My slides for a short talk on creating a culture of innovation in Libraries delivered at the ARL Membership Meeting in Washington, DC (Oct 8, 2014). Observations fall into three categories: Platforms, People and Practice - with a dash of Persistence. Note: I'm not sure if the slides will make sense on their own!
43. Library as Lab
What would happen if you viewed your
library more like a lab?
What would you learn?
44. Thank You M.J. D’Elia
mdelia@uoguelph.ca
@mjdelia
Thank you
Editor's Notes
Title Slide
Creating a Culture of Innovation
M.J. D’Elia, University of Guelph
ARL Membership Meeting, Fall 2014
Library and College of Business and Economics
I oversee most of the academic support we provide to students through the Learning Commons at the University of Guelph (research, writing, studying, etc.)
The University of Guelph is one of the smaller institutions within ARL - but we’re scrappy!
I also happen to teach the Introductory Entrepreneurship course for our College of Business and Economics
I’m delighted to have this opportunity to present to you today
5 Years Ago
To set a bit of context for the talk I want to go back in time about five years
Our Library was doing a major organizational restructuring
We were moving from a liaison service model to functional team model
This an opportunity to look at the entire organization including our mission, vision, and core values
Innovation = Core Value
Innovation was listed as one of our core values (no doubt it is mentioned in many of your organizations too)
Unfortunately, I didn’t see much around me that would pass for innovation in my book
Innovation = 1980s
When I asked around people pointed to stories of innovation from the 1980s
When I was in grade school
We have been innovative in the past
It seemed to me that we were essentially living on innovation fumes and reputation
Core value not Core Practice
It would seem that our cherished core value was not a core practice
Listing something in your core values or your vision statement doesn’t make it happen in real life (sad, but true)
Nagging questions
I just couldn’t get the issue out of my mind
How might we internalize a core value so it becomes a core practice?
Where is the tipping point? Can you accelerate this journey for an organization?
Are our organizations too big or too traditional to embrace this concept?
Is it better if it’s grassroots, or top-down? Do you need both to meet in the middle?
Learning = doing
I read a lot about this stuff, my pleasure reading is business books on creativity
I talk a lot about this stuff in casual conversations and more formal settings (like this one)
But I learn most about this stuff by doing
At the end of the day the only way to know is to try
Starting is half the battle – just start experimenting
Designed staff development workshops on creative thinking (Innovation Boot Camp)
Ran some workshops for Startup Library
Helped organize a Startup Weekend event in Toronto specifically for Libraries
Played with metaphors, developed scenarios, simulations, changed room configurations, did role playing, added improv and even ran a juggling workshop
Still chasing
I’m still chasing the moment when innovation so normal for our organization that it seems like it is simply “in the water”
Where working at Guelph means that you take risks, fail occasionally, and enjoy the ride
I’m not an expert, I’m still learning, but I’m happy to share a few reflections
Platform, people & practice
To make things a little easier I’m going to put my observations in three simple buckets: platform, people, & practice
The three P’s if you will...
Alternative title
That seemed a little better than my original title: “Thoughts on creating a culture of innovation from a middle manager at some university up in Canada”
Let’s get started
Platform: Sub-section
One of the first things you need is to provide the platform
You need to cultivate the right environment
The right culture where ideas can germinate, take root and thrive
To be completely honest, these are the things that you probably have the most influence over
Platform: Examples
The organizational systems and procedures that contribute to healthy platforms are everywhere
They might be in formal systems and procedures (e.g. budget and resource allocation, strategic planning, project approvals or oversight, performance reviews, compensation, training opportunities, etc.)
They might be in informal approaches that help shift culture (e.g. fail camps, communities of practice, speaker series, basic recognition, stories, etc.)
Plans v. Models
I use a distinction between business plans and business models to help my students understand how entrepreneurial thinking is different than what they’re accustomed to
In broad strokes it works here too
Poor Planning
When plans are done poorly they’re built on assumptions
Someone has gone out to collect all of the secondary data and made it sound relevant to the problem
The problem is once the plan is written the assumptions are treated as facts
Facts aren’t challenged or altered – they’re in the plan after all
The plan ends up being static – no one tries to rewrite it – can’t waver from the playbook
Here’s the real problem: the plan serves the company’s needs
It’s company centric (it’s the company telling the world what will work)
Plans and Productivity
Productivity is measured against the plan
Did you get the tasks done?
Did you finish on time?
Did you finish on budget?
First Contact
Steve Blank a well-known voice in entrepreneurship circles has a famous quote to explain why planning in isolation never works
No plan survives first contact with its customers
Models
Instead, Steve proposes that we use models instead of plans
Instead of making assumptions we build on primary data
The assumptions that are put forward are acknowledged
Nothing is fixed in stone – if new information is discovered, we change our assumptions
The model continues to be rewritten – it’s dynamic and responsive (not static)
The key is we’re adjusting the model based on the customer
We’re responsive to the customer feedback
Models and Productivity
In this case productivity is actually measured by the organization’s ongoing performance
Do people use the product/service?
Are they coming back for more?
Do we see measurable results?
Predict v. Build
Plans are about trying to predict the future
Models are about trying to build the future
Mini-Example: Innovation Fund
One of the things we’ve done at Guelph is start an Innovation Fund
The results have been mixed
Staff were excited because we were opening up the budget for new ideas – BUT we didn’t fully flesh out the rest of the platform
We didn’t recognize the time requirements needed for new innovation
We set too many hoops to jump through
The result was a lot of requests for new technology because technology is innovative right?
At best we achieved incremental improvements and bought some technology that probably should have just purchased anyway
Good news is we’re revisiting it – we’re thinking of running an X-prize style competition where the senior team sets a lofty future-focused objective and people pitch ideas that will help us get there
Provoking Questions
How might you remove some of the barriers to innovation?
Where is the unnecessary friction?
How do good ideas rise to the surface in your organization?
If you asked your frontline employees would they say the same thing?
How might you bring innovative activities into the library that are already happening on campus?
Grow your platform for innovation by partnering with others
For example, we hosted a Startup Weekend event in the summer where people coded and designed new apps – none of the ideas were library-related but we have a great space for a business hackathon
People: Sub-section
It probably seems obvious here but after you’ve built a platform you need to put people on top of that platform who have a natural inclination for innovation
It doesn’t matter Innovation, startup thinking, design thinking - whatever the buzzword, they all have one thing in common - they’re about people - you’re trying to make the world better
People: Examples
For me the people component is two fold
First, do you have the innovative staff with the skills that you need?
Can you attract and keep talent?
Are they motivated to help achieve the vision?
Second, do you truly understand the people you’re trying to reach
Are their voices heard at every turn?
Do you do UX studies and ethnographic research? Is it infused throughout your organization?
Product v. Problem
Perhaps it’s helpful to make a distinction here: testing the product vs. testing the problem
Too often we get caught in “test the product mode”
We implement a new catalog, or change our website and we ask people if they like it
We buy and off-the-shelf product and test to see whether it works with our systems
The focus is on us and whether the product works for us
But we forget to get to the root problem that our users face
Truly innovative approaches look at what the user is trying to do first
They dive deep into the problem with empathy and then design a solution that suits
Problem-Solution Fit
For new startup companies this initial investigation is called looking for a problem-solution fit
You don’t want to create a solution for something that isn’t a problem
You don’t want a solution that doesn’t match the original problem
Get Outside
Another famous quote from Steve Blank is to get outside the building
Don’t wait for people to come to you with their problems, go understand their problems in the real world
Mini-Example: The Listening Project
One of the projects we’re just starting is a faculty outreach initiative called The Listening Project
We want to talk to faculty – not to market our services, but to understand their unique challenges
We’re looking for pain points and if we see some themes we might be able to design something new and different that suits
At this point it is all exploratory – we don’t know what we’ll learn
Provoking Questions
How might you enhance creative confidence in your organization?
How intentionally have you tried to develop this competency in your staff?
How might you better capture what your people already know?
How closely do you know your core users?
Do your staff members think it is part of their job to know?
ctice: Sub-section
The focus of practice is about encouraging the right processes and creative habits
This is time when you pull it out of the core values and actually do things differently
The small tangible elements of an innovative organization
Practice: Examples
In this case it doesn’t actually have to be that radical
It might mean experimenting with your meetings or rooms
Something as simple as covering your meeting room table with butcher paper and brainstorming by writing on the table
It might mean setting up a regular speaker series or lunch and learn
It might mean moving to action a little more quickly than expected so that you can fail faster
Pilot Projects vs. Iterative Design
If your library is like my library than you love the pilot project
But the problem with the pilot project is that it’s really a fully developed idea that we’ll fund for a short amount of time – and measuring success in that short time is difficult
Contrast that with the iterative design process, where instead of launching a fully featured pilot, you launch a barebones service to see if there is any interest
Then you take what you learn and improve it as you go, iterating to a better finished product
Build-Measure-Learn
In lean thinking circles this is known as Build-Measure-Learn
You build something, measure it, learn something and then start over
Learn Faster
The quicker you can cycle through the Build-Measure-Learn loop, the faster you learn
The faster you learn, the better your chance at winning
Mini-Example: Research Help Desk
The research help desk at our place has changed significantly for each of the past three years
We’re iterating that service as we go – we’ve had a lemonade stand, a penalty box, hotel wickets
This might seem strange, but there is a method to the madness – we’re learning with each iteration
Provoking Questions
I know as I’m talking that you can think of experiments that are happening at your place too
How might you celebrate the experiments happening across your organization?
How might you encourage your people to experiment with new processes and methodologies? How might you build a community of practice that rails against the status quo?
Platform, People, & Practice
There you have it the three areas that can help foster a culture of innovation
Persistence
By way of conclusion I think I’ll throw in one other one: persistence
I feel it’s my duty to manage expectations - cultivating a culture of innovation takes time
Importance of failure to growth and discovery
Researchers
As I wrap up here I want you to think of the researchers that your library serves
Think about how they approach their research
Researchers: Scientific Method
I’m not a scientist but I remember the basic elements of the scientific method
Observing phenomena, trying to guess why it happens
Designing an experiment, controlling for variables
Measuring what you’ve learned, drawing conclusions
Researchers: Repeat
And then those darn researchers do it all over again based on new observations
Really, this is not that different than the kind of innovative culture I’ve just described to you
Library as Lab
What would happen if you viewed your library more like a lab?
What if it became your responsibility to understand how your library worked?
What if people were given permission to explore their curiousities?
What would you learn?