What if we can unleash everyone's creativity?
Innovation requires experimenting with new things with an open heart, but what if you grow up in an exam-focused environment rather than one that requires broad solutions to tackle ideas and discuss possible solutions? And if your culture teaches you to learn by listening and accepting rather than asking questions? If you're not adventurous and don't have the knowledge to know what you're really doing, how will you learn to innovate?
AMI Dror from Israel, he directs the educational startup LeapLearner in Shanghai. He faced the above problem. I recently started a trip to Asia and I have the opportunity to meet Dror. His experience is worth exploring for anyone who cares about developing the next generation of innovative thinkers.
He asked, " what if we can unlock everyone's creative potential ?"He was not whimsical, but fell into practice.
LeapLearner was founded in Shanghai in 2015 by Dror, Zhao LUN and Tian Huijun, and it aims to motivate children to create video games, and creating games is at least a stated goal. What Dror and the team really want to do is teach them how to write computer code and teach them how to innovate.
Dror said, " When you're writing a bunch of code, click Run to test their work. If the desired performance is achieved, then the goal is achieved. If the desired performance is not achieved, this situation even more often appear and then you have to go back to the line of control code to find out what the problem is. This means that every time you click Run, you're asked to get feedback on completing a task."
According to Dror, China's education system follows the tradition of thousands of years of history, when the main goal of students is to achieve the highest test results. This traditional learning process is not intended to encourage innovative thinking. However, as China has become one of the most innovative countries in the world, this millennial tradition has changed dramatically over the past few years.
Dror said: "in the past, China has embraced 'innovation in renewal', learning from each other's strengths and constantly improving. The notion that "Made in China" implies implied products is outdated. As with any other place, China has Many second-rate products, all of which are good, perfect ; we see more and more international companies following the pace of innovation in China."
In some cultures (including the culture of Israel in the homeland of Dror), the" Pride of creation " encourages people to find their own solution, but this process is not always methodical. "In Israel, children do not analyze. Instead, they usually use the method of" trial and error ", guessing and trying to figure out how to succeed without any plans."
But in Israel, he said, "People are very happy to take' reputation risk ' and are willing to try something new." He said that the problem for Israel is that "there are not enough people to implement innovative ideas." This is not a problem for China. , "China has a huge advantage - there are many leaders." But in General, the Chinese have not learned to innovate. "In schools here, most children do not ask questions. They're obedient. No one is forcing them to go to the bottom. Ask" why? ""Dror saw the huge potential of China. I believe that the potential for innovation can be used. He believes he has found a fun and engaging way to help unleash everyone's creativity.
1 step: eliminate the fear of failure. Coding is the best tool to eliminate the fear of failure. "The feedback loop in your code is so fast that you're used to asking for and receiving feedback quickly. When you are a child, the goal of creating your own computer video game will help you with this. You know you need it. Contact and help solve the problem so that you are not afraid to ask directions." Coding helps improve critical thinking and problem solving , while teaching children to innovate.
Step 2: Make sure to create a culture that encourages innovation. In the class LeapLearner kids learn to create video games, so the learning is their reward. But Dror, as an employer, also encourages innovation. It promotes adventurous employees to management levels as a reward for them, and ensures that other employees understand why they are promoted. He defines " adventure "as"doing something other than instructions." It is, of course, only a small step, but it must have a beginning.
Step 3: Make the adventure more consistent behavior. Dror believes there is still much to be done in China, but he sees hope. "The Chinese government knows this is a problem and has begun to introduce innovative skills into the school curriculum. They recently instructed all schools to teach programming. It's a great step to adapt people to feedback and encourage innovation."
What good will it do you?"
If you are a Manager, you can apply these steps set by LeapLearner to create a culture of innovation.
1. Be open about the new things you're trying to be new but not effective, and the lessons you've learned in the process. This will let your team members know that they should not be afraid of failure.
2. Congratulations when people get better performance because they change their work style a little bit. Rate someone's new ideas or changed processes in a meeting or email so you know you value people who think more broadly.
3. Include new ideas and methods in the discussion as often as possible. Don't just encourage at the annual meeting, you need to encourage your team more often. Frequent and consistent communication is more likely to lead to cultural change.
What can you do to develop your own innovations, whether you are a Manager or not ? Please take a step back from what you're doing and think about how you're doing it . Analyze the tasks you perform and the roles you play. Ask yourself the following questions.
1.Has the organization recently implemented changes that I don't understand or that seem arbitrary? If so, who can I ask about the" reason " for the change? I can learn from other people's innovative ideas.
2.What is unreasonable for me and I know a process that can be done better? How much trouble does it take to change the associated process?
3 .Is there a Committee I could participate in that works to improve organizational effectiveness or efficiency?
Finding a possible area of critical thinking, assess how much you and your organization can accept new things. Let the people around you understand what it takes to change. If you let people know what the changes are, they're more likely to notice the changes. Then consult your feedback on your own practice. Change-innovation-is it effective? If not, it's not a failure, it's encouraging further innovation until you find a new, better way.
Dror added: "Whether it's what I share with my students or staff, my core innovation principles are very simple. Dreams are not just achievements. Realize dreams as quickly as possible, with the necessary quick setbacks, but Always, always ask "why?"
For Dranov ( Dror ) to stand for music education ( LeapLearner terms) student, it can help them to create a new computer game. For us in the workplace, it can lead to more open thinking and more commercial success. It's a good harvest.