In the current issue of Inc. magazine, Leigh Buchanan writes about several interesting small firms focused on helping big companies innovate. While each of the firms she discusses is different from the next- Ziba, InnovationLabs, Maddock Douglas, Brighthouse (not that Brighthouse)- they are similar in some important ways. Each company has put into play practices and policies that would NEVER be tolerated at BigCo.
Atlanta’s Brighthouse and Walnut Creek’s InnovationLabs, for starters, operate on a Hollywood model whereby they bring outside people in to work on a project, then disassemble back into an ecology of more independent work. Others (like Maddock Douglas) build-in something equivalent of Google’s 20% time into each week’s work, so that they never run out of fresh things, ideas, and products to share with their customers.
The point is that, while they organize and act in unique (some would say unconventional) ways, each of these companies is heavy on DOING. They prototype, build, sketch, craft strategy, etc. Their creativity is what they do.
Aquifer Design, the other half of NotanMBA, is embarking on building a similar model. This is our motivation behind InnovationCamp. Gather with a bunch of really talented and creative people, and see what happens. Let’s see what happens.
Drew
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