How To Innovate (Hint: It’s Not The Way Big Corporations Do It)

It is difficult, if not impossible to innovate within large companies. The people who have risen up the ranks in most companies tend to have a finance or production background—not necessarily an innovation one. They tend to be focused on shareholder value as a success metric, rather than promoting change. These are things you know.

The question is: what do you do when you’re IN one of these companies—or growing your company to become one? As every company begins to grow, hint? included, you are faced with the question of how to stay nimble. There are a few powerful approaches that have helped us…and are particularly relevant now.

Great ways to innovate:

Open Innovation, The New Way

The idea of open innovation is that companies can’t just rely on their own R&D and in-house innovation. They should look outside by buying patents from other companies, partnering with and buying other companies, and seeking outside ideas. It’s an innovation idea that’s been around since the 1960s – and it’s stuck around because it works.

One of the ways we’re doing this is by learning best practices from other entrepreneurs. I just started the Kara Network – which includes a series of video interviews with entrepreneurs to showcase (and more importantly for me, learn from) what they’re doing.

Open innovation also extends to customers. You can do a lot of “research” by simply asking people what they want to see. Use social networks like Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Ask people what they want to see. Follow influencers in your category. Seek ideas from people by talking to them… Open innovation is a systematized way of doing it. But, really, it’s all about just listening.

Explore The World – I spend time a considerable amount of time traveling – and I describe myself as a travel junkie. I was just in Iceland last week fishing and eating blueberries. Before that, I tacked a couple days onto a business trip to explore the area—just so I could see what goes on. I am a CEO with real responsibilities. Why do I do this and take the time? Because I can. And because it makes me a more powerful as a CEO, a creative-engine for my company, and as a being. You can live in a bubble…a cubicle…a single office…a single city, and it will be incredibly comfortable for awhile. But your company will not thrive without new ideas and experimentation. And being a model for that is what being a founder is. Company culture is set by company leaders.

Remember The “Lipstick” Trend – Economists have noticed since WW2 that in times of economic downturn, sales of small luxuries like lipstick rise dramatically. This Wall Street Journal article by a Harvard Lecturer talks about how “as customers pare back, they also need ways to entertain themselves and indulge in small luxuries and distractions.” When you’re thinking about innovation, go for things that signal luxury without expense—like delicious scents (which are a hallmark of all Hint products), rich colors, and low price points. You don't’ have to be in the packaged goods world to play with rich colors—look at Lyft’s signature pink—or a high end perception for not-much-money. Focus your money on creating beauty and sensory experiences in ways that don’t add a lot of cost. It is a great way to innovate right now.

Adapt And Adopt Lean Methodologies

I am keynoting the Lean Startup Conference in San Francisco at the end of October with a number of young startup luminaries. Yes, it’s kind of a plug. And the event worth noting and attending. Lean Startup, or the term, has been around since 2008 – and the ideas behind it, have been around since the startup boom began. They’re ideas that stuck around, because they work. At it heart, Lean thinking is all about empathy, experimentation. (Here is a great Forbes article that lays out the basics of lean thinking--and there’s another more flowchart heavy one about how this type of thinking can be adapted and adopted for big companies.) Lean is the way innovate…and startups are the place to learn it well.

Kara Goldin is Founder and CEO of Hint Water, the fastest growing flavored water in the United States. Kara started Hint when she couldn't find a healthy flavored water that tasted great without questionable additives like sweeteners and preservatives. Hint Water has 0 calories, 0 sugar, and 0 diet sweeteners and can be purchased in stores as well as online at www.drinkhint.com in a variety of flavors including Blackberry and Watermelon, in still and sparkling as well as caffeinated.

Also check out Kara's newest endeavor The Kara Network -- for entrepreneurs by an entrepreneur www.thekaranetwork.com