Creating change and driving innovation in highly automated and lean organizations: The Temporal Think Tank™ (T3™)

This paper introduces the concept of the temporal think tank™ (T3™), a temporary in-house research center, based on case studies with a highly automated global manufacturer and in various small-sized manufacture (SME's). The T3™ brings individuals from across the organization together in a team setting in which they are charged to look at the future, develop their decision-making skills, and use entrepreneurial thinking to incubate new processes and/or products. After an appropriate time in the temporal think tank™, the individuals are asked to return to their regular positions to implement the best practices and best ideas and doing so spur the organization forward. At intervals, the temporal think tanks™ can be reconvened, or reconstituted with new participants. This approach prepares technology champions for the SME, who can return to the organization with a fresh outlook and renewed energy to keep the enterprise at the peak of efficiency and effectiveness.