Oxford TRIZ Christmas TRIMMINGS – Restoring Happiness

December began with a shock happiness for me with our first public TRIZ workshop since Covid. I had forgotten how blissful it is to be working in the same room with new, clever, people and having fun by resolving tough challenges systematically with TRIZ. This widespread restoration of pre-covid face-to-face working, now supplements the surprising and many good innovations brought by the horribly grim lockdown. The new global acceptance of being online for learning, meetings and live problem-solving brought us significant benefits. Our expanded online Oxford TRIZ reached a much more international market, and enabled corporate teams to tackle challenges together on different continents and in different time zones – it solved the contradiction of being at different sides of the planet and yet being able to work in teams together.

In so many ways being online has also helped ordinary life - I recently avoided a speeding fine by attending an online speed awareness course. The wide range other ‘offenders’ from ages 18 to 80 all had online capability and confidence; pre-covid it would have been a drive about 50 miles on a cold winter’s morning and shiver in bleak police driving centre for several hours. The cost savings, time efficiency and the unique enjoyment of well-run online learning, reminded me of the flexibility, and efficiency of our much in demand Oxford TRIZ online workshops.

There are many things that are probably better in-person rather than online....

Many of our customers are using TRIZ to examine the contradictions between home and office working and online and face-to-face workshops. They each have very different benefits and TRIZ helps us understand why we need both. Despite the time and cost savings of online, applying TRIZ Trimming simply and logically, reminds us not to lose the big benefits of being in the same room together. Hybrid working can give us the best of all worlds. Online working TRIMs out wasted time and expense of travel and helps many achieve that elusive ‘work life balance’, but it still lacks the important elements of in-person interaction. TRIZ separation principles guide us to ask precisely WHERE and WHEN we need to be face-to-face, and also under what conditions online working is better, and reminds us that we need and can have both. I hope that in 2023 you find your right balance between face-to-face and online, and that makes you both happier and more effective in every way. 

Our New Year Resolution is to increase our TRIZ and Sustainability work in response to the climate crisis. We hope to remind everyone that TRIZ tools help you reduce your harm to the environment and that structured innovation works better than anything else, especially with concern that organisations are ‘green washing’ rather than taking effective action.

Remember one of the greatest powers of TRIZ is its ability to help you think clearly and cleverly. Make your New Year’s Resolution to try TRIZ every day for every problem you face… so that when you need it for new problems, or if you have seemingly impossible demands/unresolvable challenges, or even an uncertain future, then your well-honed TRIZ skills will help you find the best ways forward. We hope we will work with you in 2023 to find your best solutions to even your most intractable problems and that you enjoy the festive holiday with both online and face-to-face fun with friends and family.

All the Oxford TRIZ team wish you a Happy Christmas and Prosperous and TRIZZY New Year!

Karen, Kate, Dave, Andrew, Neil, Ron, Liz, Alastair, Elena and Clive (our cartoonist)

Training

Fundamental Problem Solving

Oxford TRIZ online - fast, efficient and cost effective.

In just 10 hours over 5 days learn the practical TRIZ concepts, tools and techniques. This Online Fundamental Problem Solving course offers beginners and novices an efficient and proven route to TRIZ competency. The course includes all our relevant Oxford TRIZ online books and materials, AND our eLearning package - for reinforcement and revision at own pace & time. 

When: 16 - 20 January 2023 | 20 - 24 February 2023

Where: Oxford TRIZ Live Online

Cost: £850 (plus VAT) 

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Bespoke Webinar

Informative, fun & engaging 

In-house webinars and keynotes are developed for your organisation's specific requirements. Delivered in our engaging signature style; illustrated by relevant, specially commissioned cartoons, fast-paced and lively with lots of interaction and opportunity for Q&A.

Our in-house webinars are all tailored to your specific needs or for many different events from global conferences to a one off team building. Commission your own webinar to cover your specific issues, anything from sustainability, innovation, future products to future strategy.  

Find out more and register your interest now

Festive Reading & Resources

If you are looking to brush up on your TRIZ skills over this festive period we recommend these books written by our own TRIZ Experts. TRIZ for Engineers: Enabling Inventive Problem Solving is an accessible, colourful and practical guide developed from our problem-solving workshops.

TRIZ for Dummies is a fun and engaging introduction to TRIZ, illustrated with management examples and written in plain English. It is available in paperback as well as on Audible. It is packed with tons of accessible and easy-to-follow instructions which explain how to use this powerful toolkit.

Case Study: Mars

On Demand Webinar: Developing your Patent Strategy with Oxford TRIZ

TRIZ is unique in that it is based upon patent analysis, developed by the Soviet inventor Genrich Altshuller and his colleagues. After years of Russian research into patents they uncovered that there are only 100 known solutions to fundamental problems and made them universally available in three TRIZ solution lists and the Effects Database.

In this webinar, we introduce the TRIZ tools which are perfectly suited to circumvent and strengthen patents & enhance innovation enabling you to create a comprehensive patent strategy for years to come.

Watch now