ThinkCube Innovation Module – Global Explorer
Teaser
The ThinkCube Innovation Module as part of the Global Explorer Programme is
designed to train high potential managers innovation fundamentals and provide a
practical framework to foster innovation throughout the organization.
Description
This module is aimed at high potential managers as part of the ‘Global Explorer
Programme’ to teach innovation. It is 3 day hands-on programme leading managers
through an innovation methodology working on an ‘Innovation Challenge’ developed
in conjunction with MetaMemes and Acergy.
Learning and Training Objectives
Here are the learning and training objectives:
1. Learn the basics of creative thinking
2. Learn Innovation fundamentals
3. Learn to use ThinkCube the award winning innovation tool and system
4. Learn to establish Innovation programs
5. Exposed to new ideas from industry/academic speakers
6. Solve Innovation Challenge using the ThinkCube Innovation system
Includes a ‘ThinkCube – Innovation System’ for each participant. The award
winning innovation system is provided to foster innovation and provide a central
innovation workstation. A personal think tank for your office!
Module Outline
Deliverable: Innovation Challenge Workbook – description of challenge, with
background information. List of speakers to talk about trends, technologies and other
domains – 3 industry/academic recognized speakers.
Day 1
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AM
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Introduction to creativity and Innovation
Define Challenge
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Brainstorm Session – no structure – break into teams
Introduction to ThinkCube
PM
Day 2
 AM
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Introduction to collecting ideas
Speaker Sessions (3 speakers) – Trends, technology and other
domains
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ThinkCubation Session – same teams as before
Incubate ideas from session
PM
Day 3
 AM
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Follow up ThinkCubation Session (after overnight incubation)
Create Presentations
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Presentations to group (each team)
Choose Winner of Challenge
Wrap Up and How use to ThinkCube in the workplace
PM
Innovation Challenge
Innovation happens at the intersection of domains. The innovation challenge is to
take an idea from a disparate domain and use it solve a challenge you, your team,
business unit etc is currently facing.
The challenge will be defined at the start of the workshop. Choosing the right
problems to solve is just as important as the ideas to solve it.
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Step 1: Break into teams of ~7 people. Name your team.
Step 2: Choose a business problem to solve. As a team start brainstorming
any problems you are currently facing. You want to generate as many
problems as you can – a minimum of 10 business problems per team. Each
business problem should be written on index cards.
Step 3: Listen to speakers from different domains (see speaker section
below). Take notes and capture any ideas during the talks. The aim is to see
if you can use an idea from another domain and use it as the inspiration to
solve one of the business problems.
Step 4: Follow ThinkCubation process as taught to solve one or more of your
business challenges using at least 1 idea from the given talks. The
ThinkCubation session will include an overnight period to ‘incubate’ ideas.
Step 5: As a team select best ideas and create presentation to describe the
idea; including which idea came from one of the talks.
Step 6: The best idea is voted for across all teams.
Speakers
The selected speakers are from different domains and will cover ideas and trends
from their respective domains. These talks will provide stimuli for the teams to help
solve their business problems. The speakers were chosen that were working on ideas
in the following areas:
 Exploration
 Engineering/Technology
 Trends
Here are the proposed speakers:
Speaker: Rodney Brookes – MIT professor of AI and Robotics & CTO of
iRobot
 Background: Panasonic Professor of Robotics at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology. He is Chief Technical Officer and sits on the Board of iRobot
Corp. From July 1, 2003 until June 30, 2007, he was director of the MIT
Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory; prior to that, he was
director of the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.
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Topic: The use of robotics and artificial intelligence in industry. How robots
can be used in an industry setting.
Tags: Exploration, Technology, Engineering
Speaker: Rob McEwen – CEO of Gold Mining Company
 Background: Chairman and CEO of US Gold Corporation and Lexam
Explorations and was the founder and former Chairman and CEO of Goldcorp,
which is the world’s lowest cost million ounce gold producer.
 Topic: The use of open source techniques to solve business problems.
McEwen used an open source model to determine where to mine for gold.
 Tags: Exploration, Technology, Trends
Speaker: Burt Rutan – Aircraft Engineer
 Background: One of the world's most important industrial designers, and his
prolific contributions to air- and spacecraft design have driven the industry
forward for decades. His two companies, Rutan Aircraft Factory and Scaled
Composites, have developed and flight-tested more new types of aircraft than
the rest of the US industry combined. He has himself designed hundreds of
aircraft, including the famous Voyager, which his brother piloted on a recordbreaking nine-day nonstop flight around the world.
 Topic: Entrepreneurs and the Future of Space Flight
 Tags: Exploration, Technology, Engineering, Trends
Innovation Challenge Goal
The Acergy Annual Innovation Challenge is to use ideas from space flight, robotics
and/or open source business models to solve a current business problem faced by
Acergy.