Everyday Innovation and Productivity Training Course: Creative Problem Solving and Experiments

Programme Summary

Everyday innovation and productivity is the subject of this one-week training course for managers and team leaders, ending in an innovation and productivity action plan for one team. Good ideas are lost to full diaries, and busy teams repeat routines that no one has questioned. The programme combines creative problem solving, design thinking and small workplace experiments with methods for protecting focus, setting priorities and managing time. Mars Training Centre UK delivers this programme on everyday innovation and productivity to mixed-organisation cohorts.

The Business Case

Teams rarely lack ideas; they lack time, structure and a safe way to test them. Improvements wait for a quiet period that never arrives, while routine work fills every hour. Managers who set aside protected time, frame problems clearly and test ideas cheaply can raise output and learn faster without waiting for a large project.

• Idea Throughput: Rises as ideas are captured, ranked and tested on a regular rhythm.
• Time on Priority Work: Rises as interruptions, meetings and low-value tasks are reduced.
• Rework from Untested Changes: Falls as ideas are tried in small experiments before wider use.

Principles and Evidence Base

• Creative problem solving: Separating problem framing from idea generation and from idea selection structures Sessions 1 and 2.
• Design thinking: Starting from the needs of the user of the work and building early prototypes guides Session 3.
• Prioritisation matrix: Ranking options by value and effort supports the choices made in Session 4.
• Time blocking: Reserving fixed periods for focused work shapes the routines built in Session 4.

Intended Participants

• Managers who want their teams to improve how work is done, not only what is done.
• Team leaders who must find time for improvement inside a full workload.
• Heads of function who sponsor small trials and decide which ideas continue.
• Improvement and change coordinators who support teams in generating and testing ideas.

Typical functions include operations, customer service, finance, healthcare administration and public service delivery.

Learning Outcomes

1. Participants will be able to construct a clear problem statement from a work frustration.
2. Participants will be able to diagnose the habits and routines that block new ideas in a team.
3. Participants will be able to generate and evaluate ideas with structured methods.
4. Participants will be able to design a small experiment with a measure and a stopping rule.
5. Participants will be able to prioritise tasks and ideas by value, effort and urgency.
6. Participants will be able to justify an action plan that protects time for improvement.

Programme Structure

Day 1: Innovation and Productivity at Work

Where do ideas and time go in a normal working week?

• Weekly Time Log
• Productivity Barriers Map
• Problem Framing Statement
• Opportunity Long List
• Team Working Agreement

Day 2: Creative Problem Solving

How can a team move from a vague frustration to a set of workable ideas?

• Problem Reframing Questions
• Structured Brainstorming
• Idea Clustering Board
• Assumption Challenge List
• Idea Selection Grid

Day 3: Design Thinking and Early Testing

How can an idea be shaped around the needs of the people who use the work?

• User Need Interview Guide
• Journey Sketch
• Low-Cost Prototype
• Experiment Design Card
• Success Measure Sheet

Day 4: Priorities, Focus and Time

How can limited time be protected for the work that matters most?

• Value and Effort Prioritisation Matrix
• Urgency and Importance Sort
• Time Blocking Plan
• Interruption Control Rules
• Meeting Review Checklist

Day 5: Applying the Methods to One Team

Do the problem, the ideas, the experiment and the time plan form one action plan a team can follow?

• Applying the Session 1 Problem Framing Statement
• Using the Session 2 Idea Selection Grid
• Testing the Session 3 Experiment Design Card
• Checking the Session 4 Time Blocking Plan
• Completing the Innovation and Productivity Action Plan

Methodology

The programme uses a structured exercise method built on anonymised work situations from service, operations and administrative settings. Participants work on a real team problem of their own in peer groups, test each idea against a simple measure and receive written facilitator feedback on every exercise set before moving on.

• Suggested activity: Reframing a common complaint into three different problem statements.
• Suggested activity: Sketching a low-cost prototype of a changed process and testing it with a peer.
• Suggested activity: Rebuilding a crowded week with protected focus blocks.

Capstone Output

Each participant completes an innovation and productivity action plan for one team. It holds a problem statement, a ranked list of ideas, one experiment design with a measure, a time blocking plan and a review rhythm. The plan is used at work to brief the team, agree protected time with the sponsor and decide after the trial whether to adopt, adjust or stop the change.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is everyday innovation and productivity suitable for managers with no creative background?

Yes. Everyday innovation and productivity here assumes management experience, not creative talent, and teaches simple structured methods step by step.

Which methods does everyday innovation and productivity rest on?

Everyday innovation and productivity rests on creative problem solving, design thinking, a prioritisation matrix and time blocking, each applied to a real team problem.

How is the action plan from everyday innovation and productivity used at work?

You use the innovation and productivity action plan to brief the team, agree protected time with a sponsor and judge each small trial against its measure.

How does everyday innovation and productivity differ from general time management training?

Everyday innovation and productivity links idea generation and testing with focus and priorities, while general time management training centres on scheduling and personal organisation alone.