[MUSIC] We're here this week with Adiswa and Christine from RLabs, welcome guys. We've been talking this week about design thinking and really the process of how we come up with ideas. Going back to how RLabs started, it started without really anyone being ready for what would come. We're quite interested in the work that you do and the projects that you've seen at RLabs. How have things got started? What is the process you've been through, what have the conversations been around the table to starting, coming up with new ideas and starting new projects. It's fascinating because with me, I started with one of the projects they run, which was the GLA program and- GLA is the Grow Leadership Academy. That's correct, it's GLA yeah for youth between 18 and 25. So that's how I got introduced to RLabs. As well as we were the first interns to come and be with RLabs after doing the Grow Leadership Academy course. So that's one of the projects that came out of the prototype with a smaller group. They wanted to do it with like ten people. But in the initial space of time they exploded. And they were here intaking 120 students that took the same course. So that was kind of amazing for me like, okay, they're not sitting and deciding whose going to be done with it. It should be honor in doing it and yeah, kind of like guinea pigs. Being a guinea pig in that- pilot, prototype phase. Were you also involved in, because obviously you've got on to them actually being involved in running the academy. Were you involved when you were participant in how the programme actually evolved and changed? >It was mostly feedback from what should we do, what can be better because after that while we are doing the also going to be facilitators within the program itself We would come with feedback. because we had just been through the six month program, and then we were now facilitating in classes. So there was kind of like, we gave feedback in terms of when I was a student, and we're giving feedback in terms of when I'm a facilitator. So it's this kind of ongoing process of an idea, let's start something, let's keep getting feedback, let's change it, let's keep evolving it. Was that the pattern that was happening? Are you nervous? Exactly that was the what was happening. Of we think of this, we do it. We see what challenges we face, what can you base that on. Interesting, is that something that you teach in the innovation lab? I think very differently from Andiswa I was on the other side of the field. Whereas, [INAUDIBLE] I was actually driving that. What is it young people are feeling? What is that they need? So we needed to think like that even though we weren't in the situation of a young person. We needed to actually look at, okay, so how are we going to, what is the need, but also how are we going to basically make them motivated and keep them captivated. So yeah we were on that side. You really would need to think about what Without him to be in this situation here. We've had so many different innovations over the years, where do new ideas come from? You know what? It still comes from the person, it still comes from even our community. Yes, even, we work closely with what our community needs, but, also, we look at our staff members as well. It's people that are living the situation. Living within the circumstances. So if I'm working at RLabs, maybe I have an idea. Has been sitting with me. Or maybe I'm listening to someone else and hearing their experience and then that sparks something in me. I think this is a new thing we should be talking about or developing here. What do I do? What do I do with that new idea? Firstly, what we do is, we actually verbalise it. [LAUGH] What I've been thinking of it, because what happens is, sometimes we strategize with inside, and that's really kind of sought out in ourselves, so what you do is just verbalize with anyone and trust me. So don't analyse- Don't analyse because that is when you doubt or feel doubt. You'll find all kinds of problems with it. Exactly. So find anyone, and I can promise you, there is not anyone in the organization who would With neither project. Instead they would find okay, let's do it. That's what I found with anyone. When you say that, Christine, when I started here they were launching some of the internal staff members businesses. And Def Traders is one of them. They notice that within the community, there are people that have skills but they don't have the qualifications. So they were thinking of, okay what we going to do is we going to be the connector because we are well known. And then you can vouch for this person, and okay fine, you can be a plumber, but you don't have the qualification, but you can actually do it. Like an RLabs credentials, I know what I am doing, I'm reliable, I'm experienced. Yeah, so they build this app that will actually connect The people within the community that have the skills and connect them with other people that actually need things to be done for them. That was amazing because it came internally. Somebody was thinking of it and they wanted to run the idea and then they were in the incubator for 9 months. They had this idea and then they started and then they worked through it. But that was one of the businesses that just for some time it ran out. What really made it significant was that the person that thought of this idea is the person that could relate to these entrepreneurs on ground level and that's the kind of barrier that RLabs has overcome yes overcome because we find that these people, these entrepreneurs they're not seen in the system I would say whereas this person this champion I refer to, she could relate to women. And that's how people would easily communicate with her and I think that�s significant around the story, That's great. To me, that brings up one of the key principles of design making which is, it's not just about understanding the needs. It's actually about experiencing, feeling the needs, using empathy, not just our heads but really in our hearts also. One of the things that always struck me about RLabs In a way our lives began with stories, people just telling each other the stories of what they've been through in their lives. And it's still to this day, you walk in here, and almost the first thing you'll do is you'll hear somebody's story, and the stories of our lives, here in this building and in this community, are very very present. So how big a role does that play in really driving the kind of empathy that you need for innovation? I think that the winning method is the fact that it's in one of our values. It's a movement of people by people. So automatically you find yourself. As a student, being afraid to use a computer. And then you get over that fear, and then all of sudden you are now facilitating. So in facilitating you're not just doing it. You're doing it knowing very well that I have been through this. I know exactly where the person is at. And it's not someone on the outside thinking of being here, I've done that. What you clearly said was the stories is where many of these ideas are coming from. So it's a very much part of the innovation process is the story, the understanding, the empathy. You also spoke about the rapid kind of prototyping of projects as they start in order to see how it started, and it's developing. Learning as it's going. And you just get started with that. So we want to talk about how failure is treated, valued, considered with others. I think like I think in the real world failure, some people think, it's the end of things. But here it's celebrated. The more you fail, the more you get closer to exactly where am I going wrong. What can I do to change? And since coming back and having those co-creations where we're sitting and then okay, we did these projects They were not successful within the market. Is it worth us doing it again? Where did we go wrong? How can we best tackle this? Yeah, just don't be afraid of facing it again. We do encourage our champions or our staff members or participants You know what? Be bold! Because the reality is it is a risk. As excited as we get, and crazy as we are, we know that it's a risk that we're taking, so with anything we do is a risk, so there is a chance that it might not work out. As Andiswa said What is the lessons that we learn? We're okay with it and we love lessons because out of the lessons we know that it's even going to be better project or idea that emerges. We're okay with it. [MUSIC]
