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July 12, 2006
What type of thinker are you?
Many organizations claim to be innovative in their products, culture or just simply their people. I read this great book called The Ten Faces of Innovation written by Tom Kelley. Tom is the general manager of IDEO. In this book they outline how people and teams put into practice methods and philosophies that truly help drive innovative cultures. The ten types (faces) of innovators within an innovative, creative organization is:
- The Anthropologist
- The Experimenter
- The Cross-Pollinator
- The Hurdler
- The Collaborator
- The Director
- The Experience Architect
- The Set Designer
- The Storyteller
- The Caregiver
These are definitions of individual thinkers within organizations. However when you have a culture of different approaches to thinking trying to work together, the challenge unfolds itsef into multiple mini battles of intellectual capital, who's right and who's wrong, etc. The more that employees understand and respect each other's thought process, there would be more synergy put towards the solutions instead of unnecessary political battles.
Ok. Can you take about 5-10 quick minutes to take this test developed from one of the great thinkers out there, Doug Hall. Try it with a colleague, or one of your workers that you have to work with constantly. From this test, you should be able to identify how you think, and what you may need to do in order to change to another type of thinker. The more you understand this and the way others think, the more you can adapt to diverse thinking in your organization as well as harnessing the power of diverse thought into innovative cultures.
Write down the number that best represents your feelings about yourself. There are no right or wrong answers, just your answers! Ready?
Now lets figure out your score
Step #1: Add the following scores
Number from question #2 ___
Number from question #3 ___
Number from question #4 ___
Number from question #5 ___
Number from question #9 ___
Number from question #10 ___
+40
Step#1 Total ___
Step #2: Add the following scores
Number from question #1 ___
Number from question #6 ___
Number from question #7 ___
Number from question #8 ___
Step#2 Total ___
Step #3: Subtract the two values
Step #1 total - Step #2 total = Profile Score
Score of 0 - 56: You are a Realist!
They’re the practical, tactical types who keep their feet on the ground, their eyes on the road, and their hands on the wheel.
• You’re in good company. Nearly half of
those are in corp. management.
• Tend to view the world as a balance sheet.
• You’re good at spotting snags, clearing
hurdles and locating land mines.
• Most creative ideas are “bottled up” and
suppressed for fear they’re not practical.
Ideas to “jump start” your brain:
• Be spontaneous! Treat yourself to
segments of free-spirited child-like
frolicking from time to time.
• Look at the world through a child’s eyes.
• Your eye for flaws can be a barrier to open -
ended creativity. Give newborn ideas time
to develop.
Score of 57 - 67: You are a Builder!
They’re the synthesizers, the peacemakers, the people who can find a common ground between others who inhabit the extremes.
• You see the perspectives of the extremes
more clearly than either one can see
each other.
• You have the ability to expand and refine, to
nurture an acorn of an idea.
Ideas to “jumpstart” your brain:
• Borrow from the extremes of your
complimentary styles. Force yourself to
think in a free-spirited dreamer mind set,
then flip it around and refine using
realist skills.
• Seek out conflict. Instead of seeing the
good in everything, take a position. Play
devil’s advocate for both extremes at the
same time.
Score of 68 - 100: You are a Dreamer!
They have their heads, and feet in the clouds. No page stays blank long in a dreamers hands.
• You’re at your best when you eliminate
structure.
• You stray from the beaten path, you see what
others can’t.
• You’re caught up in the look, feel of an idea.
• You’re the catalyst, the spark plug.
• You’re short on focus.
Ideas to “jumpstart” your brain:
• Your challenge is to get others to listen and
understand your visions. Slow down and lead
one step at a time.
• Narrow your focus.
• Utilize a realist’s ideas as a means for turning
dreams into reality.
Posted by russellmiyaki at July 12, 2006 12:43 AM