Shift Things Around

When leading a series of innovation workshops in our home town for the
Mayor's Innovation Delivery Team with division leaders at Memphis City Hall,
our task was steep: change long-standing behavior patterns. Turn doers into
innovators. Have proven professionals who are deeply imbedded in their roles
get out of their current paradigm and empathize with the community and
citizens they serve. Break the cognitive lock created by doing the same thing
every day and see the city with fresh eyes.
While we created several fast-paced and role-playing exercises to accomplish
this goal, we wanted to evoke the sense that this was not business as usual
from the outset.
We arrived early to plan for the session. The space itself was set up for
parliamentary-style debates. On the wall were daunting signs that read, DO
NOT MOVE THE FURNITURE. There was no choice but to break the mandate
of City Hall.
To shift the roles, we had to shift the rules, respectfully and playfully. To
change the space is to change the poetics of space. By altering the
configuration of the room, we alter the expectations of the participants.
Everything shifts.
When the division leaders entered and saw a space that once was set up for
debate and competition now set up for playful collaboration and exploration,
it was a clear sign that this would be not only a meeting, but an experience
and it was. Even the mayor stopped by and reveled in the workshops
findings and the animated level of potential in the room. The participants
were energized, engaged, and an active, crucial part of the creative problem
solving process.
The lesson: shift things around. Move people into new roles for a day or just a
meeting. Move furniture. Change desks for a day. Experiment with breaking
set patterns, for a limited time. Not only is it re-energizing for the
participants, but it also yields beneficial insights that might grow a business
or make the world a better place.