How do you innovate and co-create with your partners?

To innovate and co-create with partners, start by establishing clear communication channels and mutual goals to ensure alignment and shared vision. Foster an environment of trust and openness, encouraging the exchange of ideas and feedback to stimulate creativity and innovation. Utilize collaborative tools and methodologies, such as design thinking and agile practices, to efficiently prototype, test, and refine solutions together.

Collaboration and partnerships have become key elements for success. Organizations are realizing that they can achieve more by working together with others rather than competing against each other. When it comes to successful partnerships, aligning on vision and values is crucial. It provides a solid foundation for the partnership to thrive, ensuring that both parties are working towards the same goal and share a common set of values.

Before aligning on vision, the first step to co-create is to build trust. Alongside the many layers of trust needed, other leaders need to know that you are level headed, capable, and can think of the team. Then inquire about their needs, metrics, and vision. Replaying what you heard back to them with any questions confirms your understanding and lets them see you are listening. Once this trust and respect is in place, you can begin to share ideas about your own insights about customers or competitive advantage and take it from there.

In my opinion, aligning on vision and values is pivotal for successful co-creation. It involves establishing a shared understanding of objectives, goals, customer needs, and core values. This alignment fosters effective communication, resolves conflicts, keeps the focus on desired outcomes and ensures all stakeholders are moving in the same direction toward project success. For example, quite often, I collaborate with graphic designers who may face limitations in providing backend databases and functionalities to their clients' ideas. Conversely, when clients seek graphic designers, they become my key partners in the process.

To Innovate and Co-Create with Partners Align on Vision and Values: Ensure a shared vision by aligning on strategic goals, customer needs, and success metrics. Establish core values like trust, transparency, and respect to guide collaboration. Clear Communication: Set up effective communication channels to ensure all parties stay aligned and focused. Foster Trust and Openness: Encourage a culture of openness where partners feel comfortable sharing ideas and providing feedback. Collaborative Tools and Methods: Use tools like design thinking and agile practices to prototype, test, and refine solutions efficiently together.

Using behavioral and workplace assessments is a great tool to enable people to gain awareness of themselves and of the members of their team. A good leader will be able to identify their own deficiencies and blind spots and empower others with strengths in those areas to takeover and add value in those areas.

WENNOVATE instead of INNOVATE The main reason why innovation projects get stopped is according to a linkedin poll: ‘LACK OF MANAGEMENT BUY-IN. That’s why in my experience as facilitator of 100+ projects you should better WENNOVATE instead of INNOVATE. Let me explain… Innovation is a long journey with high uncertainty. That’s why you should get all your internal - and external partners and the decision makers aligned as from the start, agreeing all on both your assignment and process. When you WENNOVATE in the way your project will be based on: - commitment, - trust, and - openness. Check out the FORTH innovation methodology, which combines design thinking with business thinking, which is based on this WENNOVATE principle.

Avoid the trap of developing team descriptions that say something like this: 'Our team is extremely diverse and we are united behind the same ideas and values.' Do you see the irony in these types of statements.

In addition to aligning on vision and values, organizations should also embrace diversity and inclusion in their collaborative projects. By bringing together individuals from diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, organizations can foster innovation and creativity. Diversity brings a variety of ideas and solutions to the table, leading to better problem-solving and decision-making. Inclusion ensures that all voices are heard and valued, creating a sense of belonging and ownership in the partnership.

While I typically refrain from discussing diversity, I firmly believe in the equality of all individuals as human beings. However, recognizing cultural differences is essential, as some may exhibit more innovative thinking than others. This cultural diversity is imperative for organizational success. Embracing diversity in co-creation unlocks varied perspectives, skills, and experiences, enriching innovation with fresh ideas. Creating a supportive environment fosters open expression, mutual respect, and synergy among partners, driving collaborative success.

1) Ensure a win-win situation where all parties have almost equivalent wins. Know what is in it for the partners, see from their point of view, and derive a final solution/process that every partner gets their desired value from the partnership. 2) Consider using the iterative process from Agile Process Management. Instead of submission only at the milestones/end, have regular and multiple check-ins during the process. Minor adjustments along the way are easier than starting over again. 3) Utilise the strengths and reduce the weaknesses like the broken comb analogy. Each individual/team/organisation can contribute their strengths/core competencies and both can use complementary skills to minimise the weaknesses in the partnership.

I've found that pre-briefing my creative partners with multiple ways forward is a more collaborative approach that allows them to be part of the experimentation process. Instead of saying "here is the way," I try to bring forth several different iterations based on different insights in the space. Often times the strategy I was convinced of is not the one that sparks the most innovation solutions when tested against a broader audience.

Co-creation allows for experimentation and iteration, which are key elements in today's rapidly changing business landscape. By collaborating with partners, organizations can test new ideas, products, and services in a safe and supportive environment. Partnerships also provide access to different resources, expertise, and networks that can accelerate the co-creation process. With frequent communication and feedback, partners can continuously improve and innovate, keeping up with the ever-evolving market demands.

Adopt a culture of experimentation and iteration in your co-creation efforts. Encourage risk-taking and creative problem-solving. Experiment with new ideas, approaches, and technologies. Embrace a mindset of continuous learning and improvement, and be open to adjusting your strategies based on feedback and insights gained along the way.

In my experience, experimentation and iteration are essential in co-creation. It involves testing hypotheses, refining prototypes, and gathering feedback. By fostering an experimental mindset and involving partners, you can adapt to changing needs and deliver superior solutions efficiently. Almost a decade ago I discovered Behavior Design which can be effectively integrated into any project. Its objective is to humanize systems and enhance the user experience, leading to greater success. Incorporating insights from human psychology can significantly improve processes and procedures within a company, making them more enjoyable and efficient.

Communication and coordination are also vital in maintaining successful partnerships. Regular check-ins, progress updates, and open communication channels help partners stay on the same page and address any issues or conflicts that may arise. Coordinating efforts and resources allows for efficient use of time and prevents duplication of work. It also helps in identifying areas where partners can support each other and maximize their impact.

To keep everyone updated on progress and challenges, Foundations helps our clients establish regular communication channels—meetings, emails, and shared platforms. Coordinating roles and resources is crucial too. Together, we'll define each partner's contributions and ensure alignment with overarching goals. By clarifying expectations upfront, we prevent confusion and duplication of efforts. Throughout the process, we'll foster open dialogue and transparency. Encouraging feedback enhances collaboration and ensures all voices are heard. Prioritizing communication and coordination maximizes efficiency and minimizes delays. With our shared commitment, we'll navigate this journey confidently and achieve our strategic objectives seamlessly.

Effective communication and coordination are essential for successful co-creation. Establish clear channels of communication and establish regular touchpoints to share updates, progress, and challenges. Foster transparent and open dialogue among partners, ensuring that everyone is informed and aligned throughout the co-creation process.

Successful partnerships should also be celebrated and sustained. Recognition and appreciation of each other's efforts can strengthen the bond between partners and motivate them to continue working together. Partnerships must also be nurtured and sustained through ongoing communication, collaboration, and evaluation. By continuously learning from our experiences and adapting to changing circumstances, we can ensure that our partnerships remain strong and beneficial for all involved.

Celebrate achievements and milestones reached during the co-creation journey. Acknowledge the collective efforts of all partners and recognize their contributions to the shared success. Additionally, focus on sustaining the momentum of collaboration beyond initial projects. Cultivate long-term partnerships based on trust, mutual respect, and shared value creation.

When you're facing a major challenge, use the concept of horizontal thinking. Vertical thinking is when you see a problem in front of you and dig really, really deeply into that problem to try to understand it and come up with a solution for this problem. Horizontal thinking is when you see the same problem in front of you, but you say, I'm going to look horizontally at all of the other problems and all the other solutions that may be able to potentially fix this problem. Ask yourself, is there a similar challenge that might be faced in another industry that I could learn from? Can I talk to someone in that industry that can help me to solve the problem that I'm facing?

Eine gelungene und starke Strategie kombiniert alle vier vorgestellten Erfolgsfaktoren, sodass diese sich wechselseitig verst?rken. Dies führt zu einer dauerhaft vorausschauenden Unternehmensführung, die darauf ausgerichtet ist, dass Unternehmen zukunfts- und damit wettbewerbsf?hig bleiben bzw. werden. Es ist die intelligente Verbindung aus strategischem Denken und operativ konsequentem Handeln. Strategiearbeit ist somit eine Aufgabe, die die volle Aufmerksamkeit der Unternehmensführung erfordert.

For a partnership to work, it has to be win-win and strategic. - list down as many OKRs and KPIs as possible. - identify the top 3 overlaps. - list down as many ways as possible for failing these 3 OKRs - think about what you’ve tried that worked (do more of that) - think about what you’ve tried that didn’t work (do less of that) - think about what you’ve yet to try that might work (try it) - think about 2 more extremes - what’s the lowest effort high impact thing you can do to achieve all the OKRs? - what’s the highest effort high impact thing you can do to achieve the OKRs? (Scale the unscalable. This is rarely competed over. Optimise along the way). Hope it helps

Innovation and co-creation with partners involve several key practices: 1. Alignment: Share goals and outcomes. 2. Communication: Maintain open and frequent communication. 3. Collaboration: Engage in workshops and brainstorming. 4. Diversity: Include diverse perspectives in teams. 5. Agility: Iterate quickly and adapt to changes. 6. Validation: Prototype and gather feedback. 7. Refinement: Continuously improve based on feedback. 8. Agreements: Establish clear roles and IP agreements. 9. Technology: Use collaborative tools for sharing. 10. Adaptability: Foster a culture of learning and adaptation. These points encapsulate effective strategies for innovating and co-creating with partners.