Ben Watson of 3M came along to give us a guest lecture today. Ben is involved in research and development and new product development at 3M – a company recently acclaimed as third most innovative in the world (third only to giants Google and Apple).

Ben talked us through 3M’s culture of innovation and creativity, and methods of how thinking outside of the box can be stirred within a business environment. He showed us some innovation models that we could apply to our projects, urged us to take risks, and reassured us that failing was okay so long as we “fail better” the next time.

3M are a colossal company, with one of their products being within at least 12 feet of you at any given time. So having Ben come over to take the time to talk to us was much appreciated.