Recent Projects at GFi

GFi is the consultancy of Gregg Fraley and specialist associates he brings in to execute projects. This is a periodic update.

Qualitative Research, Innovation Events, Training, Facilitation, and Writing:

• Facilitation: Marquette University is working with the Milwaukee community and Johnson Controls to innovate. Their vehicle is The President’s Challenge. GFi recently helped conduct a workshop for local non-profits seeking to team up with Marquette faculty.  The idea is to combine faculty expertise with social innovation organizations to positively impact problems in urban Milwaukee. The session included: matching faculty expertise to teams in need of assistance at a recruiting poster session, training in creative problem solving basics, clarifying and amplifying ideas, doing paper prototypes, and making pitch presentations of solutions. Over 20 local non-profits participated. They were joined by Marquette faculty from various departments. The winner of the Presidents Challenge will be awarded $250,000 this fall. This was a complex session design that achieved the goals of forming diverse teams, and improving the quality and quantity of grant proposals.

• Qualitative Research & Facilitation: GFi worked with Hiler Industries, a high value cast iron manufacturer based in LaPorte, Indiana. A “voice of the customer” qualitative study was conducted over a couple of months, data was analyzed, and insights were derived. The insights fueled an  ideation session, addressing a focused challenge question. The session featured classic ideation tools like BrainWriting combined with GFi developed techniques. A new GFi system for digital technology integration — “MoshPit Deck” was introduced. See a list of digital technologies included below. This is a simpler and easier to use tool than the more comprehensive concept blending that GFi offers in its Innovation MoshPit Service, and broader in scope than the consumer trend mash-ups enabled by KILN’s IdeaKeg. The tool was facilitated by Hiler people after a brief training — and several of the best ideas of the session for digital integration resulted. Hiler is now well poised to implement low risk, results oriented projects, immediately. The bigger ideas are going into a pipeline of longer range, growth oriented innovation projects.

• Keynotes & Training: GFi has done several innovation training sessions for a major drug company in the last two years. The training the pharma keeps asking for is the one day Innovation Intensive course, which covers a lot of ground, including an overview of approaches and a deep exploration of why innovation is so needed. It’s been a building block of their innovation culture development. As they seek to grow the base of support for innovation projects in their organization, they are bringing Gregg Fraley in to do a 45 minute keynote. He’ll review Innovation Fundamentals in October (based on an article he wrote recently for Quirk’s Marketing Research). The fundamentals all have to do with cultural readiness for  innovation — necessary stepping stones for successful adoption of an innovation framework. The keynote and Q&A session will be video narrow-casted to locations on three continents.

Do you need innovation training or facilitation? Could your group or organization use an awareness building, content rich, and motivational keynote? Do you need advice on how to get an innovation culture developed or an innovation initiative or specific project started? Please get in touch to discuss how GFi might assist. GFi is currently booking projects in October, November, and December. Why not get a head start on your 2019 innovation initiatives now?

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MoshPit Deck Technologies included in GFi’s new concept blending tool for digital strategy and ideation:

• Blockchain
• Artificial Intelligence
• Data Analytics
• Robotics
• IoT (Internet of Things)
• Augmented Reality
• Big Data
• Voice Recognition
• Social Media
• RFID
• Cloud Computing
• 3D Printing
• A smattering of related consumer trends