Charles Leadbeater is internationally renowned and sought after for his unrivaled expertise on innovation. Over the past decade he has published a string of bestselling books on innovation, from Living on Thin Air in 1999 to We-Think: Mass innovation, not mass production in 2008. In 1998 he wrote the British government’s path-breaking White Paper, Building the Knowledge Driven Economy. His report The Pro Am Revolution was nominated by The New York Times as one of the best ideas of the decade. His latest book, Frugal Innovation, was published in 2014.

Masterclass overview
It is widely believed that the world needs a different approach to innovation – Frugal Innovation – to achieve better outcomes for more people while using fewer resources. This workshop from Charles Leadbeater is designed to help organizations adopt Frugal Innovation as a mindset and a core value. In a highly interactive, problem-solving style, Charles will take you through the stages of Frugal Innovation to prepare you to apply its principles within your own organization.

Value and expected outcomes

  • Inspire new thinking and provide practical help for companies seeking to generate a more innovative culture
  • Gain tools and techniques for a more efficient organization of the innovation process within the company as a whole or just your team
  • Better understand the global context of innovation and disruption across industries
  • Change of mindset and adoption of efficient innovation as a core value in the organization

What is covered?
The workshop is organized into three main areas:
1. Rationale: Innovation needs to be refocused on better outcomes rather than more stuff. Three factors create this new context:

  • The squeeze (slow growth in middle-class consumer incomes);
  • The rush (the influx of aspirational immigrants to the developed world);
  • The crunch (the mounting pressure on resources generated by urban growth)

2. Principles:

  • Lean innovations minimize waste in all forms
  • Frugal innovators simplify products
  • Frugal innovators practice ‘re’ activity: reuse, recycle, remake When communities share resources intelligently they get lower-cost solutions

3. Tools: the main methods of frugal innovators

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