MENLO PARK LAB EDISON’S LAB: WORLD-CHANGING BUSINESS MODEL MIDNIGHT LUNCH LAYING THE FOUNDATION FOR COLLABORATION Midnight Lunch took place in Edison’s labs after hours. Employees staying late rolled up their sleeves and worked side by side with Edison from 7 PM to midnight. At 9 PM, Edison ordered in food for all to enjoy. These impromptu exchanges focused on casual dialogue, building a foundation for collaboration and collegiality that permeated his labs. EDISON BUILT NEW MARKETS PIONEERED 6 INDUSTRIES: VALUED AT $500 BILLION in 1931 [ 1873 ] Document duplication [ 1876 ] Telecommunications [ 1878 ] Recorded sound [ 1879 ] Electrical power [ 1893 ] Motion pictures [ 1903 ] Portable power $6.7 RECOGNIZING MIDNIGHT LUNCH OPPORTUNITIES “We aren’t quite sure how we will work with our other divisions, but we’ve been asked to align on this challenge.” “We know we need to change how we’re approaching ‘x’ but we don’t know where to start.” “We need to be more competitive, but there’s disagreement on how.” “I think we’re overlooking some strong options, but I can’t put my finger on what they are.” “We need to change our way of thinking about _________ .” “Our CEO has mandated that we innovate, but we’re not sure where to begin our innovation efforts.” “We’ve started a project, but we’re stuck and don’t know where to go from here.” HOW IS MIDNIGHT LUNCH DIFFERENT? Midnight Lunch… … is a collaboration forum that drives breakthroughs in team performance … creates a neutral beginning point for projects from any area of a company … offers a constructive, guided environment for disruptive thinking … develops a sense of urgency and visibility for shared business challenges … creates new context for issues that have defied resolution … offers a multi-generational, multi-cultural tool that operates globally … uses discovery learning to drive radical productivity … accelerates alignment, propelling 10x reductions in cycle time HIGH IMPACT COLLABORATION OVER 150 EXECUTIVES HAVE PARTICIPATED IN MORE THAN 20 MIDNIGHT LUNCH SESSIONS FROM DIVERSE FUNCTIONAL AREAS Finance Marketing R&D Engineering Purchasing R&D Human Resources Manufacturing Operations Design ANALOGICAL THINKING FRONTAL LOBE OF THE BRAIN • Word pairs • Technical terms • Conceptual thinking • Create new context NEEDS STATEMENTS ENGAGING VALUE • Neutral, objective statements • Connecting needs to context, value, strategy • Can be used by any group within an organization MASTER QUESTION DEVISE NOVEL SOLUTIONS Edison excelled at asking new, unique questions Qualifying a Master Question: 1) I = Influence 2) O= Ownership 3) U = Uniqueness FORM HYPOTHESES EXAMINE MULTIPLE SCENARIOS • New thought pathways • Neutral baseline • Asset deployment • Identify investment parameters WANT A MIDNIGHT LUNCH PREVIEW? SCHEDULE A ONE-HOUR FREE CONSULTATION SARAH MILLER CALDICOTT CEO, THE POWER PATTERNS OF INNOVATION [email protected] TWITTER: @sarahcaldicott LINKEDIN: www.linkedin.com/in/sarahcaldicott FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/powerpatternsofinnovation YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/sarahcaldicott T 1-708.445.9335 C 1-954.328.0384 www.powerpatterns.com
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