Enabling Success - Culture of Innovation(Curiosity to Transformation)

Innovation is introduction of new things, ideas or ways of doing something. As a manager and leader, I found, it is amazing catalyst if this is part of Organizational Culture. Innovation pushes us towards our horizon of curiosity, continuous learning, shaping attitude, collaboration and allows us to explore unknows while keeping our north star as end goal - alignment to business growth trajectory. "Crystal Ball" is prestigious event of Innovation at Blue Yonder. These are our proud moments. "Crystal Ball 2023" event is starting this week in India.

Here are the pivotal steps, sparks of learning in my last few years of witnessing and participating in these exciting events.

Find a good problem around

I am sure many individuals and teams want to participate in Innovation events and Hackathons in their Organizations and Industries, but they do not move forward as they do not find what they will innovate. We jump into solutions directly without understanding what we are trying to solve and why. Take a pause and see around you. You will find problems around improvement areas in product, process and people at all the time. If not, then reimagine what we do and how we do - think on disruptive transformation. When you place the problem statement with scale of your team, department, organization and Industry verticals then benefit of solving becomes huge. You may find, you may not be the only person who is thinking to solve this problem. That's ok as what matters is you solving the problem vs you think about other players and give up.

Map Innovation to Organization's Key focus areas

When you choose a problem, but it is not organization's priority to solve, your innovation can not move far. It is best to understand and align with your Org key priorities. Tag your idea to the big picture of Org vision and goal. This step ensures relevance and purpose. Your leaders can help and guide you to confirm if you are going towards right direction. Talk to your department leaders at the beginning of conception of your idea. When innovation is in organization culture, you will get lots of support and encouragement from your department leaders as it is proud moment as a team if Idea can see the light of implementation.

Align/disrupt with the industry

When you position your innovation at Industry level, cross check latest trend and technology available at that that moment. You will agree, industry trends influence Org direction, product & service roadmap in general. Technology buzz with real potential, takes your idea to next level. Be flexible to unlearn and relearn new disrupting technologies which can be great enabler for your idea implementation. Innovation is not always creating new, it is also doing things differently- impacting cost, scale, resilience.

Connect with Potential Sponsors

This may be a tough task if you are frontline team member to identify potential sponsors of your idea. Managers and Leaders should be able to help identify your potential sponsor of your innovation. Sponsor is a person who supports your innovation to implement - sometimes by allocating budget, sometimes by allocating additional hands to develop, sometimes by standing beside you by guiding, coaching and becoming your shield to promote the benefits at top leader's forums. When you identify the sponsor, it is inevitable that you showcase what ROI is coming out in terms of cost, speed, experience.

Find your Stakeholders early and align

Stakeholders are internal and external persons or entities who are involved, impacted and influenced by your innovation. In organization boundary, one cannot innovate alone as every innovation touches various parts of people, process and product. Start alignment with stakeholders and keep them informed early. Innovation Idea will mature as much when it is discussed and aligned with stakeholders as you will incorporate feedback from them or clarify your vision multiple times until everyone is aligned with core of the Idea. Key stakeholders are priceless for your success.

Involve right Talent beyond your own team:

Collaborating with a diverse set of skills and talents across various teams is essential for a well-rounded innovation endeavor. Leveraging the strengths of individuals with diverse expertise ensures a holistic approach to problem-solving and ideation. Comprehensive research forms the bedrock of any successful innovation. To implement innovation we need a mix of skilled teammates who have done similar implementation but also high potential individuals who can learn new avenues fearlessly and can contribute to overall completion. There is no fun of innovation if there is no new learning for Team. Team is motivated when they find new. Good attitude and collaboration are mandate to progress for completion. Ideator's job is to lead the feature roadmap and encourage his team to experience small and big success.

Build Vs. Buy Vs. Hybrid as per timeline (Explore Ecosystem):

When we start exploring the solution of a problem, there can be multiple ways to solve it. We divide big solution into multiple pieces of milestones. Components will involve development, integration, UX, process modernization etc. Every layer can be evaluated on build vs buy framework considering the limited time, budget and other constraints. Assessing whether to build a solution from scratch, purchase an existing solution, or combine both approaches is a critical decision. Exploring the ecosystem and evaluating options enables informed decision-making. Innovation does not always mean to rework, innovation can be the overall outcome of inhouse development, leveraging cloud, open source and other product integration from 3rd party. Keep in mind, until we think scalability and we make it to production, all hard work and dedication are at stake to vanish noon.

Wearing Different Hats throughout:

Any organization is run by multiple operating functions(departments). In a big event of innovation, the mind bogling part is that Idea Team will get a chance to play roles of multiple department throughout the idea journey. I act as product manager when Idea is conceptualized, researched and features are thought through, I act as techno-functional architect when business solution is converted to technology blocks, one team mate is developer, one team mate is use experience specialist, One is tester, One is overall product marketing and sales, I mean you need to sell(convince) your idea to sponsor and stakeholders. It is wonderful to learn details around these roles and apply best practices in the duration of Idea journey. If we build a strong product but cannot express properly, idea will not see the stage. It is always a learning curve every year for all of the Ideators and contributors. This approach helps in gaining diverse perspectives and a comprehensive understanding of the innovation process.

Demo vs. Concept: Market & Position

Transitioning from a conceptual stage to a demonstrable prototype marks a pivotal point in the innovation process. Converting abstract ideas into tangible demos aids in understanding practical viability. Effective communication and positioning are paramount. Clear, concise communication about the innovation helps in clarifying doubts and garnering support. It is must to talk many times around the idea in review and stakeholder forums. Iterations of review and feedback from multiple department heads, helps us to correct our path.

Innovate to Win (Perfection vs. Progress): Continuation in the Future

Balancing the pursuit of perfection with the necessity for continuous progress is integral to successful innovation. Embracing an iterative approach ensures innovation remains dynamic and relevant. Innovation is an ongoing journey. Continually reevaluating and rethinking the approach ensures sustained success and growth. Persistence is key, as giving up isn't an option in the quest for innovation. Do we thrive for launching all features before the event or creating an MVP with clear roadmap of other parts of complete innovation? This is a hard decision which every ideators has to make to reach to final event.

Transforming Your Personal Brand and Confidence as an Innovator & Leader:

Personal growth and transformation as an innovator and leader accompany the innovation journey. It involves honing skills, fostering a creative mindset, and exuding confidence to drive forward the innovation agenda. This encapsulates a holistic approach to innovation, incorporating the critical aspects necessary for fostering a culture of perpetual growth and forward-thinking within an organization. Innovation events make leaders as this is a great opportunity to work with cross functional teams, departments and beyond. At the completion of the Ideation journey, Idea team comes with confident that they can sail next unknown without fear as they know tricks and tools to explore unknown territories.

In summary, Innovation stimulates our design thinking, teamwork, empathy. This journey epitomizes the fusion of curiosity, learning, collaboration, and the pursuit of transformation within an organization. I encourage everyone to be part of Innovation either as an innovator or a contributor or a supporter of the team. From

"Innovation is the creation of the new or the re-arranging of the old in a new way." - Ralph Waldo Emerson