In today’s highly uncertain higher education landscape, leaders are continually tasked with finding new ways to achieve results. Being truly innovative requires a clear understanding of the concept and how to do it so that the most value will be delivered to customers.
In this video, TG Three founder Rob Westervelt discusses the concepts behind successful innovation and how to use design thinking to develop ideas that will push your organization forward.
“Innovation is not for knowing the answer. If you already know the answer, then you just need to implement that answer. Innovation is the idea we don’t know, so we have to try.”
Key Points
- Why Innovation Matters: Innovation is about gaining insight and finding solutions to challenges. It’s not limited to specific individuals or roles but is accessible to everyone.
- What is Innovation: Stanford’s Bob Sutton defines innovation as creativity plus implementation. It emphasizes the importance of insight as the starting point for innovation.
- A Practical Approach to Innovation: Design thinking is an approach to innovation that involves discovering insights, designing solutions for specific users, and successfully delivering them.
- The Design Thinking Process:
- Empathy: Understanding the needs and experiences of users.
- Define: Creating a point of view based on user needs and insights.
- Ideate: Brainstorming creative solutions, including wild ideas.
- Prototype: Building representations of ideas for feedback.
- Test: Sharing prototypes with users for feedback.
- Implement: Taking ideas to market, monitoring feedback, and assessing effectiveness.
- Importance of Empathy: Empathy is critical for understanding users’ perspectives and needs. It involves approaching problems without judgment and maintaining curiosity, optimism, and respect for users’ experiences and emotions.
To learn more about innovation and how it can strengthen your organizational strategy, contact TG Three.
–TG Three is the premier strategy company exclusively dedicated to Christian higher education. With over six decades of combined practical experience, our partners have navigated the transformative path within Christian organizations. Through strategic planning, enrollment strategy, brand strategy, financial aid strategy, executive coaching, and needs assessments, TG Three helps Christian colleges quickly get from where they are to where they want to be.