The Pfeil Innovation Center's main goal is to help organizations of all types, including for-profit and non-profit, develop an innovation competency and culture. While this may seem like a redundant lesson to be taught to organizations, the ability to innovate and the ability to form positive relationships can be easily forgotten and the focus on innovation can be replaced with maintaining the status quo.
Pfeil’s most recent guests consisted of Baylor Regional Medical Center, a not-for-profit healthcare system based in Plano Texas. Baylor sent 28 members including directors, presidents and vice presidents to spend two days learning how they can build on their innovation knowledge and invigorate their culture of innovation in the workplace.
During their time at the Pfeil Innovation Center, the group spent 2-days in an immersive workshop focused on how to bring innovation to their organization and the people that they serve.
“I think it’s really important for people to understand the competency of innovation,” says Pfeil Innovation Sales Representative Rob Koehler. “We’re trying to develop this competency of innovation so they can build this culture, much like a road map and then build upon their own path to success. “
Each of the modules allowed the participants to engage one another not only with interactive brainstorming activities, but open discussions on what is the best course to resolve certain situations. Just like real world situations, each person brought their own creative perspective into how to solve problems and communicate in a more effective way.
“The process that we teach is to get you started with innovation in your organization,” says Pfeil Innovation Faculty and Class Designer Jewel Abram-Copenhaver. “The 2 Day Immersion we offer are made accessible to all organizations due to its affordability and is really a gift to our communities from Dick Pfeil, a regional philanthropist and President of Pfeil, Inc. and Beacon Health System. We aim to help you create a culture of change for a more innovative workplace. “
This culture of change is one of the most stressed aspects of the program, with emphasis on higher level members of an organization bringing about new innovative thinking methods that will impart the knowledge to their employees, who will in turn use it to innovate their work.
“You can’t just go to a business and say let’s change things,” says Koehler, “You have to go through the process and gradually bring new ways of thinking and new ways of doing things.”
The program also discussed actions that everyone could take in order to begin this culture of change and innovation. Actions such as developing an internal innovation brand and utilizing new naming systems to make places seem more appealing are all part of this process.
“It’s just been an awesome experience,” says Baylor Scott & White Health East Region and President BRMCP Jerri Garison. “Healthcare is often looked at as a black and white business and by having these tools we can break this model and bring the changes we need for business." In the end, the Pfeil Innovation Center hopes to spread this culture of positive change to all organizations, not just those in Indiana and change our economic trajectory as we move into the future.
“The most rewarding part of this job is seeing organizations you’ve worked with come back and want to continue down the path of change,” says Abram-Copenhaver. “In several cases we have been given the opportunity to follow up with them and have seen firsthand that what we’re doing is working.”
“The best part is seeing where the innovation leadership comes in, we get to see organizations break free from the status quo,” says Koehler. “Instead of focusing on becoming better, now they can also differentiate themselves in the marketplace.”
Koehler also appreciates the use of innovation and how it can bring new ways of running businesses and solving problems.
“Everyone uses innovation differently. Look at a screwdriver, you might use it to screw in screws, someone else might use it open something. This is what we do, we provide the tools, and the companies create the innovation all by themselves.”