Take note of the line in the first paragraph about “the stage of the innovation process . . .” It is an important line because, in the process of creating anything, the Five Elements show up. As I read the notes from the study below, I had the following questions:

What kind of environment would support a team at the beginning of a project; the project in full swing; the project as it winds down; the project as it comes to completion?

Funny, but I’m really excited about this. I am going to speak with Kevin Fong about it and see if we can bring this conversation to a Press Conference.

Enjoy the discussion below from a team studying team performance and space.

“Team performance can be fostered by the change of the team’s workspace location. . . . teams did not only change the location of their teamwork based on the stage of the innovation process stage they were currently working on; . . . . They quite often changed their spatial setting as a mean to ignite their creative potential and therefore team performance.

Quite often the teams went to seek a space that seemingly offered them the opposite . . . to the current state [for example, from more contemplative to more action-oriented spaces] . . . . it seems that creativity was fostered when teams . . . transformed [a space] it to make it their own. . . . A space that fosters creativity . . . suggests a direction of usage but also leaves room to change it.”

Claudia Nicolai, Marie Klooker, Dora Panayotova, Daniela Husam, and Ulrich Weinberg. 2016. “Innovation in Creative Environments: Understanding and Measuring the Influence of Spatial Effects on Design Thinking-Teams.” In H. Plattner et al. (eds.), Design Thinking Research, Understanding Innovation, Springer International Publishing: Switzerland, pp. 125-139.