Chris Finlay recently joined the Business Innovation Factory (BIF), the Providence-based nonprofit that promotes new approaches to pressing challenges, as design director of the new BIF Student Experience Lab, which opened May 18. Finlay talked with Providence Business News recently about what he will be doing at BIF, his first impressions of the city, and the role of innovation in spurring economic recovery.
PBN: First, welcome to Providence. Could you tell a little bit about your background?
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FINLAY: Thank you. People like me are often referred to as “T”-shaped people. That means we have broad experience and interests, with a deep expertise in one area. My expertise happens to be in design research, which focuses on spending a lot of time understanding people’s experiences in a particular area of interest for an organization.
I combine tools from business, design and social science to make innovation more reliable and repeatable. The combination of tools helps me identify the right core values and market needs to transcend demographics and provide the basis for lasting value. In addition to my current work, I have been a chef, an auto mechanic, and creative director for a menswear company. I have also had my own design consultancy in New York City.
PBN: In the past you’ve done consulting work for a diverse group of organizations, from the Mayo Clinic and the Rocky Mountain Insitute to Time Inc. and the Chicago city government. What are some of the most interesting projects you’ve worked on?
FINLAY: The work I did for the Mayo Clinic was some of the most exciting because I was able to work with and serve patients who had real, immediate needs. Our team worked directly with the Department of Medicine senior leadership and the SPARC Innovation Lab to understand how to deliver more health services to people offsite. That work took us from open heart surgery to the morgue. We followed people through some of the most intimate moments imaginable.
PBN: You’ve joined BIF to become design director for BIF Student Experience Lab. What is that, and what will your role be?
FINLAY: The student experience lab is a program focused on understanding and exploring the issues related to the changing needs of post-secondary-education students. This is important work, since the world has been transforming at an increasingly rapid pace and students need to be better prepared to compete in a connected, global marketplace. My role will be to connect with different student types, ages, backgrounds, etc., and document and understand their experiences in order to describe areas that can be improved.
PBN: What made you decide to take the new job?
FINLAY: More opportunities to race sail boats!
Seriously though, my passion is to use my user-centered design approach to help improve the world. I like helping organizations move beyond single product or service solutions and create smart, flexible systems-level solutions that help us to move past current rigid constructs to even greater success. BIF has done an amazing job of assembling the right resources, a powerful network and has the courage to drive real change. It is an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.
Besides that, I have quickly discovered how awesome Providence is. There is so much to do in what is clearly a connected and inclusive community. I am looking forward to meeting more of these talented and passionate people.
PBN: BIF is, obviously, dedicated to innovation. What role do you think organizations like BIF can play as we try to rebuild the economy?
FINLAY: BIF is a catalyst. This is a group that has the care, compassion and courage to step up and say that real transformational change is needed to move beyond incremental fixes and they fiercely advocate for more experimentation in areas like health care and education – two significant drivers of our economy. BIF started by building a network of innovators from across the country who subscribed to this idea. Then, they set their sights on creating a framework for bringing this network together to share ideas, and ultimately through their projects, put new ideas to the test. BIF’s nonprofit approach to enabling collaboration, innovation and experimentation fills an important niche in our country’s effort to create deep economic transformation. •
