Collaboration

It would be nice to think that every idea we have is a pure stroke of genius with no one else to credit but ourselves; however, this is rarely the case.  While there may be ideas which do just sort of come to us, many great ideas start out as just a portion of an idea, waiting for others to contribute their knowledge, thoughts or even criticism to turn it into something great.

I love the video, “Where Good Ideas Come From” by Steven Johnson, which perfectly demonstrates this process.

A few of the CUNA "Sparks"

With recent studies suggesting that traditional brainstorming formats are becoming less productive and effective, CUNA has turned to an alternative method to inspire new idea generation – an online brainstorming tool called Kindling.  This new application allows all CUNA staff members to contribute ideas, collaborate on improvements to existing ideas and break down the “silos” which may have been built around job functions in our day-to-day roles. A few “sparks” were selected throughout CUNA to help jump-start the idea generation process and spread the word of the new resources available.