Last week, the agency disproved the expression that too many cooks can spoil the soup at our holiday outing to the Viking Cooking School. Sure it got a little crowded by the stoves, but the outcome was nothing to spit at: French onion soup, spinach soufflé, beef wellington, and white chocolate mousse.

The evening continued our agency tradition of learning while holiday dining, following on the heels of recent holiday parties featuring participatory improv acting, stand-up comedy, and mystery theatre. Never before has the learning been so closely connected with the meal we would later eat. While we may not have any future master chefs among us, it was clear that through teamwork and proper instruction (and more than a little help from Viking), we could create a first class meal – and have fun in the process!   

Who knew apron modeling could be so rewarding?

I’m pretty sure you have to plug it in first.

Funny faces are the secret ingredient.

We’re mashing raspberries, not grapes.  You can’t get in there and do it with your feet.

Who is the boss?

Michael Schwalbe writes about a lesson he learned as an alpine ski racer known as the “40-30-30 Rule.” His instructor explained that for most sports, success was only 40% physical training, and the other 60% was mental. Of that 60, 30% was technical skill and and experience and the other 30% was the willingness to take risks.

“To improve at anything, we must at some point push ourselves outside our comfort zone.”

This statement is true for many professions. As Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert notes, it’s more than just building on our skill sets where we learn the most. It’s when we take risks, put ourselves outside of our safe zones, push the envelope, that we truly reach our “highest level of performance.” Because learning how not to do something, then figuring how the right way to do it, is better than not having risked it in the first place.

Our very cool designer Kate has a great eye for very cool things, so when she forwards something, I know she’s not going to let me down. Today was no different.

She’s a very visual person (which is good, I guess, because she creates visual stuff for a living), but when she sent along this video by Volkswagen  about an initiative the company’s doing, she also made me realize how important a great words or phrases can be to bring visuals to life.

Sounds a little backwards, since we usually think it’s the photos or videos or designs that bring words to life, but by coining the term “Fun Theory” in its latest initiative, Volkswagen turns a cool visual into a memorable articulation of Volkswagen’s business philosophy. In short, the term gives the video essential purpose and context. The Fun Theory holds that “[we] believe that the easiest way to change people’s behavior for the better is by making it fun to do.”

 Now I’ve been around enough jargon-y executives to assume that the jargon-y executives at Volkswagen throw around their share business-speak in the boardroom, but when it comes down to how they innovate, Fun Theory probably pretty much covers it.

That’s why coining terms and developing a brand lexicon is so important. It’s a direct reflection of culture, and it builds a language that’s native to the brand and its people. It helps the consumer understand purpose. It gives the consumer context. And most of all, it makes big corporations seem a little less corporate.

(Well, I guess so does a talking Beetle…)

What qualities do the best innovators share? Researchers at Brigham Young conducting a six-year study surveying 3,000 creative executives identified five core skills that differentiate them: Associating, Questioning, Observing, Experimenting, and Networking. Professor Jeff Fryer defines these characteristics here in an interview with Harvard Business Review:

“The first skill is what we call ‘associating.’ It’s a cognitive skill that allows creative people to make connections across seemingly unrelated questions, problems, or ideas. The second skill is questioning — an ability to ask ‘what if,’ ‘why,’ and ‘why not’ questions that challenge the status quo and open up the bigger picture. The third is the ability to closely observe details, particularly the details of people’s behavior. Another skill is the ability to experiment — the people we studied are always trying on new experiences and exploring new worlds. And finally, they are really good at networking with smart people who have little in common with them, but from whom they can learn.”

When you boil it all down, as fellow Brigham Young professor Hal Gergensen does, it really comes down to inquisitiveness. The most innovative executives are also the most inquisitive. They continually ask questions, make connections, push deeper, and draw upon outside sources for inspiration.

So how do we all adopt this skill set and benefit from it in our own work? The trouble is, for many of us it seems that at some point during our education – whether formal or on-the-job – we lose the inquisitiveness inherent to us as young children. Either it’s not rewarded sufficiently or we simply unlearn it, so to speak.

At Braithwaite, we strive to overcome this through extra touches intended to spark curiosity, creativity, and innovation – both during internal brainstorms and sessions with clients. We shun traditional conference rooms in favor of communal couches. We fill the room with children’s toys – from Etch A Sketches to Slinkys to Koosh balls – to promote playful and out-of-the-box thinking. We’ll do role playing and sketch ideas out on paper. We’ll even set up a corporate campfire to share company stories.

We’ve found that if you create the right kind of environment, encourage the sharing of new ideas, and reward curiosity, you can set up the ‘Eureka!’ moment that triggers innovation.