Florian Weihard is CTO of ruhlamat Suzhou and General Manager of ruhlamat Smart Technologies.
After participating in the creaffective innovation manager training program he initiated changes at ruhlamat in Suzhou.

We interviewed him to talk about his experience.

Why did you decide to take part in the innovation manager / coach training? What were your expectations?

Florian Weihard

As CTO it is my task to create an environment in our mechanical engineering company that supports us to find innovative solutions. Especially in times of the fourth industrial revolution it is necessary to conduct a systematic innovation management. This helps us to make use of the ever-changing cross-industry technologies and ensures that we don’t miss important trends. I have been looking out for management practices to help me do that. During a workshop session in Shanghai I got to know creaffective. I have immediately been convinced by the approach creaffective introduced. I wanted to build a foundation at ruhlamat in order to introduce a comprehensive innovation management approach in our organization.

What did you take away from the innovation manager / coach training?
My expectations have been fully satisfied. We learned the necessary foundational skills for innovation management as well as thinking tools of systematic creative thinking which we applied in hands-on workshop formats. Based on all this, back in my company, I was able to develop an innovation process for us and run a number of facilitated innovation workshops.

What did you change at ruhlamat after finishing the innovation manager / coach training?
Based on the training I initiated a comprehensive innovation program in the beginning of 2018. This program shall help us to manage the transformation from being a leading systems integrator to becoming a technology provider. The program includes processes of trend scouting and business development as well as product development. The approaches learned from the training program support us to systematically create business potentials and innovative solutions. Apart from looking at processes we also focus on our innovation culture.

Whom would you recommend our innovation manager / coach training? Who would benefit from it?
I think such an in-depth training program is useful for every manager who develops new products and solutions with his team. In hindsight I believe the training is not only useful but absolutely necessary!
There is a lot of currently untapped potential in organizations that can be leveraged using a systematic approach to innovation. It does not matter if you facilitate innovation workshops yourself afterwards, or if you want to support innovation culture from a top-management perspective. The training program provides valuable insights for both.

How does the creaffective innovation manager / coach training differ from similar formats?
creaffective does not only train around innovation but really lives innovation in its own organization. Through its own practice creaffective continuously evolves the tools and approaches it teaches. This could be noticed in every minute of the training. I could dive into creaffective’s culture of innovation and develop practical skills together with a coach. Perfect!

Are you interested in our innovation manager / coach training program? Reach out to us: info@creaffective.de