Sticky Wisdom: How to Start a Creative Revolution at Work – Summary

Introduction

“Sticky Wisdom: How to Start a Creative Revolution at Work” by Dave Allan, Matt Kingdon, Kris Murrin, and Daz Rudkin is a guide designed to help individuals and organizations foster creativity and innovation. The authors provide insights and actionable strategies to ignite and sustain a creative culture in a professional environment. The book belongs to the category of Idea Generation and is rich with practical examples and techniques.

Chapter 1: Understanding Creativity

Key Points:
1. Redefining Creativity: The authors argue that creativity is not confined to artistic endeavors but is essential in everyday problem-solving and innovation.
2. Barriers to Creativity: Psychological, social, and organizational barriers often stifle creativity. Fear of failure and rigid structures are common culprits.

Concrete Examples:
– To redefine creativity, the book cites an example from the corporate world where engineers at IDEO, a design and innovation firm, consider creativity integral to developing new products.
– Addressing barriers, an example is given of a company where employees were encouraged to present “failure reports,” transforming setbacks into learning opportunities.

Actionable Step:
– Action: Conduct a team workshop to broaden the definition of creativity within your organization. Use stories and case studies to illustrate how creativity can apply across different departments.

Chapter 2: The Creative Process

Key Points:
1. Stages of Creativity: The creative process consists of gathering data, incubation, idea generation, and evaluation.
2. Divergent and Convergent Thinking: Successful creativity involves both expansive thinking to generate ideas and focused thinking to refine them.

Concrete Examples:
– The book discusses Pixar’s use of extensive research and brainstorming sessions in pre-production stages to fuel creativity.
– 3M’s “15 percent rule” is highlighted where employees are encouraged to spend 15% of their time exploring ideas outside their regular projects.

Actionable Step:
– Action: Implement structured brainstorming sessions followed by focused evaluation meetings. Ensure both divergent and convergent thinking phases are distinct.

Chapter 3: The Environment for Creativity

Key Points:
1. Physical and Cultural Environment: A supportive physical and cultural environment is crucial for fostering creativity.
2. Creating Playful Spaces: Workspaces designed to stimulate creativity can significantly enhance idea generation.

Concrete Examples:
– Google’s campus with its open spaces, colorful interiors, and recreational areas shows how physical environment can lift creative thinking.
– The book mentions how an advertising agency redesigned their office with flexible, non-traditional workspaces to encourage spontaneous interactions and idea sharing.

Actionable Step:
– Action: Redesign your workspace by incorporating elements like flexible seating, inspiration boards, and break-out areas that encourage informal interactions and creativity.

Chapter 4: Techniques for Idea Generation

Key Points:
1. Brainstorming and Beyond: Techniques like brainstorming, mind mapping, and lateral thinking are highlighted.
2. Empathy and Perspective Shifts: Understanding different perspectives can lead to novel solutions.

Concrete Examples:
– The book elaborates on a brainstorming session at a food company that led to the innovative idea of combining unrelated ingredients to create a new product line.
– Procter & Gamble’s “Connect + Develop” strategy, where they reach out to external innovators to broaden their idea pool, is discussed.

Actionable Step:
– Action: Regularly schedule brainstorming sessions, encourage wild ideas, and invite cross-departmental teams to participate. Utilize tools like mind mapping apps or whiteboards during these sessions.

Chapter 5: Bringing Ideas to Life

Key Points:
1. Prototype and Experiment: Moving from ideas to action requires rapid prototyping and constant experimentation.
2. Feedback Loops: Effective implementation relies on continuous feedback and iteration.

Concrete Examples:
– An example from the tech industry shows how a rapid prototyping approach at a startup helped them quickly iterate on an app idea based on user feedback.
– The book highlights the feedback system at Toyota, where workers can immediately stop production to suggest improvements, ensuring continuous refinement.

Actionable Step:
– Action: Create a “rapid prototyping lab” where ideas can be quickly built and tested. Encourage iterative development by regularly collecting and acting on feedback from users or stakeholders.

Chapter 6: Leading for Creativity

Key Points:
1. Leadership Behaviors: Leaders must inspire, support, and protect creative efforts within their teams.
2. Building a Creative Culture: Establishing norms and values that promote risk-taking and innovation.

Concrete Examples:
– The leadership style at Dyson is discussed, where founder James Dyson encourages engineers to experiment fearlessly and learn from failures.
– An illustrative case is from a global retailer where leaders implemented a “reverse mentoring” program to encourage fresh perspectives.

Actionable Step:
– Action: Develop and communicate a clear vision that emphasizes the importance of creativity. Implement mechanisms, such as innovation awards, that recognize and celebrate creative efforts within the team.

Chapter 7: Sustaining Creativity

Key Points:
1. Sustaining Momentum: Keeping the creative energy alive requires continuous investment in training, tools, and time for creativity.
2. Tracking Progress: Establishing metrics to measure creativity and innovation.

Concrete Examples:
– The book shares how a pharmaceutical company’s intranet served as an “innovation hub,” where employees could share and vote on ideas ensuring continuous engagement.
– An example from an IT firm shows how they track innovation with specific KPIs like the number of new ideas generated and implemented quarterly.

Actionable Step:
– Action: Create and maintain an innovation portal where ideas can be submitted and tracked. Allocate regular time slots for creative activities and monitor progress using predefined metrics.

Conclusion

“Sticky Wisdom” is packed with actionable insights and real-world examples that illustrate how anyone can initiate and sustain a creative revolution at work. It emphasizes understanding and redefining creativity, cultivating a conducive environment, leveraging specific idea generation techniques, and fostering a leadership style that promotes innovation. By making deliberate changes and taking consistent actions outlined in the book, individuals and organizations can unlock their creative potential and steadily drive innovation.