Over lunch recently, a new contact shared his struggle to make innovation happen within his company. Hundreds of people. Many different roles and skill levels, and a varying appetite for innovation. Getting everyone on the same page had become a wicked problem.
As he talked it reminded me of a Centric workshop, where people from a range of industries — nonprofit, higher education, and large corporations alike — talked about their challenges creating shared vision, language, and practices to innovate. There was this real desire to be blazing into the future, but the reality looked more like false starts, slow progress, and even failed efforts.
It is a familiar story with a few variations.
Sometimes the decree to be more innovative comes from on high. Sometimes a lone individual or department makes it a personal priority and tries to innovate from within. Sometimes there are resources available. Sometimes not.
Some organizations have a lot further to travel. In helping many organizations choose values, vision statements, and strategies over the years, I can say it is rare indeed when innovation isn’t in the mix somewhere. Even for very traditional organizations without an innovation bone on their bodies.
Ready or not, we all must grapple with a fast changing world.
Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all, step-by-step playbook. Wherever the drive to be innovative comes from and whatever the starting point, the truth is, it is just hard. Especially challenging for organizations who have been doing things the same way for a long time.Innovation calls for change. Change freaks some people out, plain and simple. How do you get started when you decide your organization needs to innovate?
Starting innovation efforts with some basics can help.
It’s easy to skip some simple steps in an attempt to get to the good stuff. Design thinking! Agile! Lean! It can be exciting and fun for those more predisposed to this kind of thing. Those processes are awesome, with concrete methods and philosophies that provide a path forward. I highly recommend adopting a framework and seeking training and tools.
But first, and especially for slow-moving or risk averse organizations, some simple steps can go a long way in making your innovation efforts a success:
Have a conversation.
Setting things up with a conversation first can help people feel part of the process and ease fears. You can host small group sessions, full team meetings, or try surveys or polls. Start a thread on your intranet. Make a graffiti wall (note: the example is from the IDEO bathroom, but these can be hung anywhere) where you can ask questions. Some good topics:
Define your “why.”
What is the purpose behind innovation efforts? What are the conditions leading to the need for change? Trying something new and shiny for the sake of it is bound to meet resistance. Understanding concrete business reasoning goes a long way for people. Even if change is scary, they can see why it is necessary.
Find alignment on your organizational capacity for innovation.
Do you have an appetite for radical and transformational change? Or, are you looking for incremental innovation? Are there sacred things that can not be challenged? Or is everything on the table? Having different expectations can lead to failure before you start.
Take some small bites.
Another thing to try: start with a few small moves before a sprint. Asking people to jump in to solve a highly complex problem, especially one the future of the organization depends upon, is a big ask. The stakes are so high in that kind of situation. Some good small steps:
Learning is a great place to start.
The most successful innovation efforts I’ve been part of invest in professional development of some kind. When I’ve helped organization adopt design thinking, I often start with simple definitions. Find resources online. Start with a video, or short white paper. Curate and share articles about frameworks you are considering. Attend a public workshop, or bring a training into your organization.
Practice!
Another good initial step is to practice. If you’re adopting design thinking or any new methods, try solving a smaller problem first. Starting with a urgent and important challenge makes it hard to focus on learning new methods. Training and practice combined give people confidence they’ll take into problem solving efforts for your bigger issues.
Some companies can move faster and just jump in, and that’s awesome. If quick moves and innovation aren’t in your DNA, try simple first. Two little steps before a BIG leap into whatever comes next for you!