Claire Partlow | Facilitating Creative Thinking | Prof. Tom Hardy
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 5 Problem Description 7 Guiding Questions 8-11 Participant Selection Section 1 The Warm-Up Activity 14-15 Introduction 16-17 Activity Brief 18-19 Activity Process 20-21 Reflection and Discussion Section 2 Visual Storytelling 24-25 Planning and Preparation 26-27 Pinpoint the Problem(s) 29 Rapid Brainstorming 30-31 Reflection and Discussion 32 Challenging Assumptions 34 Reflection and Discussion Section 3 Insights and Analysis 38-47 Participant Interviews 48 Additional Information
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Raceview Family Campground is a family-owned business near Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis, Indiana. It currently operates as a “special events campground� that is only open when there are events at Lucas Oil Raceway. This location was established in 1965 and has had many faithful patrons attending its annual events over the past 50 years. However, Raceview Family Campground has undergone many changes in the past few years and the owner is struggling to decide which course of action to take.... 4
PROBLEM DESCRIPTION A few years ago, the NASCAR Speedfest event was relocated to a different racetrack. This was devastating to the business because this event was the second most popular event of the year and caused a 30% decrease in income. Other popular events have also been relocated. Linda, the owner, is very disappointed and is debating on how to generate more income for the business. There is the possibility of transitioning to opening as a “year-round” campground, but this would likely require some renovations and additions of more services at the campground facility. Linda is also concerned the raise in property taxes, and employee payroll would make the transition to year-round “not worth it”. However, Linda is interested in other possibilities of services that could be introduced at the campground such as building a barn or pavilion to be rented as venue for weddings.
Secondly, a local highway is in the process of being built on the campground property. This highway is cutting through the back section of the property and will cause issues with the functionality of the campground if Linda and the family is not prepared to adapt. They will likely have to add fencing to enclose the campground and prevent people “sneaking in from the road”. However, the highway is also increasing the property value. This means there’s the possibility of adding billboards and other commercial properties on campground property. Linda realizes this and wonders if continuing to operate Raceview Family Camground is the best financial decision.
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GUIDING QUESTIONS
How can Raceview Family Campground adapt the use of the property to the highway addition? How can Raceview Family Campground continue to ensure a pleasant visit for its loyal patrons? Is it feasible or financially smart to open as a year-round campground? What would this entail? What other services, additions or modifications could be made to Raceview Family Campground to create a more positive user experience?
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PARTICIPANT SELECTION
Process Choosing participants is a critical part of designing a successful and productive brainstorming session. Diversity of participants is crucial because it ensures a variety of responses, viewpoints and opinions. A group of five participants is ideal because it allows each person the opportunity to contribute without being overshadowed. This also allows the faciliator to provide guidance and individual attention, if needed.
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Linda Gordon Owner Linda is a graduate of Miami of Ohio University and holds a degree in Broadcast Journalism. She has also worked as a real-estate appraiser and landlord. Linda has spent many years being self-employed and has an extensive knowledge of entrepreneurship. She handles the business and customer relations of Raceview Family Campground year-round, and is arguably the most knowledgeable. Linda is the main decisionmaker and has the most responsibility in terms of Raceview Family Campground’s success.
Mike Gordon Supervisor/Maintenance Mike is a graduate of Ball State University and holds a degree in Architecture. Mike has experience as an entrepreneur though his architectural staffing business. He has also worked as a reserve police officer for Hamilton County (Indiana) for many years. Mike married into the family business of Raceview Family Campground and works closely with Linda to manage and oversee all aspects of the business. Mike has also interacted with Raceview Family Campground’s partners and service providers and will be able to offer input on these areas.
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Vince Partlow Maintenance/Gate Attendant Vince is currently a student at Brownsburg High School. He is highly tech-savvy and enjoys working with his hands. Vince is an excellent problem-solver and easily masters new techology. As the youngest participant, Vince will be able to offer knowledge of social media trends and new technology Raceview Family Campground may benefit from.
Kaye Partlow Gate Attendant/Customer Service Kaye is a graduate of Cedarville University and Butler University. She studied Music Education and has worked as an elementary music teacher for Indianapolis Public Schools for many years. Raceview Family Campground was founded by Kaye’s parents in 1965. She has witnessed the many changes to the racing industry and campground over the years and can provide insight on these matters.
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Heather Dearman Maintenance/Gate Attendant Heather is currently an undergraduate student at Savannah College of Art and Design, pursuing a degree in Equestrian Studies. Heather enjoys working outdoors at Raceview Family Campground and has mastered the processes of setting up for events and maintaining the campground. She is also very outgoing and enjoys interacting with customers. Heather has interacted with many loyal customers and may be able to offer knowledge of their wants, needs and preferences regarding Raceview Family Campground.
This group possesses the following knowledge and strengths: Entrepreneurship
Social Media Trends
Racing Events
Customer Relations
Maintenance and Groundskeeping
Travel and Hospitality
Event Planning
Real Estate
Campground Management
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SECTION 1
The Warm-Up Activity 13
INTRODUCTION Supplies 2D model of landscape Timer Tape Construction Paper Markers Various “building” materials
Brief Description of Activity Using a 3D diorama of a pretend property, participants will use team-building skills, collaboration and building materials to construct solutions to the problems presented.
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Purpose of Activity This team-building activity is designed as a lateral thinking approach to quickly generating possible solutions for the issue of the impending highway construction at Raceview Family Campground. However, participants will be able to suggest ideas more freely in a pretend scenario since they won’t be worried about any actual risks/costs/processes that may be involved in a “real life” scenario. Ideally the outcomes of this activity will be applicable to the actual issues of Raceview Family Campground since the scenario shares the same problems and criteria.
Facilitator Introduction “Good afternoon everyone! Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to participate in this workshop. As you probably already know, the purpose of this workshop is for us to work together to develop some innovative solutions on how Raceview Family Campground can adapt to the new challenges. With your permission, this workshop will be filmed for educational purposes. I hope you’ll find that brainstorming and creative problem solving is FUN and useful! With that being said, don’t be afraid to come up with “crazy” ideas! Try your best to not judge any ideas that are presented, because they could inspire another idea, or be adapted into great solutions! Break down the barriers of “what you’ve always done” and make a conscious effort to think outside of the box!
Skills Used: - team collaboration - lateral thinking - analytical problem solving
I will be acting as the group facilitator for the duration of this workshop, so if you have any questions feel free to ask.”
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ACTIVITY BRIEF Facilitator Introduction “The Smith family owns this lot of property, which is fenced along the perimeter [referring to the 3D diorama]. On the property they operate a popular drive-in movie theatre that gets VERY busy during the summer months especially. The Smiths also live in the far corner of the property, where the supply barn is also located. Many of the items needed to operate the movie theatre are stored in the supply barn, which means the Smiths must make frequent trips between the movie theatre area and the barn. Much to the dismay of the Smiths, a local highway was recently built on the property, which separates Smith residence and supply barn from the drive-in movie theatre area. This has caused several complications for the functionality of the property. The success of drive-in movie theatre has been hurt because people can now easily sneak in from the highway, rather than paying for their tickets through the main entrance of the theatre. Additionally, the Smiths are now confronted with the hassle of trying to safely
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cross the highway to access the supply barn when they need materials at the drive-in theatre. On the bright side, the highway has also increased the value of the Smiths’ property, which could mean alternative uses for the unused portion of the property, which could potentially generate more income. In the next 15 minutes, your task is to work as a team to develop as many solutions as possible to solve the Smith family’s problems. As a reminder the most important issues to solve are:
1. Accessibility between the Supply Barn and Snack Stand
2. Preventing people from sneaking in from the highway
3. Making additional income”
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ACTIVITY PROCESS During the Activity During the activity the facilitator (myself) will act as a “green leader” to encourage equal participation among team members. The facilitator will also take a photo of each solution the team creates, as well as candid in-progress photos of the teamwork
After the Activity After the 15 minutes has elapsed, the facilitator will politely stop the team and ask the following questions: Are there any solutions that you were not able to finish building? (write ideas on sticky notes) Which solutions stand out as the “best”? Why? Do you recognize any ways in which this activity may be applicable to Raceview Family Campground? How well do you think you worked together as a team?
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REFLECTION & DISCUSSION Post-Activity Facilitator Comments and Observations Overall, the activity was very successful, and the participants were able to develop numerous ideas for solving the issues at hand. However, I noticed some conflict when it came to talking over each other and “shooting down” ideas before they could be fully discussed or developed. For the most part, there was equal contribution within the group, but some participants were more aggressive about asserting their ideas than others. I have decided to implement the Rapid Brainstorming portion of “Visual Storytelling” as an individual task to ensure equal participation and eliminate some of the competition that took place during this activity. My suggestions for a re-do of this Warmup Activity are to give the participants more time so they don’t feel as rushed and stressed during the process. I also think I should’ve intervened a bit more when I noticed ideas being “judged”.
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SECTION 2
Visual Storytelling
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PLANNING & PREPARATION Supplies Post-it Notes Pens Timer
Visual Storytelling: the process of using images, models, diagrams and other tools to represent complex ideas and scenarios
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Methodology This exercise was designed to challenge the participants to reach beyond their current scope of solutions and practice analytical strategies and lateral thinking.
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PINPOINT THE PROBLEM(S) Methodology Before we could begin discussing solutions and innovative ideas, we first had to align on the problems Raceview Family Campground is experiencing. The participants took turns contributing several problems to the whiteboard for group discussion.
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Process Ask the participants the following questions to generate discussion: What do you believe are some of the main issues Raceview Family Campground is currently experiencing? As the participants contribute “issues� the facilitator will list them on a large piece of paper or whiteboard. Next, the group will discuss the issues and decide if any of them point to larger issues that should also be included.
RACEVIEW FAMILY CAMPGROUND SELECTED PROBLEMS: LOSS OF EVENTS HIGHWAY DEVELOPMENT A) SECURITY CHALLENGES B) REDUCED CAMPING AREA C) DIVIDES THE PROPERTY SEASONAL INCOME LOSS OF TREES/SHADED AREAS HIRING CHALLENGES (SEASONAL EMPLOYEES) AGING FACILITIES/EQUIPMENT AGING FAMILY/STAFF MEMBERS CONSTANT MAINTENANCE OF PROPERTY/ FACILITIES
WEATHER AFFECTS EVENTS COMPETITOR PARKING LOTS DUSTY ROADS/GRAVEL ISSUES WEBSITE ISSUES/MAP TECHNOLOGY/WI-FI FUNCTIONALITY ISSUES SAFETY OF CUSTOMERS FENCE SECURITY BETWEEN PARKING LOT AND CAMPING AREA CUSTOMER DISHONESTY LACK OF AMMENITIES
VENDOR INTERACTION CHALLENGES INCREASING TAXES 27
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RAPID BRAINSTORMING Methodology In order to reduce groupthink and encourage maximum contribution, brainstorming was conducted individually. This allowed introverted members of the group to voice ideas, without any intimidation or pushback from the group.
Skills Used: Process Next, the participants will individually brainstorm as many solutions as possible, writing one solution per sticky note. Solutions should be specific and actionable, and correspond to one of the previously listed problems, if not more than one. When all members of the group seem to have “brainstormed to exhaustion� the sticky note solutions will be stuck onto the paper with their corresponding problem.
- strategic planning - analytical thinking
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REFLECTION & DISCUSSION Methodology At this point, the facilitator read each of the ideas to the group, with their corresponding problem. Group members interjected to comment on some of the solutions and laughed at others. However, the Post-It Notes were relatively anonymous, therefore none of the participants were criticized for any of their contributions. Process Discussion was welcomed among participants and ideas were discussed further. The facilitator wrote each new “group� idea on a Post-It note and placed it near its inspired idea on the whiteboard.
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CHALLENGING ASSUMPTIONS Methodology Participants next challenge was to think about Raceview Family Campground in a way it has never been thought of before. In this exercise, lateral thinking strategies were practiced. Participants used non-linear thinking and word association to gain a new perspective on their firm and its current business model.
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Process In order to generate pattern-breaking solutions, the next exercise will engage participants in a deeper level of lateral thinking: 1. As a group, list all the “assumptions” regarding Raceview Family Campground on the whiteboard (facilitator writes as participants contribute ideas verbally)
2. Reverse the “assumptions” by adding “not” or “doesn’t/does” to create opposites of the original assumptions (for example: the customer brings their own camping supplies becomes the customer does NOT bring their own camping supplies)
3. Re-visit each of the “opposite assumptions” and discuss how each one could be made possible at Raceview Family Campground, writing each idea on a sticky note (for example: the customer does NOT bring their own camping supplies = Raceview Family Campground could provide rental camping supplies with a deposit and/or build cabins to be rented by customers)
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REFLECTION & DISCUSSION
This was the most challenging portion for participants because it forced them outside their comfort zones. This exercise reversed assumptions, and demanded patternbreaking thinking. There were several innovative solutions produced during this exercise. The participants also discussed concepts for future innovative business developments. If I were to repeat this exercise in the future, I will make sure to give the participants a better explaination of how this activity and its outcomes can benefit their business. I felt like this group’s participants were somewhat confused and frustrated during this activity because they didn’t understand its full purpose and potential for benefitting them.
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SECTION 3
Insights & Analysis
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PARTICIPANT INTERVIEWS
“We came up with a few really good solutions that I will implement right away, but some of them just made me feel overwhelmed a little bit—knowing all the work I still have to do, and all the things I can make better...”
Linda Gordon Owner
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What was your overall impression of the workshop? Overall I thought it was fun. Opened up some good ideas. Was there anything you wish would have been done differently, or could have been done better? I wish that there were more solutions. I’m the owner of the business, so I am very aware of all that we talked about, and have thought about a lot of these things already. We came up with a few really good solutions that I will implement right away, but some of them just made me feel overwhelmed a little bit—knowing all the work I still have to do, and all the things I can make better. Was there a specific part of the workshop that you felt most creative? Yes, I liked the hands-on, when we got to help the drive-in movie theatre. I liked that the best, it was fun.
Do you have a favorite part of the workshop? Why? That was my favorite part. My next favorite was the next session that we did, where we talked about ideas for each one of the problems.
I need to do to make it better. If I could come out knowing that I have someone that would help me that would be great.
What are your thoughts on the solutions you and your group members created? I liked them. My biggest one that I plan to implement was the solution for problems with the vendors. I’m going to develop a contract explaining all of the expectations for them. I’m excited about that. Do you have any questions about brainstorming or innovation development? I wonder if the workshop could have more parts. I feel like we brought up and discovered some areas that need work, and I need help. I almost want someone to help me to contact the special departments, get the tax appeals, give me more guidance. I wish there was another step to the program to help me implement some of the things we talked about. I came out of the meeting feeling a bit overwhelmed and frustrated knowing all of the things
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PARTICIPANT INTERVIEWS
“I think we learned a lot of ideas we have been going through in our heads and going through casually, getting them up on the board made it much more helpful... ”
Mike Gordon Supervisor/Maintenance
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What was your overall impression of the workshop? I think it was very good to get a lot of different ideas from all of the employees of the company. Was there anything you wish would have been done differently, or could have been done better? I think there may have been a perceived time crunch on warmup activity part of it. Everyone was throwing out ideas, which I know we want to do, but there was a lot of talking over each other. I think some ideas can get missed that way.
perceived. Putting them on paper, and laying them out on that map is to me, pretty enjoyable. I like going through multiple sketches.
going through casually, getting them up on the board made it much more helpful. Hopefully you can reproduce that in some form that we can learn from and review.
What are your thoughts on the solutions you and your group members created? I think some were very good, some were kind of outside the box, but many of them I think were grounded in reality. Unfortunately, we have to pay attention to the realities of cost, time, man-power and things like that.
Was there a specific part of the workshop that you felt most creative? Being an architect, and a plans sort of guy, the first exercise with the mock property and family company with the highway going through.
Do you have any questions about brainstorming or innovation development? Not really. I don’t know if there’s a future possibility to take those five participants and getting them in teams based on their level of participation within the company and campground. That would be a possibility to shake things up a little bit but keep it grounded in reality.
Do you have a favorite part of the workshop? Why? Like I said, throwing out different ideas for the problems that were
Do you have any closing comments? I think it was a pretty good exercise. I think we learned a lot of ideas we have been going through in our heads and
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PARTICIPANT INTERVIEWS
“I thought a lot of [the soltuions] were plausible and could definitely be put into use now and in the future...”
Vince Partlow Gate Attendant/Maintenance
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What was your overall impression of the workshop? Very helpful. I feel like we got a lot of good ideas out there and helped the business a lot.
What are your thoughts on the solutions you and your group members created? I thought a lot of them were plausible and could definitely be put into use now and in the future.
Was there anything you wish would have been done differently, or could have been done better? Not really. I liked everything we did. All the activities seemed very purposeful and like they had a place.
Do you have any questions about brainstorming or innovation development? No I don’t. Do you have any final comments? It was a good process. Thank you.
Was there a specific part of the workshop that you felt most creative? The simulation where we drew on the property and brainstormed solutions to help the Smiths. Do you have a favorite part of the workshop? Why? Listing the problems and solutions on the whiteboard. All the crazy outside the box ideas on how to fix some of the problems we have made it my favorite.
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PARTICIPANT INTERVIEWS
“Sometimes you need to get outside of your comfort zone, just to think and process things...”
Kaye Partlow Gate Attendant/Customer Service
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What was your overall impression of the workshop? I enjoyed brainstorming. I thought that was one of the good points. Just sitting down and thinking of possibilities for the property and things we could do better. Sometimes when you’re working in the activity of the camping, you don’t always have time to sit down and discuss things. You might talk about them, like “Oh, we need to do this”, but then you get busy and you forget. Having the workshop was very good. Was there anything you wish would have been done differently, or could have been done better? I really liked all the parts, even though some of them were more uncomfortable than others. Sometimes you need to get outside of your comfort zone, just to think and process things. I thought that was a good part of it. I don’t have any complaints, and I probably don’t know enough to tell you if I thought something needed to be better.
Was there a specific part of the workshop that you felt most creative? I enjoyed the hands-on model that we could adjust places and buildings and trees and fence. I enjoyed that part and I thought that was a good starting point to help the creativity. The last activity was creative, but it wasn’t extremely comfortable. But it was very creative I thought.
Do you have any questions about brainstorming or innovation development? No, I thought you were a great facilitator and you let us do all the talking and then after we were finished you gave us some very helpful suggestions and pointers.
Do you have a favorite part of the workshop? Why? I liked the hands-on model the very best. I think everything we did is profitable. I think all the discussion and all the things we talked about are going to profitable for the business, and may be a starting point for improvements. What are your thoughts on the solutions you and your group members created? Well, I think some of them are maybe not perfect timing right now, but maybe for the future they would work. I think they are a good starting point for moving toward the future. That will be helpful for us I think.
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PARTICIPANT INTERVIEWS
“Some of the ideas we came up with were really outside-of-the-box that you wouldn’t even think to put them on paper...”
Linda Gordon Owner
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What was your overall impression of the workshop? I thought it was enjoyable. It’s definitely good it was split up into two days because I can definitely see how all of the creativity and intense brainstorming and brain power would get exhausting really fast. Was there anything you wish would have been done differently, or could have been done better? Not really. I think it went really well. I think we all worked really well together. Was there a specific part of the workshop that you felt most creative? I really liked the first part a lot. I liked the diagram, and the picture. Do you have a favorite part of the workshop? Why? The warmup activity was my favorite part, especially with me being someone who really enjoys working with my hands. It was good to be able to work with my
hands and actually visualize the solutions and see it coming together. I really liked it a lot. What are your thoughts on the solutions you and your group members created? I think we actually came up with a lot more ideas that I thought we could’ve. Especially thinking about some of the ideas we came up with were really outside of the box that you wouldn’t even think to put them on paper, because you’re like “that wouldn’t work”, but when you actually write it down and think about it, it might actually be a possible solution. Other than that I know Linda was getting a little frustrated because she’s tried a lot of the solutions, so it made me feel bad kind of because I know she’s put in a lot of effort to try to come up with those solutions so it was interesting to see new ideas that we haven’t tried. But it was frustrating to see other ideas that we have tried, that didn’t work. Do you have any questions about brainstorming or innovation development? I don’t think so. The last activity was
interesting and a very “outside of your comfort zone” like you said. Once you reverse the assumptions you’re like “what, how is that even possible?”, but even with that, some of those solutions we could implement without reversing the scenario. We came up with ideas of using coupons and how giveaways could help with advertising. That was interesting to me.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Supplemental Reading Materials Lateral Thinking -Ed DeBono Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration –Keith Sawyer Medici Effect Breakthrough Insights at the Intersection of Ideas, Concepts, & Cultures -Frans Johannson Swarm Creativity: Competitive Advantage through Collaborative Innovation Networks -Peter A. Gloor Communicating the New -Kim Erwin The Doodle Revolution -Sunni Brown The Manager’s Guide to Fostering Innovation and Creativity in Teams -Dr. Charles Prather
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Indianapolis Racing Events and Camping Raceview Family Campground www.raceviewfamilycampground.com Lucas Oil Raceway www.lucasoilraceway.com National Hot Rod Association www.nhra.com
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