“The Future Is Creative” knowledge panel in Tokyo included (L to R) Mike Peng, managing director of IDEO Japan, Takuya Hirano, CEO of Microsoft Japan and Gale Moutrey, vice president of communications for Steelcase.
The future of work depends on innovative ideas, creative thinkers and a highly engaged workforce. In countries such as Japan, China and India, the ability to attract and retain highly-skilled and sought-after talent has significant challenges: a shrinking workforce, a drive for workstyle reform and the inability to find workers with the right skills. At the same time employers are rethinking strategies to attract and retain talent, while technology is growing exponentially. A drive to refocus innovation in increasingly complex conditions is causing a macro shift toward creative work.
Steelcase and Microsoft joined forces to begin thinking about the challenges organizations and people face as they try to engage in more creative work. As part of an ongoing relationship, the two organizations announced they have worked together to develop Creative Spaces — a collection of technology-enabled work spaces specifically designed to support the creative process.
Steelcase CEO, Jim Keane, and CEO of Microsoft Japan, Takuya Hirano, came together in Tokyo to announce the partnership between their two companies in Japan.
During a recent expert panel in Tokyo titled “The Future Is Creative,” Mike Peng, managing director of IDEO Japan, addressed the importance of not only generating good ideas, but being able to act upon them within an organization.
“Unless we have a creatively capable workforce, we’re not going to find the way to meet today’s challenges,” says Peng. “For many years, analytical thinking has always been touted as the best type of thinking for an effective and efficient organization. But, as challenges get more difficult, the only way we can respond is through a more creative process.”
Creativity is not just for artists or people who’ve studied under someone deemed creative. The ability to creatively solve problems is an innate human quality everyone shares. The question is: How do organizations help unlock people’s creative potential?