Sunday, 10:45am, Grand Salon B
Innovation Parkour is the term that the session presenters have begun to use to describe what they see as the emerging discipline of training the mind to more effectively address complex problems. More than a framework, Innovation Parkour is a way of approaching problem solving that focuses on increasing value while remaining resilient to the unpredictability of turbulent environments.
By definition, Parkour is a natural method to train the human body to be able to move forward quickly, making use of the environment that is around an individual at any given time. It involves the continuous and unbroken negotiation of obstacles, charting a path of constant, sometimes even accelerated, motion. Parkour starts out by accepting the real conditions of the environment, its ambiguity and challenges, and sets out to meet and confront them rather than to eliminate or remove them.
Similarly, innovation parkour is an approach to understanding problems in a practical manner that recognizes the reality of the environments that we design for. It accepts the real boundaries and conditions of the environment. It is not about throwing out our current tools and approaches, but instead recognizing that they are unfinished and incomplete. Our methods need to be flexible, and our capability, adaptable. The discipline of innovation parkour takes this stance and makes use of the constraints in the environment to create greater value. It does not shy from challenge but focuses on how to smoothly negotiate it.
This presentation is targeted at all levels of information architectures will introduce attendees to the concept of innovation parkour and explain its relevance to the practice of information architecture. The session presenters will define the core ideas of innovation parkour and discuss why this emerging way of thinking about value focused problem solving is worth perusing and developing.
INSTRUCTOR
Michael Anton Dila
Michael co-founded Torch Partnership in 2006 with Robin Uchida. Together, they shape strategic conversations and help their clients create organizational confidence so that they can confront their “wicked problems”.
A philosopher by training, Michael’s academic research concerned ideas and norms of objectivity, and he has written and lectured on topics in the history and philosophy of science, legal and political theory, psychology and criminal law. For the last decade, he has brought intellectual rigor to the discipline of design thinking while working with creative teams to deliver effective designs that are clear, simple, and which honor the fundamental importance of ideas.
Over the last 10 years, Michael has consulted to senior management at TD Bank Financial Group, Fidelity Investments, QuebecorWorld, Wood’s Hold Oceanographic Institute, The Thomson Corporation and The Woodbridge Company.