Founding Director, and all-around Innovator, Dr. Robert "Bart" Barthelemy talks people, places, and collaborations that have become part of WBI's legacy.
Actually, WBI was brought to me. In 2001, several senior executives from AFRL asked me to start an innovation and collaboration center near W-PAFB to assist AFRL in those areas. After about a year of researching and preparation, we stood up WBI in late 2002 and it’s been growing and successful ever since.
How has COVID impacted your work?
Surprisingly, the COVID issue has increased my workload, my efficiency and my effectiveness. Since I still facilitate and organize workshops for WBI, the COVID distancing requirement led us to use several forms of virtual communications, in particular Zoom and Zoom.gov. From February to June 2020, I have been constantly on Zoom with WBI and AFRL personnel and have found it extremely efficient and effective. I am sure it will change the nature of work in the future for me, WBI and the rest of the world. Fortunately, my family and I were not affected by the COVID 19 virus, even though some of us would have been very vulnerable if we had contracted the virus.
My favorite collaboration story is the five year period from 2010 to 2015 when WBI created, developed and delivered dozens of Divergent Collaboration workshops. The Divergent Collaboration process brought hundreds of non-traditional thinkers to Air Force challenge workshops and really helped WBI, AFRL and the community think outside the box and develop extremely creative ideas, opportunities and problem solutions. The Divergent Collaboration program was so successful that it was highlighted in the Harvard Business Review as one of the most creative approaches to innovation.
Frankly, many of our projects and programs have been outstanding and have really “clicked” with our customers. But our environments, Springfield Street, Tec^Edge Works and Downtown WBI at 444 are truly innovative and unique. These environments literally allow hundreds of thousands of government, academic and industry participants to be collaborative and innovative. Very few organizations have created even one collaborative innovation environment, let alone three and more to come.
Frankly, many of our projects and programs have been outstanding and have really “clicked” with our customers. But our environments, Springfield Street, Tec^Edge Works and Downtown WBI at 444 are truly innovative and unique. These environments literally allow hundreds of thousands of government, academic and industry participants to be collaborative and innovative. Very few organizations have created even one collaborative innovation environment, let alone three and more to come.
People think that I am creative and innovative. While I do try to be, those aren’t my strengths. What I love to do is to help other people be creative and innovative, more like a coach rather than a player. And after a long life of doing that, people still ask me to be their coach and facilitator.