It seems like the amount of problems to solve are only increasing over time.
I know several higher education institutions that are trying to add problem-solving courses to their offerings as it is becoming a basic required skill set. Students entering companies need to problem-solve from day one. The challenge for most companies though seems to be in the organizational culture. Creativity and Innovation need the right environment to flourish and take hold. It is difficult when the organizational culture is firmly based on maximizing delivery of a product or service.
It’s not surprising though given that usually the delivery aspect of an innovation is a quantifiable and a known path. The discovery phase of an innovation on the other hand is fuzzy, mysterious and very difficult for some people to allow their minds to have the freedom to think differently.
In recent years, we have seen companies attempting to change the physical workplace environment to allow for more creative thought….the google garage comes to mind or the terrific facilities from Steelcase but there are hundreds of others. I applaud the efforts and see the benefits in this approach. What I think would work more effectively and would scale to any size company would be a boost in critical-thinking. Basically, giving the individual tools to help solve problems within a company to offer a bottom up approach vs. a top down system.
It has a two-fold benefit of a collective intelligence model as well as building in agency for the individual employee. This individual agency is so critical to the confidence level in an increasingly uncertain work environment.
Now is the time to invest in creating the right environment for innovation. It starts with people investing in themselves and increasing their problem-solving skills as the one thing that is for certain is that problems will always need to be solved!
There are some good short courses out there that fall under this umbrella in Canada and the US and I would encourage any student to take advantage of them. Here are some links of programs that are offering a quick boost in the innovation area.
University of Toronto continuing studies is offering a summer series http://learn.utoronto.ca/courses-programs/business-professionals/summer-innovation-series
I am pleased to join University of Toronto this summer for a condensed critical-thinking offering
– Kelly Parke
