With the book we hope that more application areas will benefit from our experiences and we can’t wait to continue spreading the word.
KAREN GULDBÆK SCHMIDT – WHO AM I?
“Wow, that is really interesting, it reminds me of…”
This is a sentence that I have thought and said many times throughout my life. Inspiration comes from many sources, and often ideas pop up from the most unexpected places – seemingly unrelated.
Curiosity is one of my big drivers and I love solving problems and making creative connections between solutions. Since childhood I have been using tools, materials and in different contexts than originally intended. Ring binders became doll houses with furniture made from recycled materials and textiles coloured with those berries that anyway made unremovable stains from my own clothes and hands.
The boundary-crossing inspiration continued in my work life, when ideas originating from my research background as a planetary physicist were used in a different context working as a petrophysicist in the oil industry. I have always been excited to share these connections with others – who might get it or not – and continue to do so when engaging others in working on ideas.
It is important to me that we find clever working solutions and I most enjoy the unexpected ones as they inspire to new thoughts and brings the excitement needed to follow through for getting something to work. Through Radical Innovation Sprints it has been proven over and over again, that the most unexpected solutions come from people sharing their expertise at the boundaries of overlap between different knowledge areas and it has been a true pleasure enabling others in this process.
LARS SIMONSEN – WHO AM I?
“I don’t think that we are ready for this”
I have heard this statement many times during my career, and it has, I think, way too often, been said immediately after I or one of my professional and competent colleagues approached a supervisor or leader with a new idea that could improve some aspect of the operation. The message has always been clear – concentrate on your specific tasks and don’t waste time on dreaming.
Ok, so I have attended to my tasks, first as geologist for many years and later in various manager functions. All of it as employee in companies and institutions related to the Danish oil industry.
During those years of attending to my tasks, I did however never stop wondering about and observing the fate of new – sometimes, radically new – ideas that people brought forward. And what I observed was generally not encouraging. The typical fate of new ideas in mature industries as the oil industry is, that unless the idea latches directly onto the existing technology and approach, it generally ends up in a drawer somewhere, resulting in slow technological development and much frustration among employees who feel that they could help.