ATELIER
HOMO INNOVATICUS
DE|EN
MVIP · Minimum Viable Innovation Process

The Journey of Homo Innovaticus

Four Islands. Two Judgment Gates.

Homo Innovaticus is not only an idea. The MVIP translates this image of the human being into a path: from a personal or professional question through imagination, relationship and shared examination towards responsible action.

The process originates in The Innovation Tribe. It can be used for innovation and transformation projects as much as for personal change. People enter it with a real question, not with a finished solution.

The full journey is described in the book.

The concrete walkthrough of the MVIP — with tasks, guiding questions, methods, gatekeeper checks and the journey across the four islands — is described step by step in The Innovation Tribe.

→ Deepen in the book

NOT A RECIPE. A LOGIC OF NAVIGATION.

Phase gatekeepers

The phase gatekeepers originate in The Innovation Tribe. After each phase the original places a “virtual meeting with the gatekeeper”: a check of reflection and readiness before the next step.

Two judgment gates

The two Judgment Gates are a further development of the Atelier Homo Innovaticus for the AI age. They protect not only the process, but human judgment — before possibilities become one's own direction and, finally, binding reality.

The gatekeeper checks readiness for the next step. The Judgment Gate checks what we, as humans, actually adopt, take responsibility for, and allow to become reality.

Island 1

OPEN

AI & Serendipity

The Serendipitous Dreamer

Task
Open the inner space of possibility: your own question, wishes, earlier dreams, meaning and possible impact.
Mindset
Explorative, playful, curious, open — connected to inner desires.
Guiding questions
  • When was I truly happy in my life?
  • What was my own contribution to it?
  • How could I reconnect with such experiences?
  • What is the most burning question of my life or my venture today?
Methods
AI serendipitous dreaming · daydreaming and contemplation · mind mapping · the miracle question (de Shazer) · inspiring literature · written and spoken notes. To be precise: AI does not activate a default mode network. It supplies new material, analogies, images, counter-positions and information for human imagination to work with.
Output
Clustered goals and themes, a first condensation of your question, material for a one-page vision.
Phase gatekeeper
What did I discover? What is the most burning question? Am I ready for the next step? Do I need support? — This reflection is not therapy; where difficult personal experiences dominate, professional support is appropriate.
Judgment Gate 1

GATE 1 PROTECTS INNER JUDGMENT.

Gate 1 lies between inner opening and social orientation. It asks: which of this is a viable insight for me, what remains a hypothesis, what is only a prompt or suggestion? AI outputs, analogies and even unexpected or false connections remain material until human judgment examines them.

AI expands possibilities. The human decides what to adopt as their own direction.

Island 2

ORIENT

Vision & Alliance

The Explorative Seer

Task
Refine the vision in first social interaction; find potential allies, knowledge holders, promoters and adjacent fields.
Mindset
Still explorative and emergent, open to new insight — without premature promises.
Guiding questions
  • Who or which organisation can give me new insight?
  • Who has solved — or failed at — a similar question in another field?
  • Who can connect me with important people?
  • Which shared interests and synergies exist?
Methods
Stakeholder analysis · AI, search and literature research · promoter model · R-ICE · first conversations · impact explanation · four levels of value creation (user, organisation, ecosystem, society)
Output
A rough vision and mission with personal motivation, a wish list of allies, first win-win-win ideas, a more tangible impact explanation.
Phase gatekeeper
Show the first vision draft. Why will it have impact? Which must-win areas and promoters are emerging?
Island 3

ENCOUNTER

Open Space Actuation

The Visionary Leader

Task
Bring the personal vision into the shared space: examine and widen it with others and develop it into a viable shared direction. First shared responsibility and commitments emerge.
Mindset
Collaborative and defining, dynamically switching between exploration and execution.
Guiding questions
  • How do genuine win-win situations emerge?
Methods
Open Space · World Café · R-ICE · Innovation RADAR · innovation calendar and map · promoter analysis · shared refinement of the vision · first commitments. In the spirit of Open Space: the right people, the right time, whatever happened is the learning reality, and what is over may be released.
Output
A jointly sharpened vision, prioritised must-win fields, first roles and commitments, and a viable frame for the implementation ahead.
Phase gatekeeper
Resources, budget, promoter analysis, commitment: is the venture ready for public and operational execution?
Judgment Gate 2

GATE 2 PROTECTS OUR SHARED WORLD.

Gate 2 lies immediately before binding real-world implementation. Before commitments, contracts, resource releases or investments are triggered, vision, facts, assumptions and AI-influenced insights must be examined socially, verified, and tested against consequences, values and responsibility.

Whatever is to become binding reality must prove itself against other people and against the world.

Island 4

ACT

Orchestrated Change

The Dynamic Orchestrator

Task
Orchestrate the binding implementation in the real world: decisions, milestones, roles, relationships, communication and commitments, so that shared direction becomes responsible impact. Binding commitments, contracts, resource releases and investments begin here.
Mindset
Execution and exploitation, yet adaptive: navigate, correct or stop when needed.
Guiding questions
  • Who needs which information, and when?
  • How do I keep energy and commitment alive in the process?
  • Who must agree or contribute at the next milestone?
Methods
Stage-gate thinking · Innovation RADAR · innovation calendar and map · communication plan · RASCI · promoter commitment · relationship management · tit-for-tat as a logic of cooperation
Output
Binding next steps, clear roles and responsibilities, confirmed resources and budgets, required contracts or agreements, an updated implementation plan and the next decisive milestones.
Phase gatekeeper
Are resources, budget and investments bindingly released? Are roles, commitments and required contracts or agreements settled? Are the next milestones, communication paths and decision points clear?

THE JOURNEY DOES NOT END WITH AN IDEA. IT ENDS WHERE A POSSIBILITY BECOMES RESPONSIBLE REALITY.

AI through the journey
  1. 01 · OPENInspiration & expansion of the space of possibility
  2. 02 · ORIENTResearch, comparison & connection
  3. 03 · ENCOUNTERExamining perspectives, supporting synthesis & widening shared learning spaces
  4. 04 · ACTSupporting structure, communication, monitoring & learning

The human being must not only remain in the loop. Human judgment must remain there too.

AI can support every phase. Purpose, direction, limits, interpretation, binding commitments, decision and responsibility, however, remain humanly and institutionally owned.

Not exclusivity, but responsibility defines the human role in relation to AI.

The four guides

The Innovation Tribe gives the islands four virtual guides and coaches. They are roles and archetypes of the journey — not real coaches currently on offer.

  • The Serendipitous DreamerOpen
  • The Explorative SeerOrient
  • The Visionary LeaderEncounter
  • The Dynamic OrchestratorAct

Guided Homo Innovaticus Labs · in development

For later seminars, a real accompanying structure may grow out of these roles, with Hannes and selected facilitators and partners. Not a bookable offering yet; organisation, partners, quality assurance and delivery are being developed separately.

This page belongs to the English Preview Edition of the Atelier. A full bilingual Atelier is planned for February 2027.

→ Deutsche Fassung: Der Weg des Homo Innovaticus