I have been training employees to use the SIT method of innovation for quite some time and have been met with a lot of success. I love watching participants have that ah-hah moment, when their eyes light up, their jaw relaxes and something just clicks inside their mind. I’ve received a lot of positive feedback that encourages me to continue.
And then there are the more frustrating participants – the ones who don’t really want to be there. If we were in person they’d spend the entire time looking at their phone or checking emails but since we are on zoom they just shut off their video and pretend to be preoccupied with something else. They might have joined the training because they were forced to, or because they wanted to look good in front of their managers. They aren’t there to really learn, but rather to earn a reputation as someone who cares about professional development.
So one day, I did something a little daring. I actually called one of these “multitaskers” out – not on the zoom – but in a different setting entirely. I was working on a project with this individual for another department and saw that they had arranged a brainstorming (not brain – structuring) meeting to take place the next day. Eager to make sure she was using the tools I had just given over, specifically the subtraction method, I sent her a voice note, reminding her to include the techniques in her conversations. I was met with some hemming and hawing, as she wasn’t exactly sure what I was referring to. I reminded her of what we workshopped, of the importance of imagining a product ‘broken’ and then asking the advantages of having the new product, and was again responded with some vague explanation as to why they will be fine without utilizing SIT. The conversation ended and I went on with my day, knowing that their solutions would not be as creative as they could be.
What a shame.
Here we are, better off with a proven method of creativity on demand, and people are not using it. The process takes just a few minutes but yields incredible results. Why would someone not attempt to learn and eventually implement the SIT method? Honestly, I don’t know. But what I do know is that I am better off with SIT. Choose wisely.
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