As an EA, I've found that creating a "sandbox" environment can work wonders. It's like having a playground where ideas can be tested without risking the whole operation. We might set up regular "innovation jams" where teams pitch ideas & discuss potential impacts. It's crucial to have a framework for evaluating these ideas - think of it as a filter that catches both golden nuggets & potential landmines.

Establish Clear Goals: Define what innovation means for your team and how it aligns with overall business objectives. This will help prioritize efforts without compromising stability. Iterative Development: Adopt an iterative approach, such as Agile or Scrum. This allows for small, incremental innovations while maintaining a stable foundation. Separate Innovation Teams: Consider creating dedicated teams or "innovation pods" that focus solely on exploring new ideas, while the core team maintains existing systems. This allows for focused innovation without disrupting stability.

Balancing innovation and stability is crucial to stand out, but challenging without standardized people and processes to evaluate and measure the impact of changes. Here are some suggestions: 1. Separate your innovation and BAU teams to avoid conflicts. Assign a dedicated R&D team while involving key BAU stakeholders for suggestions and feedback before implementation. 2. Establish a standardized framework for evaluating, approving, implementing, and monitoring changes after execution. 3. Avoid frequent and drastic changes due to new ideas. Instead, implement them gradually, ensuring a steady transition while minimizing disruption.

There are some additional strategies can follow as well: ??Incremental Innovation: Instead of implementing large-scale changes, encourage small, manageable innovations that can be tested alongside existing processes. This allows you to evaluate the impact without major disruption. ??Cross-functional Teams: Encourage collaboration between different departments to balance creative thinking with operational insight. Teams with diverse skills can generate innovative ideas while ensuring they align with organizational stability. ??Leadership: Ensure leadership is aligned with both innovation and stability goals. When leaders support calculated risks and maintain core stability, it creates a safe space for teams to innovate without fear.