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Welcome to The Institute for an Innovative Society - Part of The Innovation Company
Unleashing the ideas of EVERYONE™
What is an innovative Society?
An innovative society has at its core the belief that everyone is creative and has unique talents and contributions to make to the overall good of all people. It is based on respect and openness and creates a culture in which EVERYONE is constantly sharing new ideas that lead to practical action to address major social issues. In an innovative society all individuals, regardless of their position in the workplace or society, can present new ideas and suggestions and receive a respectful response from others that demonstrates the sincere willingness to be open to different points of views. People focus on how to make things happen rather than all the reasons why things can’t happen. In simple terms, ‘yeah but’ is replaced by ‘yes and.’ The hypothesis is that when people focus on how to make things happen rather than why things can’t happen, more good things will happen. Ideas will turn into action and problems will be solved.
America and the world are at a crucial moment in time. Numerous issues face the planet and individuals throughout the globe such as civil unrest, climate change, the need for new sources of energy, soaring medical costs, poverty, and education. As the global economy increases the use of natural resources and the exposes the plight of those with limited education struggling to participate in new types of work, social, and economic environments, the need for innovative ideas to address issues facing individuals, communities, countries, and the world is becoming more and more critical. The rate at which issues are expanding is outpacing the speed at which solutions are being implemented. America and the world need to look to its greatest resource of all – its people – tap in to their ideas, and begin implementing ideas that solve many of today’s greatest challenges. To do this there is a pressing need to create an innovative society.
To effectively create an innovative society there is also a very immediate need around the types of behaviors that are prevalent in society that discourage innovation and are counter to a culture based on respect and openness. The pervasive arguing and destructive discourse that is exhibited on many of today’s most popular television and radio programs is a significant issue that must be examined closely. There is no debating the power of the media and the influence it has on individuals. What people watch begins to be modeled and then carries on to children. If we want to promote listening, openness, and respect – the keys to an innovative society – we must cause changes to be implemented in the messages that are broadcast to millions every day.
There is clearly a pressing need to instill a culture in which all individuals are in an environment that fosters the ability to constantly share and implement new ideas. An environment based on respect. An environment based on openness. An environment based on the sincere desire to listen and focus on how to get things done. Whether it is at home, work, school, or any other place where people will come together, the creation of an innovative society will be the foundation for the next generation of great ideas to be heard and acted upon.
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TIIS Mission, Vision, and Values
The mission of The Institute for an Innovative Society is to create a culture of innovation based on respect and openness in which EVERYONE is constantly sharing new ideas that lead to practical action to address major social issues.
The vision of The Institute is one in which all individuals, regardless of their position in the workplace or society, can present new ideas and suggestions and receive a respectful response from others that demonstrates the sincere willingness to be open to different points of views.
The values of The Institute are to:
- Always strive to model and promote the keys to innovation – respect and openness
- Value everyone’s ideas
- Listen for understanding
- Approach conflict as an opportunity
- Engage in discourse that includes healthy debate and an appreciation for diversity of ideas
- Make things happen that positively effect social change
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How we achieve our mission
The Institute uses the same general approach and core principles of The Innovation Company. The Institute works with influential organizations and individuals to incorporate simple, fun, and practical methodologies that can be easily implemented and modeled within families, schools, the workplace, and community settings. The goal is to use the 80/20 to reach a critical mass – target the 20 percent of places where people spend 80 percent of their time.
There are four primary ways The Institute works to reach its mission. They are:
- Workshops
- Asynchronous delivery methods
- Partner with others
- Leverage media outlets and various forms entertainment
Workshops
Using trained and skilled facilitators The Institute conducts innovation workshops with various groups that include the targeted audience mentioned in the previous paragraph. The goal of the workshops is two fold – 1) to train individuals on simple behaviors and processes that can be implemented immediately to begin promoting innovation and 2) to train other individuals to become certified to deliver The Institute’s approach and philosophy to others. One of the key factors to The Institute’s success is scalability and the easy at which the organization’s principles and techniques can be shared and implemented on a mass scale. This leads to the second way of creating an innovative society – asynchronous delivery.
Asynchronous delivery
Asynchronous delivery methods allow The Institute to implement its approach regardless of geography and time and without the use of a facilitator. The objective is to package The Institute’s methodologies in such a way that individuals or groups anywhere across the globe can create an innovative society in their area. The use of digital media and a web presence that leverages the Internet as a cost effective and powerful way to transfer information are key elements to the overall plan. For example, if a school teacher in a small, remote town in Idaho wants to create an innovative culture with his or hers students and those student’s families, he or she can do so very simply. In addition, in the future this person will have access to online communities and best practice sharing via The Institute’s web site. The underlying objective is to reach as many people who can use and promote The Institute’s approach with a broad spectrum of people. Those participants could then become people who share the approach and so on.
Partnering with others
The third approach to creating an innovative society is to partner with other entities to embed The Institute’s workshops and overall philosophy into the partner organization’s programs and design. For example, The Institute partners with organizations that are national or global in scope, work with families and children, and are looking to expand their program offerings. The Institute can train key individuals and transfer intellectual property to the partner group to help increase the speed at which people participate and begin to model the behaviors that facilitate innovation and solutions to social issues.
Leverage media outlets and various forms entertainment
The final area is working with prominent media outlets to create programs and games which children and families can watch, listen to, play, or read while enjoying their favorite TV shows, radio programs, or internet sites. For example, the idea of partnering with PBS to create a segment on Sesame Street in which the characters model and promote innovative behaviors is a way to reach a mass audience in a very powerful way. This is simply one illustration of how leveraging the reach and power of the media could have a huge impact on the overall success of The Institute. This example could expand to music that could be played on iPods and games that could be played as a family or in group settings.
In summary, the goal will be to reach as many individuals in an efficient and productive way that ensures that the overall principles and goals of The Institute are met.
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How you can help
You can help The Institute for an Innovative Society by proposing and championing a project or initiative that The Institute could work on that aligns with the overall mission, vision, and values of our organization. Here are some examples:
- Teachers looking to create innovative cultures in classrooms
- Groups of families trying to encourage creative thinking in and outside the home
- Associations attempting to create an innovative culture to solve a significant problem or issue
- Socially responsible organizations [not just non-profits] looking to partner with a company to complement their efforts and own mission
- A person such as a consultant or volunteer who works with socially responsible organizations on various initiatives
The costs of our services are flexible ranging from zero/no cost to a reasonable and fair amount of monetary compensation based on the budget of the people we are working with and complexity of the project.
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Contact
Ready to get started or want to learn more? Please contact us with your questions, feedback, or comments.
Phone
978-266-0012
Email
info@innovationisEASY.com
Address
49 Newtown Road
Acton, MA 01720
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learn about The
Innovation Company’s book
Mustard Doesn’t Go On Corn –
how respect, openness and a simple process for innovation
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