You have no doubt seen this video of an innovative approach to encouraging the use of stairs.
If you haven’t seen it, take a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbWjcNyOrk4
So, I started wondering how we could marry these innovations with the challenge of developing nimble, flexible organizational 
cultures (panthers rather than elephants to quote a colleague).
We seem to want to study everything to death, to remove every possible risk and obstacle, and to roll it out over the whole system (I won’t even get started on access to wi-fi, which I continue to despair as I sit in Starbucks).
What if we made it known that we would be pleased, indeed honored, to be the site for innovation for entrepreneurs and others with great ideas for public buildings and spaces? To test and assess?
What if we divided the branches up among our senior managers and encouraged social incubators where we tried things on a smaller scale (new technological approaches, new services, new programs, new tools, new means of accessing and organizing) and assessed and then moved them throughout the system, or abandoned them?
What if we acknowledged that our branches reflect their communities, and meant it? The result would be greater differences from branch to neighbourhood branch, rather than greater similarity and sameness across the system?
How do we build innovation and creativity if we can’t model it, quickly and effectively, and assess and spread, or dump?
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