
3. Director. Seems like a natural role that leaders should play. A good play is "90% casting", and so identifying the right people and playing to their strengths is the key to being a good manager.
   
4. Story teller. This links to this other book that I'm reading right now about story-telling. I think stories have a powerful way of motivating, inspiring and guiding people. Much more than simply barking orders at people or sweet talking them. Crafting a good narrative is also key to creating a strong vision that people can understand and be guided by. In our current workplace where there is an overdose of information and strategic directions can change rapidly, the narrative needs to be constantly refreshed and rationalised so that people can remain united on the journey. Tom Kelley said that the best story tellers can make a simply issue sound like the most exciting adventure (not in these exact words). Believe this is an important skill that all managers/leaders will need.
   

As I try to incorporate these models of thinking into my work, will also try to encourage more innovation in the people around me. May not be an easy task, but the least I could do is to stop myself the next time I'm tempted to play the devil's advocate and risk paralysing my own ability to think creatively.