Page 158 - 100 Great Business Ideas: From Leading Companies Around the World (100 Great Ideas)

81/17. INTERCOMPANY INNOVATION GROUPS

In the intercompany innovation group, top executives from
various companies, led by an innovation consultant, meet
for the purpose of solving company problems in innovative
ways? Other activities of the group may include seminars,
study trips to other organizations, and forecasting trends in
major environmental factors. Such groups are quite popular
in Europe, especially Norway and Denmark, and are becom-
ing more common in the United States.

82/18. LION'S DEN

The Lion's Den is a lambs versus the lions group problem
solving session." At the beginning of a normal meeting of a
department, or a meeting among departments, the work
group designated to present a problem, the lambs, makes its
pitch to the other members of the group, the lions. Groups
rotate into the lamb position periodically and are given at
least a week to prepare a problem statement, phrased as
"How can we ...?" The problem is drawn as a picture on a
flipchart or white board. The lions have the right to refuse
the problem as too frivolous, in which case the lambs must
work another week on a new problem. The lambs are given
five minutes to describe the solutions they propose. The li-
ons then offer feedback, additional solutions, and so on for
twenty minutes.

101
CREATIVE
PROBLEM
SOLVING
TECHNIQUES

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