14.4. Workshop III: Internal Connectivity
14.4.1. Objectives
The primary objective of Workshop III was to increase participants' knowledge about effective behaviors for building networks. We took a hands-on approach, enabling participants to assess themselves and develop strategies for enhancing their network-building abilities. The session was also designed to generate practical ideas about how the company could foster the formation of networks across organizational lines.
Following up on the technology presentation from Workshop II, we gave participants the opportunity to identify how the company could best leverage the new collaborative technology for the purpose of innovation.
14.4.2. Main Activities
As always, we began with a welcome and plan for the day.
14.4.2.1. Collective Reflection on the New Collaborative Technology
Participants shared their experiences using the new technology, developed recommendations for how the company might best leverage it, and formulated plans for how they personally could use it or share it with others.
14.4.2.2. Presentation: Building Connectivity
We provided the group with a short introduction to network development, including the concepts of human and social capital, the network characteristics of high performers, and ways to separate the hype of networking from the well-researched behaviors and techniques that promote network formation.
14.4.2.3. Exercise 5: The Network Development Board Game
Innovation Lab members performed a self-assessment of their network-building behaviors using a board game format. With a deck of "network-building behavior cards" in hand, they each decided which behaviors they displayed often, sometimes, or rarely. They placed the cards on corresponding spots on the game board and, while eyeing the size of the piles, chose network-building strengths and areas of improvement to discuss with a partner. Partners coached each other to develop network development action plans. (Details of the exercise are provided in a later section.)
14.4.2.4. Exercise 6: Network Metaphors
The group brainstormed ways that the company could support the formation of internal networks, using the Metaphor technique. This technique unleashes creativity by asking participants to compare network building to a selected metaphor. When participants approached network building from a completely different angle—say, comparing it to flower arranging or starting a revolution—they were able to recognize challenges and envision solutions that would not otherwise have occurred to them. (Details of the exercise are provided in a later section.)