Creative Disruptors

  Innovation   Strategy   ProjectsAtWork  

A research institute is sidestepping bureaucratic barriers to innovation and spurring leadership across all organizational levels by applying Silicon Valley approaches to the more staid field of education. The model has delivered some winning outcomes, and now ideas are pursued without fear of failure.

Organizing hack-a-thons, honing elevator pitches and uttering phrases like “fail fast” are all part of Silicon Valley, where an ethos of “innovate or die” seems as ever-present as sunshine and startups.

But what would happen if you brought that same bold approach to more traditional fields?

Wayne Holden, CEO of RTI International, a North Carolina non-profit research institute founded by three universities in 1958, was eager to find out. So nearly 3,000 miles away from Silicon Valley, Holden began the Creative Disruptors Initiative at RTI in 2012. The model would mimic startup culture, right down to the concept of “incubator spending” to test ideas, and opportunities to quickly scale what showed promise.

A small group of RTI staff leaders, known as Creative Disruptors, are tasked with brainstorming new models to drive profitable business growth. These leaders are also responsible for organizing a two-day Ideathon, a brainstorming session open to all staff members where ideas are pitched in three minute spurts to be considered for …

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