workshop slides: introduction to innovation

The image cannot be displayed. Your computer may not have enough memory to open the image, or the image may have been corrupted. Restart your computer, and then open the file again. If the red x still appears, you may have to delete the image and then insert it again.

Roberta B. Ness, MD, MPH James W. Rockwell Professor in Public Health

University of Texas School of Public Health Vice President for Innovation

UTHealth


Presented by the Education, Career Development, and Ethics Program (ECDE) of the Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute (SC CTSI) in collaboration With KSOM Office of Research Seminar Series & NIH T32HD060549 Training Program

INTRODUCTION TO INNOVATION


mms://www.video.sph.uth.tmc.edu/media/ness/innova3ve_thinking_final.wmv


Improvisation: The Expert Game

•  Write a nonsense word on the board •  Ask volunteers to be an expert on the

word •  The word can be “defined” as an

object, action, field of study, etc.

What is Innovation?

•  Applying a creative process to produce something useful

•  Surprise in the service of health or prosperity


Threats to Mankind Require Innovation

•  Cancer •  Alzheimer’s

disease •  Global warming •  Scarcity of

potable water


The Route to Normal Science •  Normal science: shared assumptions, goals, rules,

standards •  Shared Paradigms of “normal science”

1)   Create avenues of inquiry 2)   Formulate questions 3)   Select methods within which to examine questions 4)   Define areas of relevance

Kuhn 1962


Anomalies •  Failures of “normal science” •  Discovered by observation that nature has violated

paradigm •  Conceptually assimilated into existing paradigm, if

at all possible •  Sometimes ignored, especially be professional

scientists who have careers allied with dominant paradigm

Kuhn 1962

The Resolution of Revolutions

•  New, younger scientific generation adopts new paradigm •  After period of paradigm testing, new one

is adopted as most explanatory •  Old paradigm disappears from textbooks

so normal science forgets its revolutionary roots.

•  Science as natural selection •  New paradigms are neater, simpler, more

elegant •  Have greater explanatory and predictive

power – better fit with nature. Kuhn 1962

Discussion

•  Do you have classes in thinking?

•  Do you have a class in a method for innovative thinking?

Can Innovation be Taught?

•  Many believe that innovation is temperamental and immutable

•  De Bono: “thinking is a skill… no different from any other skill and we can get better at the skill of thinking if we have the will to do so.”

•  Schools teach content information

•  Innovative thinking is the method, not the content


Does It Work? Clapham et al: Meta-analysis of 40 studies Scott et al: Meta-analysis of 70 studies

•  2 – 3X increases in fluency, novelty, and originality •  Improvements in problem-solving, attitude and work

performance

Does It Work? •  Structured programs demonstrated

effects independent of: •  Age •  Gender •  Intellectual capacity •  Professional/academic setting

Scott, Leritz & Mumford (2004)

Elements of a Successful Curriculum 1.  Training should be lengthy and relatively

challenging . 2.  Articulation of these principles should be

followed by illustrations of their application using material based on “real-world” cases.

3.  Presentation of this material should be followed by a series of exercises, appropriate to the domain at hand.

Frames

20 Questions!

1.  One person picks an object to describe (that person answers the questions)

2.   Players ask only “yes” or “no” questions 3.   After hearing the answer to the question,

the asker has a chance to guess the object.

4.   The group as a total can only ask up to 20 questions.

5.   The player who guesses correctly gets to think of the next object.


What is a Cognitive Frame? •  Your normal, habitual way of thinking •  Based on •  Past experiences •  Patterns of assumptions •  Expectations that influence how you interpret information.

•  Frames guide human thinking and communication.


Characteristics of Frames •  Frames are ubiquitous and powerful •  Most of the social context for interactions are frames •  Standing in lines, taking turns to talk, traffic laws

•  Frames are not permanent •  They can change over time and with context

•  Frames arouse strong emotions •  Out-of-frame ideas can elicit a negative or positive

reaction (ie. Jokes)


Frames are Ubiquitous

1.  You order a salad from the server 2.  S/he brings your salad 3.  You ask for more salad dressing 4.  S/he politely brings more 5.  You pay the bill and leave a tip

At a restaurant, you expect… What if instead…

1.  You order your meal from the server

2.  S/he brings your salad 3.  You ask for more salad dressing 4.  Your server scowls and tells you to

get it yourself!

Is this what you expect at any restaurant? Would that action confuse you?

Frames are not Permanent •  When would you not expect your server to bring

your salad? •  At a restaurant with an open salad bar.

•  When would you not expect the restaurant to serve food? •  If it were a bar

•  When would you expect to get paid for eating at a restaurant? •  If you were a Secret Shopper for the franchise.

•  When would you not expect to leave your server a tip? •  At a banquet or reception

Frame Arouse Strong Emotions •  How do you feel about the idea of removing

all traffic signs and signals from corners and intersections?


Emotions •  Several European cities are trying this as a

strategy to force drivers to focus on their immediate surroundings rather than on external cues. •  Do you think this will make streets safer?

Break the Norm •  How would you react if someone started

singing opera in the library?

•  How would you react if someone showed up to a holiday party dressed as the Grim Reaper?

•  Would you feel safe if your bus driver were a 16 year old?

•  What about these scenarios would appear odd to you?

Paradigm Shift

•  Frame shifting can be a useful tool for reorganizing and rearranging ideas to:

•  Help increase the number of ideas •  Maximize generation of innovative

concepts


Frame Shifting 1: Frame- Viewed as the emergence from a source, like the birth

of a child from it’s mother

2: Consequences- Ideas are nurtured and defended like children. Scientists defend their reasoning even when it does not fully explain all observations.

3: Alternate frame- Ideas should be spawned, then left to fend for themselves.

4: Consequences of alternative frame- Generate novel concepts, but let others try to defend or refute them. However, if we don’t defend them, perhaps no one else will.


Think Outside the Parameters

•  During a visit to a mental asylum, a visitor asked the Director what the criteria is that defines if a patient should be institutionalized.

•  "Well," said the Director, "we fill up a bathtub. Then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup, and a bucket to the patient and ask the patient to empty the bathtub."


Answer: Pull the plug…

Think outside of the parameters given


Think Outside of the Parameters

What is 3/7 chicken, 2/3 cat and 1/2 goat? 3/7 CHICKEN + 2/3 CAT + ½ GOAT =


ANSWER?

CHICAGO 3/7 chicken= CHI 2/3 cat = CA 1/2 goat= GO

Chicken, goat and cat are not just animals but also words

Word Ball An Improv Game


What’s a metaphor?

“The essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another.” –George Lakoff and Mark Johnson

Orientational Metaphor

Argument Is War

•  Your claims are indefensible •  He attacked every weak point in my

argument •  His criticisms were right on target •  I destroyed his argument •  I’ve never won an argument with him •  You disagree? Okay shoot! •  If you use this strategy, he’ll wipe you out •  He shot down all of my argument


Alternative Metaphor •  Imagine a culture where: •  Argument Is Dance •  Balanced, aesthetically pleasing •  Participants are performers •  Collaborative, mutually

beneficial


Frame-Shifting Strategy Review Step 1: Develop an awareness of the current

frame by noting metaphors

Step 2: Consider

consequences of the current

frame

Step 3: Devise an alternate frame using metaphors

Step 4: Consider

consequences of the

alternative frame

Metaphors for Death

How many can you think of?

Metaphors for Death

•  Death is… •  A deep sleep •  An awakening •  The void •  A journey •  Forgetting

•  What are consequences?

Reframing Exercise

•  Given the metaphor Life Is Sacred •  Death is viewed as a medical

failure •  Death is failure

•  How can you reframe Death to encourage advance directives care consultations?

•  What metaphor could you use?


Reframing Exercise

•  “In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” –Ben Franklin •  Analogy intended to highlight inevitability of

taxation •  Taxation is like death

•  By inverting it, we can emphasize the bureaucratic aspects of dying.

•  Death is like taxation


Thinking Outside the Box

•  Death and taxes •  Tax form for advance direc3ves

Exercise in Observation

•  Put away your cell phone, out of sight and take out a piece of paper and pen

•  Draw the face of your cell phone, again without looking

•  How close are the two – your memory of how your phone looks versus actuality

Observation in Innovation

•  Observation à See anomaly •  Anomalies accumulate à New

discovery •  New discovery à New theory •  New theory à New experiments •  New experiments à New observations •  New observations à New anomalies


Selective Attention

•  Attention is limited •  Can be selected by choice •  Predisposed by habit •  Generally geared towards utility – one

sees what is needed to be seen to perform some task

•  Allows order in midst of countless variables/inputs


Attention – Demo 1

•  In performing an experiment like this one on man attention car it house is boy critically hat important shoe that candy the old material horse that tree is pen being phone read cow by book the hot subject tape for pin the stand relevant view task sky be read cohesive man and car grammatically house complete boy but hat without shoe either candy being horse so tree easy pen that phone full cow attention book is hot not tape required pin in stand order view to sky read red it nor too difficult.

Biased Attention

•  Illustrates the mind’s habit of ordering what is seen into par3cular interpre3ve frame.


Optical Illusion


Biased Attention

•  Diallo is the vic3m of a tragic police shoo3ng •  Police “saw” Diallo reach for a gun when he

was really reaching for his wallet •  Police did not see his terror


Exercises to Improve Observation

•  Devise a new way to observe the room where you now sit •  Stand on a chair; lie down so your eyes

are at the floor level; turn off some of the lights; find interesting angles

•  What do you see?


Exercise on R&R

•  Take two objects •  Combine and rearrange them to form

something new

R&R Purpose

•  To expand your idea space and generation

•  To help you think outside of the box •  To increase the number of

alternatives •  To manipulate and massage ideas in

new ways


Adopt a New Perspective, Examples •  Rumor has it that Thomas Edison’s front gate

doubled as a water pump •  From the perspective of needing to draw up water, the

gate could gain another use

•  USB data cables transfer not only data but also energy •  From the perspective of needing an electrical supply for

whatever is attached to the USB, the USB could gain another use

NeoNurture

Problem: 1.8 million babies die each year from low birth weight that could be treated by working incubator

Non-feasible/non-viable solution: Conventional incubators cost $30k, require specialized labor to repair – neither of which exist in great quantities in Low, Middle Income Countries

Feasible/Viable solution: cheaper incubator, built from scrapped car parts

NeoNurture

•  Dashboard fans for circulation

•  Signal lights and door chimes for alarms

•  Car Battery-powered •  Headlight for heat

source •  Repairable by

automobile mechanics


Adopt a New Perspective, Exercise •  Consider your problem from the perspective

of: •  A person with your disease of interest •  A medical doctor •  A marketing executive •  A preschool teacher •  A homeless person •  A pop icon •  A contemplative monk or nun


Expand Your Perspective Rube Goldberg Machine • Uses the most complicated way to complete a simple task • Highlights alternative pathways

• OK Go’s “This Too Shall Pass” Rube Goldberg Machine Video


�  Shipping: How to make more economical at sea?

VERSUS : How to reduce costs?

Tools: Expansion


Shrink Your Perspective

•  One small aspect can have a huge impact on the whole •  Change the small aspect, change the whole


Shrink Your Perspective, Examples What are some other examples of a larger thing affected significantly by a smaller feature? •  Bridges held up by a few pillars •  Lipid levels and CVD •  Vaccine and infection diseases •  Others???


Reversal •  Flip-it! •  Thinking Backwards


Reversal •  Spencer Silver, 3M employee,

developed a high-quality but low tack glue to cover a board •  Glue on board would allow papers to stick to

board •  Glue on papers would allow them to stick to

anything


Tools: Reversal

•  Medicine: Presence of Disease

•  Public Health: Absence of Disease

•  Implications for obliviousness to absence •  Hard to get people excited •  Hard to get compliance


Reversal Exercise

•  Take a statement you consider to be true (aging implies loss)

•  State its converse (aging implies gain) •  Make a strong argument for the

converse

Analogies

•  A comparison between things, concepts, or relationships

•  Examples •  Cool is to cold as ______ is to hot •  Cool:cold::______:hot •  How is a sock like a sweater?

Analogies in Science •  Often used to understand, explain, or explore

unknowns •  Example: •  Niels Bohr’s analogy between the solar system and

an atom

Analogy Exercise •  Divergent thinking exercise •  Think of as many answers as possible •  Get in small groups •  How is marriage like a matchbox? •  How is history like a mango? •  How is photosynthesis like a

symphony?


Novelty and Flexibility

Purpose of Novelty Techniques

•  To look at things in different ways. •  Concerned with changing perceptions and

concepts. •  Deliberate and formal process •  Tools to bypass frames

To provide a deliberate method for genera3ng innova3ve ideas


How do we typically jump frames? •  Humor •  The escape from one cognitive frame into another •  Involves surprise—like innovation

•  Serendipity •  Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin in 1928 •  Mistakenly left open a petri dish •  Contaminated by mold •  Noticed halo of inhibited bacterial growth around mold

•  Serendipitous opportunities often missed


Add a caption


"Would it kill you to ask for directions?” Joel Allen, N.Y. "Not tonight, Harry, I'm carsick.” Suzy Stayman.Mass. "This is moving too fast for me.” Augusta Meill. Mass.

PO: Provocative Operation

•  A provocative idea put forward •  To see •  What it leads to •  What effect it has on our thinking

•  Not an end in itself •  Can be illogical


Edward de Bono

Originator of the concept—and formal tools—of Lateral Thinking, which is now a part of language enjoying an entry in the Oxford Dictionary.

born 19 May 1933


PO Exercises

•  Screening should be expensive •  Pets should be taxed •  People should have a “shelf life” based on

objective functional criteria


Benefits of Working in a Group

•  Provides different perspectives

•  Provides the opportunity to collaborate with individuals with different experiences and backgrounds

•  Provides a balance of psychological strengths and weaknesses


Possible Team Members •  Doers:

•  Always questions feasibility and implementation •  Obsessively focused on step-by-step logistics

•  Dreamers: •  Many new ideas, but never complete them •  Not good at meeting deadlines •  Rule-bound, rigidly organized, and highly task-oriented

•  Incrementalists: •  Can both conceive and execute ideas •  May have too many irons in the fire

Making Good Ideas Happen, Belsky

Individual Brainstorming Class Activity

1.  Construct the question/problem 2.   Cover the wall with butcher Paper or Post-its 3.   Don’t inhibit your ideas with judgment 4.   HAVE FUN!

PIG In MuD • Problem based on observation and knowledge • Identify frames • Generate all possible solutions • Meld best idea back into normal science • Disseminate


Step 1: Identify the Problem

•  Plausible •  Actionable •  What, when, where, who and why?


Step 2: Know the Facts

•  Review literature •  Observe!!!


Step 3: Identify the Frame and Find Alternatives

•  Appreciate the expectations and assumptions in your normal approach to the problem

•  Rephrase the problem to allow for more solutions

Step 4: Generate All Possible Solutions

Tools: •  Observe •  Reorganize •  Expand •  Shrink •  Reverse •  New Perspective •  PO •  Groups

Step 5: Meld Best Idea Back into Normal Sciences

•  Evaluate the ideas with the greatest potential based on evidence, scientific and practical understanding and cost-effectiveness

Step 6: Disseminate

•  Consensus on the action plan for validation

•  Disseminate

Summary •  Innovative thinking can be taught •  Key is thinking outside frames •  Tools include: •  Alternative framing and metaphors •  Kenner observation •  Awareness of cognitive biases •  Analogy •  Expansion •  Reversal •  PO •  Etc