Education in the Innovation Engineering Mindset
Teaching people about the Innovation Engineering mindset involves teaching them theory and skills in the new way of thinking. In the case of Innovation Engineering, we use the Cycles to Mastery teaching methodology which consists of cycles of Digital, Lab, Application, Experience and Reflection classes designed to enable a mastery of understanding of the principles that enable a culture of never-ending innovation with increased speed and decreased risk.
What we don’t do: we don’t teach “tools.” In the early days of Innovation Engineering we did, as it was what customers, especially in the USA, asked us to provide them. However, as we’ve learned from real world application of Innovation Engineering, a tool-focused approach ultimately fails in creating sustained cultural change. When you focus on tools, the transformation of mindset that is required for sustained success is missed. As Bob Mason, co-creator of the Deming Video Library, said, “With tools, management feels that they can simply delegate innovation to an employee to grab a wrench and torque it up.” This is simply not how successful innovation works.
We recognize that a focus on theory and skills versus tools is not easy. In fact, as Bob Mason explains, it’s a deeply embedded component of managerial thinking. “The impulse to jump into problem solving before sitting down to reconsider one's assumptions is a fundamental mistake. This reaction is culturally embedded and depends on the belief that we can see the enterprise clearly and in the only way it can be comprehended. Common sense, you might say, and cause and effect are immediately available. But we know from systems theory that is not true and that efforts to change things without knowledge will be short-term and ultimately undermine everybody's best efforts.”
Innovation Engineering is taught in a number of forms and formats. Leadership Retreats and Workshops give organizations an overview of Innovation Engineering. Undergraduate and Graduate school programs teach students all 48 skills in the Body of Knowledge within a course set. Innovation Engineering Green Belts learn 16 skills through an executive education format using the Cycles to Mastery approach. Innovation Engineering Black Belts are certified in the complete 48-skill Body of Knowledge after digital learning, lab and experiences at Innovation College and practical application to real-world projects.
What we don’t do: we don’t teach “tools.” In the early days of Innovation Engineering we did, as it was what customers, especially in the USA, asked us to provide them. However, as we’ve learned from real world application of Innovation Engineering, a tool-focused approach ultimately fails in creating sustained cultural change. When you focus on tools, the transformation of mindset that is required for sustained success is missed. As Bob Mason, co-creator of the Deming Video Library, said, “With tools, management feels that they can simply delegate innovation to an employee to grab a wrench and torque it up.” This is simply not how successful innovation works.
We recognize that a focus on theory and skills versus tools is not easy. In fact, as Bob Mason explains, it’s a deeply embedded component of managerial thinking. “The impulse to jump into problem solving before sitting down to reconsider one's assumptions is a fundamental mistake. This reaction is culturally embedded and depends on the belief that we can see the enterprise clearly and in the only way it can be comprehended. Common sense, you might say, and cause and effect are immediately available. But we know from systems theory that is not true and that efforts to change things without knowledge will be short-term and ultimately undermine everybody's best efforts.”
Innovation Engineering is taught in a number of forms and formats. Leadership Retreats and Workshops give organizations an overview of Innovation Engineering. Undergraduate and Graduate school programs teach students all 48 skills in the Body of Knowledge within a course set. Innovation Engineering Green Belts learn 16 skills through an executive education format using the Cycles to Mastery approach. Innovation Engineering Black Belts are certified in the complete 48-skill Body of Knowledge after digital learning, lab and experiences at Innovation College and practical application to real-world projects.
