A Simple Tool To Foster Innovation In The Workplace

Innovation and creativity are the lifeblood of any organization. These are essential pieces that play a critical role in determining the ultimate longevity of a company. It was the inability to shift and pivot to a changing market (and embracing new technology) that led to the extinction of once popular brands like Kodak and Blockbuster.

There is a simple technique, called The Disney Method, that will allow any organization and any team member to find innovative, outside-the-box solutions to keep up with, and even stay ahead, of the marketplace.

The Disney Method requires the individual or team to move through three phases, or “rooms” to take an idea from conception to implementation. These three rooms are: the dreamer room, the realist room and the critic room. We have the technique to be exceptionally powerful when the team or individual changes physical locations as they move through each of the rooms or stages. This is symbolic for the mind to recognize the change.

1 – The Dreamer Room

In this room, the team or individual is encouraged to dream and brainstorm with reckless abandon. The sky is truly the limit in this room. The dreamer room lacks any notion of being “realistic” or what is possible. The most important goal for this room is to write down every dream or idea that is thought of. The “how” can come later, for the moment, allow the team or individual to think with child-like wonder about what they want to create or the solution to the challenge at hand.

The truth is – in today’s world, many of our common luxuries (from smart phones to tablets to the various AI we see being created) were once thought to be “unrealistic” or even “impossible”.  We have these gadgets because someone dared to dream, which is what this first stage is all about!

For individual goal setting or problem solving, we recommend spending up to ten minutes in this room. For groups or larger projects, spend as much time as needed to write down all possible ideas.

2 – The Realist Room

In this stage, take the list of ideas or concepts from the Dreamer Room and ask “how can we make this happen?”. This room is not about rejecting any idea, rather about figuring out how to make it possible.

When we ask questions like “how can I?” it stimulates the mind to think of and find ways to make it possible. Whereas when we start from a place of criticism or judgement (ie. “it’s impossible”) then we stifle the brains ability to find a way.

Spend the same amount of time in this room as was spent in the Dreamer Room initially. You can always come back to this room if needed to finish.

3 – The Critic Room

The Disney Method ends in the Critic room (which is typically where people start). In this room, have the individual or team look at all the reasons the ideas written down in the Dreamer room won’t work.

Often times you’ll find that after spending time in the Realist room finding ways to make the ideas come to life, there isn’t much from the Dreamer room that can be rejected or deemed impossible.

We recommend spending the same amount of time in the Critic room as the Dreamer and Realist room, although most individuals and teams will find they don’t require as much time here because they’ve already found the solutions to make their ideas a reality.

The Disney Method works great for team and individual goal setting, solving a challenge or problem or keeping ahead of the marketplace and creating new product or service offerings.