Navigation Through Noise

During our recent Urban Immersion Trip to  Berlin we were able to visit a number of interesting and inspiring innovative spaces. Studios where we could discuss our projects as well as innovation labs where we could see how other successful companies are making their mark in the innovation space.

We were very honoured to take part in a workshop held by Innovation Strategist and cofounder of ‘Spoke Hub- a disruptive anti agency’- Onika Simon. She curated a special workshop for us Slingshot labs crew followed by a personalised tour around her favourite spaces in Berlin.

Onika’s workshop was  titled ‘Navigation through noise’. She described wanting to provide insights into innovation, and to help us navigate through noise ‘noise’ being all the reasons people give for not doing things! For not making changes, and how you can be an innovation leader navigating around the excuses.

Noise: ‘Its too risky’, ‘We are doing well’, ‘There is no budget!’.

“As champions of innovation it is your DUTY to explain why staying in the same place is not a good idea!”

Onika talks of Innovation being ‘Conflict!-

We loved Onikas analogy that Innovation strategy can sometimes be like walking through a minefield. Where you have to Navigate clients through the field, sometimes looking at where the bombs have gone off in the past! Help them to see the current dangers and help them to see the future possibilities!

 

We were then invited to work in groups, tackling an individual, a group and a system that each require innovation and at the end of the workshop explain how we came to these ideas, the minefields in these groups and how we propose to navigate through them.

Innovation in her eyes often involves taking something that you don’t like and making it feel like something you are proud you tackled. She describes that ‘no one is going to pat you on the back!’ The whole point of innovation if you need to disrupt and change the norm. People don’t like change, so convincing them to change can be hard, but essential!

It was a super workshop and here at Slingshot we have a new energy to tackle client problems head on and navigate them to where they need to be!

For more insights into the world of innovation strategy from Onika Simon see her website https://www.osimonsays.com/

And check out the great work going on at her Disruptive anti-agency- SPOKEHUB at https://spokehub.org/