Assignment 1

What specific nuances of culture characterizes the culture at IDEO and how they are helpful in
achieving the innovation?

IDEO has become successful because of its unique innovative culture. Organizational routines for
the acquisition, storage, and retrieval of solutions are supported by IDEO’s work structure,
encouraging its unique culture of problem solving and innovation.

Following are some of the cultural nuances and their role in achieving the innovation -

1. Prototyping is one key design philosophy inherent to their central idea. IDEO has been quite
successful in creating products for its clients with new combinations of existing individual
technologies that their designers have seen before. This reflects IDEO’s practice of
encouraging its designers to transfer ideas across their project and team boundaries. They
are used to protype more than the clients suspect and the competitors can imagine. Quick
and dirty prototyping is allowed for a greater number of iterations. Failure is a part of their
culture.
2. This unique culture starts early with every new employee. Newcomers at IDEO are taught to
practice the everyday interactions of designers (specific to IDEO), which are most visible in
brainstorming and meetings. They are encouraged to seek help, share knowledge, and give
help. This unique culture of collaborative innovation is enhanced by IDEO’s reward systems,
which are largely based on informal reputation among fellow designers and peer reviews.
3. Once a project unfold, IDEO ensures very frequent client meetings to discuss all the issues
related to the opportunities for further innovation and the cost and time.
4. It gives importance to creating a democracy of ideas. Thus, the sustainable growth has been
achieved by budding out smaller design studios whenever one appeared to grow too large.
5. Employees are encouraged to design their own workspace to reflect their personalities.
6. IDEO is a flat organization to an extreme. All work is done in a project team and then
disbanded. As a result, there are no formal titles to distract from the quality of work. Dress
code is also not mandated.
7. Lack of hierarchy also avoids the problem of promoting designers and engineers into
administrative positions and keep them glued to the task of creating products.
8. Employees are encouraged to leave their desk and walk around, especially during mental
blocks. They are encouraged to talk to one another or even call a brainstorming session
through email.
9. Firing is rare. IDEO emphasize on managing good employees rather than weeding out lower
performing employees. High performing employees are rewarded by giving them more
challenging projects to lead.