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As a new member (and Fellow) at the incubator, accelerator, and hard tech ecosystem of mHub, I am faced daily with the question: “Have you done this before?” as a qualifying question from potential clients.

It’s only natural that someone would ask this question, as adults we have learned the importance of doing the thing 10, 50, or 100 times to become an expert at it.

However, in the context of research and innovation, there are processes, frameworks, and experiences through straight-up discomfort that differ from the more prescribed phases of product development.

This week at mHub, Mary Doctor led an engaging and insightful Book Club event on the topic of The Ten Faces of Innovation written by Tom Kelley, which describes 10 personas of innovation, all of which are represented at CArtLab Solutions.

The first group of personas are about using learning to innovate:

1. Anthropologist: this role contributes through the fieldwork of observation, where CArtLab Solutions chooses clients who are open both to virtual and in-person interaction with a new idea/ material/ process/ product to ensure the problem is understood including all the subtle details
2. Experimenter: this role involves leaving room for calculated risks and failing fast, where CArtLab Solutions approaches each project through a growth mindset, rather than results mindset
3. Cross-Pollinator: this role involves buzzing around different flowers (disciplines) like bees, where Dr. CC at CArtLab Solutions uses her training in art conservation science to find creative approaches that solve other industry issues

The next group of personas unite around organization:

1. Hurdler: this role understands that if something is truly fresh and new, it will involve obstacles that have deterred others, so CArtLab Solutions targets ambitious clients whose projects require perseverance and stubborn positive determination along the critical steps of development
2. Collaborator: this role accepts that a team of perspectives is greater than any individual toward innovation, and at CArtLab Solutions we offer multidisciplinary combinations of eclectic problem solvers
3. Director: This role is represented by various styles of leadership to spark positive change, whereas at CArtLab Solutions we dictate client alignment through calm and confident connections, even in the context of innovation challenges that appear frenzied

The final group of personas share the role of building:

1. Experience Architect: this role opens up innovation with a radical mindset to turn a problem upside down/inside out, where at CArtLab Solutions we bring the motto “never say never” to every client meeting
2. Set Designer: this role designs a stage for the team to do their best work, where at CArtLab Solutions we operate out of the physical environment of mHub due to the overlapping values of equity, sustainability, and community through respect
3. Caregiver: this role breaks down the nature of the innovation teams interactions, where at CArtLab Solutions we see each client beyond the service we provide, to the individual who we can anticipate their current and future needs
4. Storyteller: this role sees the significance of human experiences in translation of complex research or developments, where at CArtLab Solutions we like to understand the clients story during the intake process, to better contextualize all updates/ data/ results for the client

If my storytelling skills have not yet hit the mark for why you- my reader- should care about CArtLab Solutions approaches to innovation, please let the British publication of The Economistconvince you through their claim:

“Innovation is now recognized as the single most important ingredient in any modern economy.”

If you have any comments/questions/ concerns please do not hesitate to email me ccarta@cartlabsolutions.com.