Mark Brown, Visiting Professor of Innovation at Henley Management College and founder of Innovation Centre Europe Ltd, an organisation researching and promoting best creativity and innovation practice in companies, is perhaps best known for his consultancy, writing and broadcasting on moving people from 'absolute' and closed thinking through to 'relative' and open thinking.
His work, based on a synthesis of original psychological research and a sound appreciation of numerous clients in diverse markets and at different stages of organisational maturity, has already resulted in his helping to set hundreds of creativity and innovation teams. Such teams have different goals, including:
Achieving extraordinary customer relations;
Quality initiatives;
Continuous improvement;
Communication initiatives;
Cost management initiatives;
Market opportunity/technology searches, through to evolutionary and/or revolutionary new product and business development and 'Ideas into Profitable Action'. Such teams may be short or long term and may operate across the company or work within specific functions, such as marketing, new product development and research and development.
Mark's approach usually involves three stages. First, he helps the client establish where creativity and innovation is most needed. Secondly, he helps design learning and training mechanisms (that, if needed, can be cascaded down the organisation). Thirdly, he facilitates 'in-house' workshops and, if necessary, trains trainers and/or line managers so that they can subsequently set up and train within function or cross functional teams or both.
Mark's training design results in the final teams being skilled in an appropriate range of creativity/'mind-set' breaking processes and analytical techniques. The output for the final teams is higher quality innovative ideas. However, such ideas do not remain as mere ideas. Mark's training design strongly 'empowers' teams so that all profit related ideas are translated into fast and effective action.
What particularly differentiates Mark from others in his field is his grasp of existing and new processes and approaches for 'thinking beyond' historical patterns of thought. He is therefore not wedded or limited to one school of creative thinking, such as brainstorming, lateral thinking, etc. This breadth and depth of theoretical knowledge combines powerfully with his very practical experience of establishing bespoke mechanisms that deliver highest quality creative and innovative results.