Every day we promote the culture of innovation through tools and processes, we’re going to tell you about a few of them.
Because we promote exchange and diversity, it is obvious that we will disagree
It is not easy for a company to create the internal conditions that favour innovation. First of all, it is necessary that its employees desire to find new paths and that the context favours leaving your comfort zone, not being mortified to make an error and promote a culture that constantly pushes to question the status quo.
But what are the issues that need to be addressed in order to create a corporate culture that really focuses on innovation?
One of the things that has the greatest impact on the company’s organisation is the impersonal or the implied “Them”. If a business process is too complicated it was created by “Them”. “They” do not innovate. In short, one is forced into a structural corner made up of monolithic entities by unshakable rules. That implied “Them” leads one to think that one cannot make a difference; instead, the motivation to make a difference is precisely what should lead to innovation.
Innovation means choosing the game in advance and never giving up on departure.
Not everyone is able to grasp the difference between problem solving and innovation. Problem solving has to do with the ability to react to a specific situation, such as a crisis, for example. In that case, the objective is to make up the lost ground and re-establish the status quo.
On the other hand, innovation is about focusing on new opportunities, improving performance and going well beyond the status quo: therefore, we are talking about a much more dynamic and proactive vision in solving problems. Not having the right answers at hand but the right questions.
Innovation often has tight deadlines in a company. Management focuses on results. People within teams therefore need strategies to easily develop innovative ideas.
First of all, one must learn not to focus on the product. Forget about the new product, the latest countryside, the remodelled shop. The user is at the centre of the development process: the objective is therefore not to create a better shop, but a better shopping experience; this way we focus on the user experience and the object of the innovation will come accordingly.
The product is the goal of a journey not its starting point; otherwise, it would be like starting from the end, without knowing why it has been necessary to make it happen.
Innovative teams share information: it is crucial. Once a month Uqido’s C-levels take time (3 or 4 hours) to share information and ideas. Not only progress on projects or clients but colleagues are asked for support.
This is a semi-structured method to maintain a spontaneous approach to constant and shared development.
Predicting exactly where innovation will emerge from is very difficult. But it makes sense enough to say that it can come from people with ideas who mean to put them into practice. For this reason in Uqido, every three months, we ask our resources to propose personal projects that they will develop in 20% of the time spent in the office. We are talking about side-projects, which enrich the company know-how, they allow the development of skills on new technologies to grow and enable a mind-set always open to innovation.
The side-project is therefore a project that is developed during working hours by one or more employees in addition to normal activities. Each side-project has a budget.
Observing, experimenting, working in a team with different skills, dedicating time and energy to research and experiment with ideas through a network of people with different visions, offers a company projected towards innovation, an advantageous perspective.
These are just a few aspects to pay attention to in daily activities but there is not a single formula suitable for everyone. Every company is called upon to develop its own tools and processes to create a fertile ground that favours innovation within its organization.
What paths are you taking for your business? Let us know! In the meantime, we will leave you a couple of links to learn more about two tools that are very useful for us: Uqido Deep Dive and Side Project.