DORIS was commissioned to collect data in 5 research areas: collaboration, creativity, innovation, strategy, and productivity; focusing specifically on what each would look like in a post-COVID 19 world. There is a need to adapt, innovate, and push the workplace forward to the future. The goal was to find answers to the questions, “Will we all move remote?” “What will offices look like moving forward?”; all the while, sparking creativity and innovation within each organization to imagine their future workplace; whether that be at home in, the office, or both!
DORIS began with 5 words: Creativity, Innovation, Collaboration, Strategy, and Productivity. After data collection, a clear system of interdependence emerged, showing that when one part of the system changes or is affected, the others all change. One must understand their organization’s system in order to best plan and support it.
To an individual, productivity is personal, it’s often not a collective activity. People view their productivity as their personal responsibility. It is not necessarily generative or innovative.
Productivity drives the movement of an organization. It can be stabilizing and maintaining, but is not necessarily generative or innovative. One can be productive on an individual level, but needs the team strategy and collaboration to generate new tasks.
Successful collaboration results in tasks, and tasks are the stepping stones to completing goals. In order to have a collaborative encounter, two or more people have to come together. They need easy, convenient access to one another.
You must be intentional when strategizing. Strategy not only takes effort to create, but it takes even more effort to execute. You can plan all day long, but eventually you have to get off your chair and put in the work!
Collaboration and Strategy are generators. These move a business forward, are future and growth focused; and are necessary to create the tasks for individuals to be productive.
Not only is it important to innovate, but it’s important to create spaces and environments that facilitate conversations with employees about their innovative ideas. However, innovation is nothing without communication. What’s a novel idea if there’s no one to communicate it to?
Creativity creates new solutions. It’s thinking outside the box. People crave the energy they generate from being around others, it sparks their creativity. Without energy, it’s more difficult to be creative.
Innovation and Creativity are foundational to an organization. These are needed to inspire and manifest the energy to substantiate collaboration and strategy.