Innovation from a Hospital Bed

So many times we try to be innovative sitting in our office chairs. We sit there . . . and we sit . . . and we sit some more. Somehow we are sure that if we sit long enough, talk fast enough, and think hard enough that the amazing ideas will flow.

Paul Bennett, a designer from Ideo, shares another perspective in this video. Here's how it goes - get out of your chair and get into the shoes of your audience. In this video he talks about design solutions for big problems. The thing that stood out to me and was so exciting was that they searched for solutions by becoming the recipient. So when asked to study the customer experience in a hospital, their staff layed in a hospital bed and videoed the ceiling!

What a concept. But innovation is proven when you get out of your chair and jump into the shoes of those who are in need of a solution. Watch the video and then think about how you can put yourself in the place of those who recieve your services or who give to your causes. How will that change how you communicate to them, connect with them, engage them?

Innovation on a Friday???

Fridays are tough. Its the end of the work week and we are all ready to move on to something else. Usually we have fought our battles, we have pushed through on deadines, we have made our presentations and we are ready for a rest.

But I think we are missing something. Friday is also a great INNOVATION DAY! Why is that? Well think about it. Friday is the culmination of a whole week's worth of lessons, ideas, failures, brainstroms, etc. It is the synthesis day when a new idea is very likely to come together.

In fact, because Friday is a bit more laid back there is even more of a chance it can be a condiut for innovation. Many people have casual dress on Fridays. Most people are feeling a bit more light hearted.

The tightly wound work world has taken a breath.

If you harness it, that moment can be a powerful force of innvation. At HCJB Global we have worked on this in our Communciations Team. On Fridays we do 2 things:
1. We hold our team meeting to review the week, brainstorm and plot out the next.
2. We have 2-3 hours of learning time every Friday Afternoon where everyone in the team is working on some sort of learning activity.

These two simple things are producing exciting results. We are coming up with new ideas and then are ready to use them as we jump into the next week.

So many people write off Friday's from a productivity standpoint, but if you position them right, they can be your main force for innovation!

Innovation Shrunk

In a recent Fast Company blog posting, they were talking about Walmart's announcement that they achieved their goal to sell 100 million energy-saving light bulbs. They did it with a bunch of fan fare - why? Very simple. Each bulb had a positive impact on the environment, and their ability to sell so many of them meant that they were creating real environmental impact.

You see, the small thing has huge impact on the larger ecosystem. That is the same in our organizations. By innovating in the smallest ways you can cause big change. Simply by changing the layout of the cubicles, redoing your office schedule, creating some innovative staff interactions, etc.

So don't be intimidated that innovation requires something as huge as the invention of the lightbulb - it can be as small as selling the environmentally friendly ones.

Innovation Insight

Recently I was at a conference where we did some team activities. One of the activities really shows impact of assumptions. The leader of the excercise gave four groups of four people a card with an assignment. All he said was, "Each of you represent an office and you must answer the question on your card." He also said that the team that finished fastest would get the largest bonus.

Each of the offices jumped into their task with excitement. But as each group looked at their cards, the question was not answerable - we didn't have all the information. But because we thought we were competing for bonuses, we did not even think to ask any other office.

Well, lesson learned, the answer to our question was on the card of another office and the same was true for each office. The lesson: any space at all (even only a few feet) creates seperation.

Innovation requires that we break down walls of seperation. This is hard because we put them up everywhere we go and we struggle to think about our world in collaboration. But that is the only way we can do innovative thinking in the nonprofit world. Because we lack resources of major corporations, we have to use the resources at our disposal - our networks, friendships, partners.

Sin Spurred Innovation

"Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven.'" - Mark 2:3-5 (NIV)

The people of Israel were amazed that something good could come out of Nazareth. The Disciples were amazed that the Holy Spirit came to the Gentiles. Today we are amazed when a Chinese pastor prays that we in the west will experience persecution.

Sin has some interesting side effects, doesn't it? We are all too familiar with the downward spiral of sin that traps people and claims their souls. But there are other side effects to sin as well.

In Mark 2, four men are confronted with the result of man's sinful nature - disease and sickness. Now I am not saying that this man sinned and was punished with sickness, but his sickness is itself a part of the fallen world.

As I was saying, these four men were confronted with this imperfection in their friend. They knew Jesus could do something but they could not reach him. They were too late. But then they got an idea. I can just imagine how this might go. One of them might have said, "There isn't anyone on the roof - lets go that way!" I'm sure one or two of them looked at him and laughed, but what the heck! So they put some of that first century math to work and figured out where Jesus was probably sitting. Maybe they cheated and looked into a window to get their bearing.

Either way, they got their friend to the Savior - they innovated in the face of sin's dramatic effect.

Sin can lead to innovation in our lives as well. As we come up against sin's evil results and ask "WHY?", we have a chance to look for a solution. We can look for another approach . . . another idea . . . another perspective that will break the power of sin and point back to Christ and His love.

One great example is CoventantEyes.com. Whoever spearheaded this service saw the aweful temptation of pornography on the internet. So they created this service called CoventantEyes that uses an innovative approach. The person who is concerned about the temptation of content online downloads a program and selects a few accountability partners. This program records every site the person goes to and sends it to the accountability partner. The email records which ones are considered concerning.

This is an amazing innovation in accountability in the Internet Age - a side effect of sin that is helping thousands.

When you come up to sin in your life, do you let it engulf you or do you innovate and apply God's strength and creativity to combatting it?

Innovation in Small Groups

I read an excerpt on ChristianityToday.com about a new innovation in small groups that Mike Lueken (Oak Hills Church in Folsom, CA) is developing.

They are creating what they call "One Thing" groups. These groups focus on a specific area that a set of people want to tackle and engage. The idea is that if you are trying to fix everything you will never get to any of them - so why not have groups developed around specific challenges.

This is so simple but it is a great example of holistic innovation. It takes an existing idea and rolls it out for a new purpose - spiritual formation and accountability.

When I talk with people, they usually have decided that innovation is something big that only the brainiacs can do . . . this is a great example of the fact that innovation can be done by anyone.

Enjoy innovating today.

Innovation is a Matter of Timing

We want to see innovation happen but then there was the issue of timing. It's a killer for a few reasons:

1. If you have urgent problems that you are seeking solutions for, innovation does not have time to work. You need a solution long before the innovation process can hope to succeed.
2. Innovation can take a long process, with the turnover in nonprofits today it is hard to keep an innovation champion in place long enough to see the results.
3. Sometimes the alignment of money and resources for innovation do not come when you need them. This means that you are delayed in your innovation for lack of funds.

The biggest issue is that we tend to put off solving hard problems. They are too big and we have other matters that seem more urgent. If we deal with problems through innovation with the proper lead time, there is a chance for the innovation to provide a solution. If not the timing of it all will get us every time

An Idea Deffered

In today's Fast Company Blog on Innovation they talk about how Corel, the software company, is helping people throughout the organization to share their ideas.

One of the most interesting things about this blog is the question "What is the cost of an idea deffered?" I think the cost is huge. Every time we say, "We don't have time to think it through." or "I don't know who to share this with." We are loosing out on an opportunity to share ideas, learn and innovate.

What is the cost of the deffering the idea you have in your head today?

Slipping through the cracks

Innovation is a very purposeful and intentional process. It involves research, soft thinking, hard thinking and follow-through. We are real good at talking in the nonprofit world, but follow-through is a bit tougher.

One of the great challenges is that our days slip away from us. They just disappear. We get wrapped up in all the daily activities of our children, our job responsibilities and our church and we don't leave time to innovate.

I think we sometimes just assume that the innovation will come to us in the shower and we will be instantly on the road to a solution.

I just did a podcast on the reality check of our disappearing day. Check it out.

Innovation through Suffering

Many times innovation comes out of suffering. We are presented with an insurmountable challenge and we look for solutions. Many times the challenges impact us very personally and it drives our creative juices. We are hit with a loss and we don't know what to do. So we take that frustration and sorrow and focus in "fixing it."

We are a culture that loves to fix things. We identify problems and throw all our energies towards the challenge. So many of the times the motivations for innovation are very personal. We are struggling with somethings in our heart and out of that pain comes innovation.

What are the things motivating your innovation today?

Your Chance to Review Innovation in Mission

As you read the Innovation in Mission book and interact with the concepts, we would love to have you review it. Here are a few places you can submit a review:

ReviewScout.co.uk

Amazon.com

Christianbook.com

We will look forward to your thoughts!

A Source for Innovation

One of the greatest sources for ideas on innovation comes from Fast Company Magazine. They also run a great BLOG on innovation. It is definitely worth bookmarking.

Brigada Promo

Check out what ran about our book in Brigada.org:

EXAMPLES OF INNOVATION IN MISSION -- Are you looking for inspiration in your ministry? Jim Reapsome (retired editor of EMQ) and Jon Hirst (Director of Communications at HCJB Global) have just launched a book that showcases the innovations of thirteen mission practitioners. Whether you want to learn about how TEAM launched e-learning, how Olive Technologies integrates business as mission, and how Link Care and YWAM are re-imagining member care in the developing world, these quick case studies provide a great workshop to help you innovate within your ministry context. Read more about the book at http://www.authenticbooks.com/search/isbn/1932805761 and http://www.innovationinmission.com

Innovation takes People

One of realities to the innovative success of Google, Mac, Pixar and others is a simple resource . . . people. Sometimes we are tempted to think that outsourcing our work or using a slimmed down staff can produce the same results.

But in the end, it is the creative dynamic and varied skills of a team that make innovation happen in the world today. It is different cultures, different cities, different personalities engaged in tackling the same problem.

In missions we don't use people resources very wisely. Many times if our staff raise their own support we fail to even count their time as a resource. That is a big mistake. Missions will not innovate until they start to look at their people resources strategically and invest in them wisely.

Drawing from Within

When you hear the word innovation you immediately think of new and creative things. That is natural - you wouldn't call an old idea "innovative." Or would you?

We are just getting over our facination with progress. It was the momentum that drove the 20th Century. But at the same time, it assumed that the "new" and the "next" were always better.

Now lets consider what is within us. I wonder if some of the most creative innovations are not ideas that already exist but are reimagined. Those ideas that have been ripening in us over time and then we pull it out of the back of our brain and apply it to a new challenge.

Many of the innovations in mission happening in the Global South seem to be things that the Apostle Paul did so effectively. When I was in a South Asian country recently, I spent some time with a ministry who is mobilizing hundreds of church planters and each one must get a business model approved. They are innovative because they have families to feed. But that's not new. The early church did plent of that.

Another example in the world of mission is online learning. Just like Paul's letters represented an informal style of learning, we are now using new communications tools to help teach missionary staff and hone their skills.

I wonder if a key characteristic of a mission innovator is to unite new opportunities with the wellspring of history and create relevant solutions. I think that it isn't so much about having something truely new as it is about having something truely engaging.

Review on www.davidmays.org

If you would like to see a missions mobilizer's take on the Innovation in Mission book click here.

It has some great pull out quotes from the book and gives you an overview. In one of his comments David says that it is a bit too in depth for the casual reader and a bit too general for the practitioner. Point taken, but consider that most people involved in missions today sit somewhere between the casual bystander and the expert. That is the person that will get the most out of this new resource.

Thanks for the review David and hope everyone enjoys his comments.

Book Review by EMQ

In the latest issue of EMQ (Evangelical Missions Quarterly) John Orme reviewed the Innovation in Mission book. Make sure to check it out! EMQ's web site is www.emqonline.com.

Business as Mission Highlighted

One of the chapters in our book was recently published as an article in Momentum Magazine. Joseph Vijayam's chapter on Kingdom Business can be viewed here.

Joseph does a great job in this chapter of helping create a healthy model of using business in conjunction with missions. He speaks often on this topic and runs a very successful business in Hyderbad, India. Check out what Joseph is doing at www.olivetech.com.

Review of Innovation in Mission

Be looking for a review of Innovation in Mission on www.davidmays.org.

Thanks David for reviewing the book!

A question to consider

What if you didn't live in a hyper-aggressive world focused on the next best thing? What if you didn't spend every second of every day fighting off the constant attack of messages and changes?

If that wasn't your life, then think about how you might answer this question:

"What would be innovative to you without any context or understanding of the word innovation?"