HOW TO INNOVATE

What kind of products and services can you expect from the same company, with the same people, under the same culture? Exactly: The same products and services… just slightly different each year.

Until a disruptor enters the scene and takes them out of the market.

Take Wikipedia, for example. Its emergence completely disrupted Britannica’s traditional business, forcing the company to shift to digital formats and rethink its role.

So, you have two choices: You become the disruptor, or you get disrupted.

And it’s not just companies or entire industries—like Britannica, Detroit, or the Yellow Pages—that face disruption. The department you work in could become obsolete if you keep doing things the way they’ve always been done.

To spark disruption, you need to take a radical approach. One strategy I often recommend to my clients is bringing in someone from a completely different industry to tackle the problem and innovate. This isn’t a new idea—many companies have already done it successfully. Here are some examples:

1. NASA and the Gaming Industry

NASA collaborated with Army Game Studio and Virtual Heroes, two video game companies, to develop Moonbase Alpha in 2010. This simulation game lets players experience life on a lunar outpost, replicating the challenges astronauts might face on the Moon.

2. BMW and Fashion Designers

In 2017, BMW partnered with fashion designer Alexander Wang to reimagine the BMW 1 Series. His “Inside Out” concept flipped traditional car design by placing leather on the exterior and chrome on the interior—challenging automotive norms.

3. Philips and Hospitality Experts

Philips Healthcare worked with professionals from the hospitality industry to improve patient experiences in hospitals, borrowing ideas from design, comfort, and customer service. These workshops led to the Philips Ambient Experience program in 2006, which has since been implemented in over 2,000 healthcare facilities worldwide.

4. Toyota and the Theater Industry

Toyota has collaborated with playwrights and theater directors to enhance storytelling and customer experience. For the 2017 launch of the C-HR crossover, Toyota Europe created The Night That Flows: A seven-scene interactive play that guests literally drove through in the cars.

These cross-industry approaches generate ideas that a single sector might never have considered, because each field brings a different way of thinking to the table.

And the best part? You don’t need a massive budget to do this. The outsiders you bring in don’t need expertise in your field. In fact, that’s the whole point. Their fresh perspective, curiosity, and ability to ask unexpected questions can take discussions in entirely new directions.

Naivety might just be the key to your biggest breakthrough.

Carmen López. Business Psychologhy

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