Bryan O'Neil’s Post

🤔 Why Hackathons? Sustained growth requires innovation - great insight right? "innovation" is thrown around like "agile", "disrupt" or "synergy" in all of our business speak and LinkedIn content these days and if your anything like me your eyes tend to glaze over whenever they come up. BUT - as cliché as innovation is, it's undeniable that the concept is core to any successful business 💡 “Innovate or die, and there’s no innovation if you operate out of fear of the new or untested.”― Robert Iger Well then, how are we operationalizing innovation? How are we supporting our teams to do so? Are we giving people the time and space they need to truly experiment? Hackathons have long been an amazing jumpstart to any innovation strategy, and like anything else, you get out of a hackathon what you put into it. They're not simply a day off from the usual grind; it's a deliberate investment in creative thinking and problem-solving that when properly run can spur amazing business outcomes and personal growth. There are all kinds of shapes and sizes of hackathons you can run with your team. At Devpost, we hack on our products of course, but we also hack on Ideas, OKRs, Product Marketing you name it! It's not hard - given a goal, an incentive, and a timeline. Get to work! 🛠️ Some quick examples you can add to your toolbox: Product Hackathon: Devote time to ideate and prototype new features or groundbreaking products. It's not just about innovation; it's about strategic product development. AI Hackathon: Elevate problem-solving using cutting-edge AI tools. It's not just about technology; it's about finding strategic AI solutions that align with business objectives. Bug Smash Hackathon: We've all got them, we see them in the backlog adding to our tech debt and anxieties - throw some incentives and a day or two of dedicated effort and watch those counts go down! Skill-Up Hackathon: Invest in your team's skills. It's not just about learning; it's about strategic upskilling that aligns with individual growth and company goals. UX Hackathon: Solve user experience challenges strategically. Helloooooo Design sprints. Our solutions get better the more we explore, take an opportunity to come up with as many options as possible to that nagging UX issue and find that interaction that makes your customers smile 🧰 Tooling Up for Success: Setting up an internal hackathon shouldn't be a logistical nightmare. We keep it simple with Devpost for Teams (shameless plug), an all-in-one tool that streamlines planning and execution. Templates, schedules, and resources—all in one place for an fun and efficient hackathon. 🚀 Curious to learn more about hackathons? I know a guy Send me a DM if you're interested in learning more. Innovation isn't a one-time effort; it's a continuous journey. Internal hackathons are your vehicle to spark innovation, drive change, and ultimately, grow your business strategically. #hackathon #innovation #ai

Feeling like your creativity tank's running low? Don't worry, it happens to the best of us. Yesterday marked #WorldCreativityandInnovationDay! Let's celebrate the spark that ignites progress across every corner of human endeavor – from science to art, business to education, and beyond. But here's the fun part: Did you know creativity and innovation are skills you can hone? In this blog by Daise, we're delivering 10 dynamite strategies to unlock your inner genius and become a trailblazer of innovation, whether at work or play. Ready to unleash your creative beast? Here are some key takeaways from the article: 🌟 Embrace curiosity, cultivate diverse experiences, and develop mental flexibility to stimulate creativity. 🌟 Create a conducive environment by organizing your space, fostering collaboration, and practicing self-care. 🌟 Attend workshops or events to gain actionable strategies for unleashing your creative potential and taking innovative ideas to new heights. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/e_yTwzuf Creativity and innovation power progress by generating fresh ideas and solutions across diverse fields, shaping positive change in society. #WomenOnIt #WomenOnTech #GetCreative #Innovation #ProblemSolving #ThinkOutsideTheBox #CreativeThinking

“Don’t be shy, show your concepts!” That’s one of Marc BAILLAVOINE’s tips for accelerating product ideation and innovation – in fact, one of his best conversations at a tradeshow was around a bunch of mock-ups that only took a couple of days to build. 🚀 ✅ Check out more tips and stories from our CTO and R&D expert via Authority Magazine : https://ow.ly/Sh6U50Qfoti #VideoNetwork

#thoughts #innovation #problemsolving Blue-sky thinking is the activity of trying to find completely new ideas. It is a creative approach that goes beyond conventional thinking and allows for the generation of innovative ideas. It involves thinking without limitations and focusing on the idea itself, regardless of practicality. Blue sky thinking is crucial for problem-solving in business as it helps break free from limitations, reconsider premises, explore unconventional approaches, and engage employees in idea generation. To enable blue sky thinking in your company, schedule dedicated brainstorming sessions, communicate the principle, set a context while allowing for exploration beyond it, and use your in house talent as well as potentially idea management software to collect and implement ideas effectively. This term essentially refers to thinking outside of the box or brainstorming in a way that isn’t constrained by the limits of practicality. With blue-sky thinking, we don’t focus on whether our idea is realistic. Instead, we focus on the idea itself, regardless of how absurd and impractical it may seem. So let’s be solutions driven ! Have a think !

Creativity with teams is coming up a lot in my practice. Let’s be clear, creativity is different than innovation. Creativity is a way of solving problems and a way of being and can be used every day. Innovation is a breakthrough that may require creativity but is an outcome versus a practice. It comes in aha moments and rarely on a daily basis. What do you practice: #creativity or #innovation?

❓🔎 Have you already explored the “Cross Innovation Toolbox” recently launched by "Creative Insight as a Service" project (implemented by Subtopia, Fabryka Sztuki w Łodzi & us, funded by The Swedish Institute)? 🧰 The “Cross Innovation Toolbox” suggests a set of tools to structure and organise cross-sectoral collaborations. The project has chosen to focus on finding the right questions rather than answers. Thus, the tools are presented in the form of relevant questions for different phases of a cross-innovative process. The toolbox consists also of some digital resources to support and inspire further cross-collaborations in practice. Read more about the project ➡ https://bit.ly/47mJTTE

Out of these 10 ideas put forward by the Fast Company executive board, we love number 4. Crowdsourcing internally, testing externally. What team creativity practices do you use? #creativity #teamcreativity #creativityisastrategy

𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Three Top Formats of the Cross Innovation Hub Start in September Innovations make organizations more resilient, products and services more relevant, jobs more desirable, and, ideally, the world a little better. Since 2016, the Cross Innovation Hub of the Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft has been leading the way in bringing together creative people like designers, artists, and software developers with businesses from different industries. 👉 This fall, three top formats are starting, each addressing different needs – depending on what your business requires. The target group is companies of all sizes and sectors outside the creative industries. 🌟 Cross Innovation Lab Looking for fresh ideas that will disrupt the market? Join for a series of progressive workshops where you'll develop new processes, services, or product innovations in their early stages, laying the groundwork for major breakthroughs. 📅 Duration: 9 days 🗓️ Start: 02.09.24 🌟 Attack your Product Is your product or service losing its edge? Don't wait – put it to the test! The "Attack your Product" format uses strategic foresight and a dystopian focus to identify your key challenges and develop at least three new innovative product ideas. 📅 Duration: 3.5 days 🗓️ Start: 08.10.24 🌟 Time-to-Market Boost Have concrete concepts, but unsure how to launch them? The "Time-to-Market Boost" format will rigorously test your prototype with your target audience, overcome internal hurdles, and drive your innovation towards market launch. 📅 Duration: 4 days 🗓️ Start: 23.09.24 The next opportunity to participate in their events will be available from September. So get in touch quickly with your company as a few spots are still available! Find more details contact Nicole Wittek #Innovation #BusinessGrowth #ProductDevelopment #MarketLaunch #CrossInnovationHub #HamburgKreativGesellschaft #FutureProof

30 minute mission  (should you choose to accept it) 💡(21 min) pray and think about under-used stakeholders and ways you could partner fast with one of them (extra points for ✍️) 💡(7 min) call or text that stakeholder and set up a coffee or lunch to get their add-ons and tweaks to your idea ✍️ 💡(2 min) reply to this post and tell me about your idea ✍️ Ready, set, innovate chalmers.org/innovate

Discover the magic of mindstorming—a dynamic way to generate fresh ideas and drive innovation. 💡 Learn how the 20-question method can empower your team to think outside the box. Let's transform creativity together! https://lnkd.in/gTzP5RM6