Norwich Union
Circus of Invention
Curtain Up
Creativity is like a roller coaster. So in late 2001 when Norwich Union managers wanted to promote a new way of innovating financial products they chose a fairground to get the message across.
Having developed a creative procedure that they wanted to implement company-wide, NU management needed to encourage risk taking within professional boundaries. They also wanted to highlight the benefits of groups working together.
Speed to market is an important factor for financial services. Yet actuaries, for example, reduce risk from people's lives. It is a major challenge asking them to innovate, simply because they are trained to be risk aversive.
NU asked Maynard Leigh to devise and deliver an event that would help launch a more creative approach to innovation. Our challenge was to help risk aversive people step out of their comfort zone and become more creative.
The Set
The Big Top chosen by NU was surrounded by roller coasters and fairground attractions. The theme park was loud and the Norwich Union team were concerned that a conference would be overshadowed by the noisy machinery. Maynard Leigh converted the problems into the solution, by fully exploiting the choice of a theme park for a conference. During the day the participants enjoyed the sounds and freedom the park offered, while they used the contrasting quiet of the evening to speak within the tent.
The Show
The various regional functional teams composed a song during their long journey to the site. Each song conveyed the team's purpose and how it served Norwich Union.
The song was to be physical and performed jointly to the rest of the company, early in the event. It could be sung to an already existing tune, it could be a march or a cheer, or a rap, an aria, and anything that could be performed en mass as a team.
The task inspired the teams whose songs were creative, light hearted, informative, and set a wonderful pace for the rest of the day.
Maynard Leigh challenged the Management Team to be more creative too, by avoiding PowerPoint slides. Consequently, they felt inspired to commission a huge backdrop to convey the elements of the new creative process.
The top team then performed for an hour in front of their scenery, explaining through a powerful presentation their initiative and what it meant for the company. Demonstrating riskiness in action, the group physically acted out the tale of the creative process that won an ovation from the audience of 150 people.
On stage the Maynard Leigh events team presented a playlet about Victims and Choosers, a model we use in business to show how responsibility is directly related to effectiveness. We applied it to NU's problem of raising awareness of change and innovation.
Then came the big creative and risky challenge. In groups of 7 to 20, people spent the day working as theatre companies. Their challenge was to devise a three to five minute sketch about a core value at Norwich Union.
Behind The Scenes
All professional acting companies start rehearsals by preparing their minds and bodies for the creative process. So the companies warmed up with simple physical exercises, and in true theatre tradition chose a name, presenting it to everyone as a tableau or pose.
As each team came up they shouted their name, did their pose and received thunderous applause. The scene was set. Maynard Leigh provided each team with a dedicated hour of professional help with stagecraft, including costumes, props, sound and lighting.
Fanning out across the theme park to rehearse, the teams went into a creative frenzy. By cocktail hour when the theme park went quiet, every theatre company was ready. All through dinner there was a wonderful atmosphere of excitement and anticipation.
Each sketch was performed with enthusiasm and imagination. Many surpassed their own ideas of what could be done. It was a cabaret evening that will be long remembered by those who took part.
There was clear evidence that the creativity sought after by the management of Norwich Union prevailed. The tears of laughter, the cries of applause and cheering, the atmosphere of real theatre confirmed for everyone that NU did indeed have a spirit of innovation.
When the curtain fell on this involving and memorable event, the management's message was convincingly communicated and absorbed by all those present.
