JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N. J. — NAVAIR Lakehurst hosted the first full production of “Leading and Managing Innovation in a Complex Connected World” on June 3 in historic Hangar 1 at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.

The course was presented by Gary Markovits, President and CEO of Innovation Business Partners, Inc. in Lavallette, NJ.

The course was “specifically designed for NAVAIR” and represented the “first production run,” said Jill MacIntyre, the Program Director for the School of Support Equipment and Aircraft Launch and Recovery Equipment at NAVAIR Lakehurst and coordinator for several of the attendees.

The “Leading and Managing Innovation” course is a compilation of research that was funded by the Office of Naval Research and the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. The course went through development runs at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Strategic Cell and was first prototyped at the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division.

The six-hour learning event is aimed to “[a]ddress new ways to lead, manage and increase innovation in a complex connected world,” as described in Markovits’ presentation. Specifically, the course honed in on the importance of fostering innovation to support the freedom, security and prosperity afforded to us by a capable military. It also builds on Gary Kessler’s, Executive Director for the NAWCAD, concentration on creating a “culture of innovation.”

In an interview following the course, Markovits explained that society is “past the stage of the lone inventor.” He emphasized in his presentation that innovation “is based on collective intelligence,” or an “organization’s ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills.”

Bringing together a cross-competency audience of current and up-and-coming NAVAIR leaders, the course introduced six concepts: the Network Model of Innovation, The Innovation Backbone, Propagation of Knowledge, The Innovation Genotype, Creating Cultures of Innovation and Disruptive Innovation.

Markovits said the concepts were “developed out of research” and “network analysis and interviews.”

To reinforce each of the concepts, the course featured hands-on exercises that encouraged participants to work together in small groups. The “marshmallow challenge,” for example, required participants to use 20 sticks of spaghetti, 1 yard of tape, 1 yard of string and one marshmallow to build the tallest structure. The winning structure measured 24.5 inches tall.

In addition to providing laughs and groans of aggravation amongst participants, the activity highlighted the importance of team building, trust and risk taking. Markovits shared that kindergarteners performed well in this activity because “they aren’t afraid of failure.”

At the end of each activity, Markovits assigned the participants “homework” to discuss the course concepts with their teams. “What they can do today is begin the dialogue,” said Markovits.

Janet French, the head of the Platform Systems Engineering Branch and a course attendee, said, “It really did reinforce reaching out to some of our other areas that we work with and making sure we establish those links both professionally and socially.”

Ken Chivers, a Subject Matter Expert in Design Interface and Maintenance Planning for Lakehurst and attendee, said the organization would benefit from more events like the innovation course. He said it brought to mind a lot of thoughts on working within a team, and made him pose the questions: “What are the paradigms we operate on? How do we build the trust? And how do we build that back bone?”

Markovits is slated to present the course to three more sites. “I really love trying to communicate to people new paradigms — new ways of looking at the world,” said Markovits. He said that the course will be further developed and tailored for leadership in the future.