In a recent issue of Business Week's IN, 'Inside Innovation', there are several mentions of frog design. Frog design, one of the world's leading industrial design firms, with offices in the Germany, Italy, and the US, has a star studded reputation in the world of designers. Frog design also matters to those of in management education, though I've yet to ever meet a (former) colleague in management education who ever heard of the company. This is precisely my point! Management education, except for a few places that I've talked about here, such as the Rotman School in Toronto, and IIT in Chicago, is comfortably stuck in the mud.
An interesting exception recently noted. NYU's Stern School of Business has announced a partnership with frog, in which froggers will help a lucky group of traditionalists learn how to 'jump in the pond' of innovation. Through weekly modules facilitated by frog's NY office, the prestigious Stern MBA has decided to clue in. Frog team members will guide MBA students through the research, ideation, design, and implementation process of tangible, real-life innovation projects managed by the company. For those who have $100,000 laying around, I highly recommend it. Elsewhere, at Ziba Education and IDEO University, one can clue-in to the methodology of innovation--that is if your employer believes in it. The point is, though, that new places for learning innovation are coming on line all the time, but rarely are these places in 'managements schools.'
The real challenge, of course, is a cultural challenge. Can and will those organizations which sponsor employees to attend joint programs like the frog/Stern innovation module actually transform their cultural DNA in such a way that design thinking becomes a natural part of how they approach innovation.
Launching Innovation?
One possible place that might soon be driving innovative thinking into companies' cultural DNA is the soon-to-launch Launchpad Coworking in Austin. Among other things in a long list of innovative offerings being envisioned by Julie Gomoll and her team at Launchpad is the concept of an Innovation Lab, where corporates desperate for creativity can mingle and pollinate with designers, developers, and writers who will be coworking in the space. Elements of a consciously built environment combined with creative individuals doing there things will inspire anybody who chooses to turn up. Add a wee bit of structure and intent to the process and who knows what might happen?
It is where coworking meets education meets co-creation.
Can you digg it?
The Butcher
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