The United Nations (UN) celebrates the World Creativity and Innovation Day on 21 April. The day is marked to raise awareness about the important roles that innovation and creativity play in the context of economic, social and sustainable development, creating opportunities for growth.
At FT Consulting, we advocate the idea of “Powering Growth for Tomorrow” to continuously explore bold, innovative and creative ideas that are forward-looking and future-ready.
This April, in light of the World Creativity and Innovation Day, our team took up the challenge to revamp an almost-forgotten space in the office in a fun and creative way.
Read on as we bring you through the behind-the-scenes of our “Innovation Loft” in its first phase, a space where we hope to ignite inspiration, creative thinking and thoughtful discussions to make the world a better place for all.
Let's take a look at what our colleagues say:
What does innovation mean to you?
It means to make use of what we have to create good ideas, which can be a small thing and doesn’t have to be a ground breaking - Ignatius
Innovation is exuding one's own defining creation which is not part of the norm. - Siok Leng
What does innovation mean to FT Consulting?
Innovation opens the way for FT to stay relevant and competitive in these ever-changing times. It is a means, not an end. It excites us to imagine, not just think outside of the box. It inspires us to achieve our potential as a collective of people. It also rewards us by letting us enjoy a higher quality of being by giving us more time, more space, more work-life balance, and, importantly, more income. And lastly, innovation is best achieved by a team of people who desire to enjoy its fruits. - John
What is the Innovation Loft?
Simply put, FT’s Innovation Loft is a place for different stakeholders like staff, clients, and prospects to hangout, work, learn, meet, and have fun in a setting. - Yvonne
What pushed you to make the decision of creating an Innovation loft?
FT Consulting is 31 this year, but I would rather see ourselves as a "young startup" entering Year 1 of the next 30 years cycle. As a "startup", we need to thrive in an environment where ideas flow freely and team members co-create value in an agile manner. The making of the Innovation Loft itself is the team's co-creation masterpiece and encapsulates such desired attributes. I hope that it is a place that will continue to inspire everyone to unleash their creativity and make things happen! - Winston
What were some factors of consideration when planning the Innovation Loft?
The team and I wanted it to be vibrant, having a different atmosphere from the usual work cubicles we currently have in the office. A place that can encourage interaction and spur innovative ideas. Of course, we need to keep within the assigned budget yet stretching every dollar we have! - Yvonne
What are the challenges the team faced when creating the Innovation Loft?
The first challenge was to crystallise the initial concept of the Innovation Loft as everyone has different opinions. What we did to overcome this was to have many rounds of team discussion and analysis. The second challenge was to maximise the use of limited resources. The team took a systematic approach of brainstorming all the items the team may need and categorising the items into phases, according to the priorities of the Innovation Loft thereafter. - Ignatius
What is the most memorable experience through the planning and execution of Phase 1?
Together as a team, we went to physically check different furniture stores out for inspiration and ideas, and it was a moment of excitement and anticipation when the delivery man rang our door bell to deliver our selected furniture items into the space. Seeing the Innovation Loft coming to life from our moodboard to an actual cozy space for colleagues brings us so much pride and joy! - Aurea & Adeline
Opinions on the Innovation Loft
I feel that the Innovation Loft is a splash of freshness to the FT office, and enhances the familial culture of FT. My favourite part of the Innovation Loft is the high table-tops facing the wonderful infrastructure and buildings in the Central Business District area. Whenever I’m feeling stressed or unproductive, I will take a breather there, soak in the exquisite view, and even, have meetings and do work there. - Jamie
