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Can innovation be taught? At the University of Maine, the answer is a resounding “yes.” Ann Herrmann-Nehdi discusses how a foundation in Whole Brain® Thinking is helping UMaine students create, communicate and commercialize meaningfully unique ideas.
Case Study: Learning to Innovate by Cross-Training the Brain
What does it take to be innovative? With every new opinion piece published bemoaning a lack of innovation in today’s businesses and society at large, the questions continue to come up.
How do we get more innovative? Is it a skill that can be taught? Do we need more “right-brained” thinkers?
Doug Hall, an inventor, entrepreneur and CEO of Eureka! Ranch is answering those questions by tackling the subject head on. Through a groundbreaking program at his alma mater, the University of Maine (UMaine) at Orono, he’s also ensuring a bright future for tomorrow’s innovators and industry pioneers. (Download the full case study – PDF)
Across disciplines and primary fields of study, UMaine students enrolled in the Innovation Engineering® program are learning how they and others think, how to leverage diverse thinking, and a process for employing the full spectrum of thinking styles – not just those they prefer – to create, communicate and commercialize meaningfully unique ideas.
At the heart of Innovative Engineering®, which is offered as a graduate certificate program and an 18-credit-hour universal undergraduate minor, is Herrmann International’s Whole Brain® methodology and the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument® (HBDI®) assessment.
Students complete the HBDI® and learn how thinking preferences impact their approach to the innovation process and where their blind spots may be. They then learn skills to not only think outside their preferences but to identify perspectives that may be missing and proactively include those styles.
A suite of Whole Brain® tools give students hands-on practice performing tasks and solving problems, with opportunities to use tools that fit into their areas of preference as well as those that require them to work outside their comfort zones. Students are encouraged to “decide to stretch” and reach for tools outside their preferences in order to develop their Whole Brain® Thinking skills.
“It's really a way to 'cross-train the brain' as Doug calls it,” says Herrmann International CEO Ann Herrmann-Nehdi. “Students learn to choose the right tool for the task rather than just relying on those they naturally gravitate towards.”
From the Engineering School to Liberal Arts to Forestry, students throughout the University are discovering that each phase of the innovation process requires thinking across the four quadrants of the brain, as depicted in the Herrmann Whole Brain® Model, and that the best, most inventive ideas come from Whole Brain® Thinking.
According to Margo Lukens, Director of the Academic Program and an HBDI® Certified Practitioner, “The great thing about this program is that you can apply it however you want to apply it. You can use these same skills to write a better poem, to design a better product or to develop new software.”
Lukens says graduating students are leaving with potential patents, job offers and real-world skills that are not only career accelerators but will help them in all aspects of their adult lives.
So do we need more “right-brained” thinkers? Hall emphasizes that it’s not a case of either/or:
“I believe the visionary right brain can’t do it. The logical left brain can’t do it. Great success only comes from collaboration – from Whole Brain® Thinking.”
back to topTHINC™ Webinar: A View From The Top: Moving From Strategy to Results with Whole Brain® Teamwork and Better Thinking
Nearly every organization today is grappling with the need to increase their speed, agility and flexibility. But is there something inherent in a leadership team’s dynamics and thinking that actually slows it down?
In our April THINC™ Webinar, Chuck McVinney, a Herrmann International Master Facilitator, will share his experiences and perspectives from working with leadership teams in a variety of industries, revealing how the unique roles, backgrounds, skills and demands of “top” teams can make it difficult to move quickly from strategy to solutions to action.
By viewing top teams and leaders’ organizational responsibilities through a Whole Brain® lens, you’ll learn that while different thinking preferences can create trust and teamwork challenges, they can also provide a significant advantage – as long as the leaders know how to communicate effectively and tap into the collective intelligence around them.
You’ll discover:
- How the dual roles of functional and organizational/departmental leader can create benefits as well as challenges for a top team
- How the HBDI® and Whole Brain® Thinking can be used to strengthen leadership team performance
- Techniques for removing silo mentalities to get to solutions and results faster
- A leadership team development approach that supports big picture strategic thinking while creating the trust and communication necessary for agility, speed, innovation and action
THINC™ Webinar Details:
A View From the Top: Moving From Strategy to Results With Whole Brain® Teamwork and Better Thinking
Speaker: Chuck McVinney, President, McVinney & Company, Inc.
Date: April 27, 2011
Time: 1:00 PM EDT / 12:00 PM CDT / 10:00 AM PDT / 6:00 PM GMT
Hurry – Space is Limited!
Reserve Your Seat at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/469730945
Missed a THINC™ Webinar? You’ll find recordings from previous THINC™ Webinars in the Webinars section of our website, along with downloadable summary slide decks.
back to topDriving Results with the Whole Brain® Advantage: The List Keeps Growing
We asked, and you delivered.
Last month we shared a list of 40 applications of Whole Brain® Thinking under the organizing principle of the brain. We wanted to know how you are applying Whole Brain® Thinking, and many of you visited the Whole Brain® Blog to weigh in.
These lists demonstrate the far-reaching applications of Whole Brain® Thinking – it’s not just a framework for people development but for accelerating processes and improving results in all aspects of our lives. A common sentiment we heard: “I’m sure I’ll think of more when I least expect it.”
| Action Learning | Managing Political Turbulence |
| Business Plan Development | Managing Power Struggles | Cultural Understanding | Online course design |
| Customer Empathy | Patient Care |
| Diversity | Reading |
| Driver Education | Safety Management |
| Driving | Safety Training |
| Employee Engagement | Software & Application Design |
| Experience Design | Spirituality |
| Grant applications | Self Awareness |
| Hiring/Recruiting | Web Design |
| Managing Fear |
Our online contest is over, but we know the list doesn’t end here. We encourage you to continue adding to it as the ideas come.
back to topA Practitioner's Story: Better Results Through Better Thinking – Lasting Lessons from the “Brain Guy”
By Tom Boldrey, Founder, QualityWorks Consulting Group, HBDI® Certified Practitioner
I attended the 1988 ASTD International Conference and asked some trusted friends for advice of any sessions I should be sure to attend. They said I should go to the “brain guy’s” session on the “Creative Brain.”
This happened to be a large room of at least 200 people, and I sat in the back so I could leave if it was boring. However, I was captivated by this brain guy, Ned Herrmann, who had this huge stack of overheard transparencies that he went though as if he were conducting an orchestra.
He had the whole room up and moving about as well as talking to each other about our mental preferences. His session was very engaging and I found myself saying, yes, this makes sense, this is kind of common sense, and that these are some very useful new insights.
I went by his booth; Ned was there, and he signed my copy of The Creative Brain book. I read the book, and I found the concepts and principles to be both very simple and extraordinarily complex. At first the content seemed simple but then quite complex and far-reaching as I studied and tried applying them.
Then I keep hearing the wisdom of Will Schutz who created the FIRO-B. Will said that when we first encounter something new it often seems simple or obvious; then when you begin study and apply it becomes very complex and then simple again when you begin to master it. So it was for me.
I wanted to learn more so I signed up for the actual program in Lake Lure in 1990. I never imaged myself being what I later understood as spiking D quadrant, but several things began to make sense about my need for choices, visuals and kinesthetic activity. This gave me the permission to be me. I was startled at myself. Here I am, this fifty-plus-year-old guy, laying on the floor, playing with toys, holding a white teddy bear and taking notes as Ned talked in metaphors, played music, and engaged us in competitive activities.
The bottom line is that the HBDI® and the Whole Brain® Model have transformed my personal and professional life in ways that it will never be the same again. Every day I view my world of experiences through the four-quadrant template. I make sense of my successes and my problems via the four quadrants of the Whole Brain® Model. I can now understand others more easily and quicker. And I can now communicate and work with others who are like me and different from me more effectively.
back to topProduct News: The Business of Thinking® Buy One, Get One
Take advantage of special, limited-time offers as part of our 30th anniversary celebration this year!
Now through June 30, 2011, HBDI® Certified Practitioners can purchase The Business of Thinking® participant workbooks at a special buy one, get one price – that’s two for $30 – with Coupon Code 2BOTsfor30.
With the Business of Thinking® Series, you’ll be able to put the brainpower of your organization to work for targeted business results.
The flexible, modular workshops bring Whole Brain® Thinking to your mission-critical business areas, increasing individual and organizational effectiveness for a direct bottom-line impact.
Modules include: Start Thinking™, ThinkAbout Teams™, ThinkAbout Communicating™, ThinkAbout Creative Thinking™, ThinkAbout Problem Solving™, ThinkAbout Decision Making™ and ThinkAbout Your Customer™.
Participants get hands-on experience applying Whole Brain® Thinking skills to:
- Build effective teams and improve teamwork
- Improve decision-making, problem-solving and communication
- Increase revenue and profitability
- Design consumer-centric products
- Enhance creativity and innovation
To receive the special buy one, get one price: Use Coupon Code 2BOTsfor30 when ordering online, or mention the code when ordering from Client Services (call 828-625-9153, option 6).
Clients outside the US and Canada, please contact your local Herrmann International representative for pricing.
NOTE: You must be an HBDI® Certified Practitioner to purchase the Business of Thinking® materials and have a signed License Agreement on file with Herrmann International for the module(s) you wish to purchase.
back to topUpcoming Events
Central Florida Diversity Learning Series
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 1:00–5:00 pm
The Inclusion Equation: Thinking Beyond Diversity
Orlando, FL
Herrmann International CEO Ann Herrmann-Nehdi will be the featured speaker at the premiere of the Central Florida Diversity Learning Series, presented by Tri-Partners, Inc. This half-day event will explore the impact and implications of thinking styles on diversity and inclusion efforts, providing participants with new insights and practical methods for maximizing diverse thinking styles to meet and exceed staff and customer demands.
All participants will be given access to complete the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument® (HBDI®) before attending and will receive their personalized profile during the session.
On the Horizon:
- ASTD ICE 2011, Orlando, FL (May 22-25, 2011)
- The Conference Board Talent Management Workshop, New York, NY (May 26, 2011)
- The Leadership Challenge Forum, Chicago, IL (July 28-29, 2011)
Be sure to check our Calendar for the latest updates and full details on all of these events.
back to topRecent News on Thinking and the Brain
- Get a plant, boost your attention span. New research is beginning to show that having a houseplant in your workspace may improve how you think.
- Highlights from this year’s Brain Awareness Week. Brain research news, education and quizzes are among the resources compiled by The Dana Alliance as part of its Brain Awareness Week campaign, held every March.
- Your brain on improv. In this TED Talk, musician and researcher Charles Limb discusses how his team’s experiments with jazz musicians and rappers are revealing new insights about the brain and creativity.
Upcoming Certification Workshops
You'll be integral in driving the Whole Brain® Advantage when you join the ranks of the Herrmann HBDI® Certified Practitioners.
Herrmann HBDI® Certification (All Workshops Are Open to the Public)
April 18 – 21, Altera Corporation, San Jose, CA
May 17 – 20, Kraft Foods, East Hanover, NJ
For detailed location and registration information, please email service@hbdi.com or call 800-432-4234 and select option 6 for Client Services.
Host a Dedicated Certification Workshop. When you host an internal dedicated certification workshop, your participants will explore the concepts, tools and skills necessary to deliver the HBDI® with individuals, pairs and teams in a learning environment that is tailored especially to their needs and the organization’s objectives.
If you are interested learning more about the benefits of a dedicated certification workshop, contact your Herrmann International representative.
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