I offer a number of highly interactive and engaging seminars and bootcamp-style workshops for those interested in professional training and management education centered on corporate creativity, design, and innovation.
Designed to provide baseline awareness and education in a compressed timeframe, seminars and bootcamps are the ideal way to level-set and taste-test concepts before introducing them companywide. They prepare your organization for a longer term advisory relationship with me via ongoing training, coaching and facilitation (if desired and feasible).
Based on over 25 years of corporate performance improvement but focusing on my experience at Toyota and other high-profile organizations, coupled with the principles and practices in my books, I offer several proprietary (but customizable) workshops introducing various aspects of Lean or subtractive thinking, design-driven innovation, business model strategy, and professional creativity.
I offer half-day, one-day seminar and “bootcamp” formats. A 1/2- or A 1-day seminar is best suited for teams and organizations wishing to achieve a baseline awareness of the concepts in a compressed timeframe. A bootcamp is ideally suited for teams and organizations wishing to apply the concepts and think through a current business challenge.
Both seminars and bootcamps are conducted at or near your site. Pricing is straightforward as follows (exclusive of travel costs). For scheduling, please contact me directly.
1/2-Day seminar: $10,000 US
1-Day seminar: $15,000 US
2-Day bootcamp: $25,000 US
Lean Innovation
The business world is waking up to the fact that innovation is taking on a new shape, and that simply flooding the market with overblown and overbuilt new products is not the answer. They know that what’s next is all about being nimble, agile and flexible in creating compelling customer value, flowing that value through streamlined processes and seamless experiences void of burden and waste, and embedding a real discipline around the daily pursuit of better in service of the customer.
Based on Toyota’s lean system of work design coupled with a rigorous process improvement methodology applicable to everything from internal process redesign to new product development and entrepreneurial startup, the Lean Innovation seminar introduces participants to lean innovation through an engaging hands-on simulation, and enable them to actually experience Lean principles such as andon (problem detection), jidoka (problem prevention), kanban (capacity control), genchi genbutsu (observation), 5 Whys (cause analysis), one-piece flow, just-in-time, takt time, cycle time, and learn about a 4-Phase creative problem-solving process to perform kaizen (continuous innovation and improvement) or kaikaku (radical innovation and change). The bootcamp allows participant to apply Lean principles to a problem of their choice.
With roots in the “Lean Thinking” course I helped design and deliver both internally and externally while working with the Toyota U.S. corporate headquarters and University of Toyota (eventually becoming a Toyota-certified master), Lean Innovation remains one of my most popular, practical, and successful action learning offerings. Whether you’re an entrepreneurial startup or mature company, whether you’re designing a new product or rethinking a current process, the Lean methodology is universally applicable regardless of focus or function.
Available as a 1/2-Day Seminar, 1-Day Seminar, or 2-Day Bootcamp.
Crash Course in Design Thinking (DT 101)
Design thinking has rapidly moved to the forefront of the current management zeitgeist as a fresh take not just on how to rethink key products and services, but also how to reframe everyday processes and projects, with the goal of creating a cross-company culture of innovation and collaboration. Design thinking is about embedding a disciplined approach to blending creativity and logic in order to solve real business problems, with the intent of turning everyone, irrespective of function or title, into a designer of sorts. This introductory course is based on the original design thinking course taught at Stanford design school.
Seminar objectives:
- Reveal the power of design thinking to solve difficult business problems
- Understand traditional thinking traps and how to neutralize them
- Experience all modes of design thinking: empathy, defining, ideating, prototyping, testing
- Have fun!
Available only as a 1/2-Day Seminar. There is no limit on audience size.
Design Thinking 201
Design Thinking 201 allows participants to dig deeper into some of the more powerful techniques and tools associated with Design Thinking.
The focus of Design Thinking 201 is building a deeper understanding of 7 key practices:
- Observation and empathy
- Persona/customer archetype development
- Hassle mapping
- Problem statement creation
- Brainstorming technique
- Idea buildup
- Tradeshowing
Available as a 1/2-Day Seminar (can be combined with Design Thinking Crash Course for a 1-Day Seminar). There is no limit on audience size.
Creative ThinkUps
Studies show that unfocused brainstorming yields little in the way of new and novel ideas, because without focus and facilitation designed to provoke new thought, the gravitational pull of pre-existing patterns and mindsets overpowers divergent thinking.
Creative ThinkUps are centered on using time-tested, structured idea-provoking collaborative exercises designed to produce the escape velocity needed to allow participants to “blast off,” see things through a new lens, and break free from old thinking patterns and the tendency to revert to the safe ground of previous experiences.
Creative ThinkUps are best used to apply toward breaking through a current stall and/or simply generate new and radical ideas centered on a specific challenge facing an intact team or natural workgroup. Teams will learn and use 1 to 3 different creative techniques, such as:
- Provocations
- Mad Libs
- Hassle Maps
- Brand Mashups
- Opposite Day
- Journey Maps
- Storycrafting
- Non-linear Thinking
Creative ThinkUps are the most flexible form of action learning.
Available as a 1/2-Day and 1-Day Seminar. Maximum audience size is 30.
Business Model Innovation I & II
Disruptive new business models are a sign of the times. The means by which companies such as Amazon, Apple, Google, Netflix and Facebook are able to enter new markets with new streams of consumer value, while highly visible and transformational, remain poorly understood.
The ability to design tomorrow’s enterprise requires an entrepreneurial spirit paired with a passionate search for new and innovative ways to create an deliver value to replace and displace old, outdated ones. The search begins with understanding your current business model through a powerful lens that captures the nine key building blocks of any business model and maps them on a physical Business Model Canvas:
- Value Propositions
- Customer Segments
- Channels
- Customer Relationships
- Revenue Streams
- Key Activities
- Key Partnerships
- Key Resources
- Cost Structure
Business Model Innovation I enables participants to complete an “As Is” business model canvas for their existing business, in turn revealing future opportunities. Business Model Innovation II is a followup seminar that allows participants to consider the future and develop new business model concepts on a separate “To Be” canvas.
Available as 1/2-Day seminar, 1-Day seminar, and 2-Day Bootcamp. Maximum audience size is 15.
