innovation

My recent work with top talent was very interesting. They are mid level managers from several organizations. Some were grouped together and another dispersed in their own role while going through the program with me.

These are top talent. They earned their spot through the their experiences on the job while scaffolding their growth. They are very talented and some are opinionated. All of them went through several screening processes before being short-listed into this program.

The insights I got here worth sharing. Here there are:

Here are some lessons for anybody wanting to do digital transformation based on positive experiences:

Differentiate between digital and innovation

Digital teams do sprints, have product owners & scrum masters, use Cloud Computing, AI, continuous deployment, etc. Innovation teams do the same. However very few companies have both and make sure they compete and collaborate at the same time.

Innovation is a tricky business. It is tricky because you are NOT going to get it right the first time. Yes, it upsets a lot of people in the quality and production departments. It boils the blood of the financial controllers and accountants. Innovation also going to frustrate your marketing department because of the changing consumers mind. Typical change management framework and processes might have to change, as well.

Being excellent at turning ideas for change into the outcomes we want - and at market-speed - is core to every enterprise’s choices, changes and results. 

Change Portfolios must be goals-driven, dynamic, extroverted and efficient. Traditional portfolios - initiatives-driven, static, and often introspective - are becoming constraints on enterprise performance.  It’s time to innovate, transform, and build on the platform they created.

For many bosses, the employee’s transition to negativity comes for no apparent reason. However, a common complaint I hear from dissatisfied employees is that they do not get creative freedom. They suggest creative solutions that would yield better results, but get told “No.” They feel caught in the “but we’ve always done it this way” trap. Creativity is essential for your employees’ work to have meaning. With meaning, they are more engaged, which means less absenteeism, better teamwork, better service, and increased productivity. To foster creativity, try the following:

Corporate Innovation Program is the buzz word these days, and for very good reason. The awareness and action of many companies responding to change is getting better because “innovation” a must-have agenda for top management and high-level discussion including nations alike. The focus of innovation has “awakened” in the last few years, so much so that the word leadership has become low-key. I, for one, advocate leaders, with a big title, if they couldn’t innovate their days are numbered or they should be shown the door. Run!

I tend to say I’m a Designer by trade, but a Change Manager by heart. But I also add that it’s all the same, and here’s why.

Of course, it does matter what you design. Whether you’re in Product design, UX-design, Business Design or Organization Design, requires different skills and experiences. However, I do believe that they all require a similar mindset.