Category Archives: culture

Top 10 Benefits of Doing Annual Employee Experience Audits

GUEST POST from Art Inteligencia

Employee experience is paramount to organizational success. Ensuring that employees feel valued, empowered, and engaged has a direct impact on productivity, innovation, and retention. One powerful tool in achieving this is conducting annual employee experience audits. Let’s delve into the top ten benefits of this practice, supported by real-world case studies.

1. Enhanced Employee Engagement

Regular audits help organizations identify what truly matters to employees, leading to enhanced engagement strategies.

2. Improved Retention Rates

Understanding and addressing employee concerns through audits can significantly improve retention rates.

3. Increased Productivity

By pinpointing and removing barriers, audits can enhance workplace efficiency and productivity.

4. Better Talent Attraction

Companies committed to improving employee experiences are more attractive to top talent.

5. Strengthened Company Culture

Regular audits foster a culture of openness and continuous improvement.

6. Boosted Innovation

When employees feel heard and valued, they are more likely to contribute innovative ideas.

7. Enhanced Employee Well-being

Insights from audits can help tailor well-being programs to employee needs.

8. Informed Decision-making

Data from audits provide a solid foundation for strategic decision-making.

9. Increased Organizational Agility

Regular feedback loops enable organizations to remain agile in the face of change.

10. Competitive Advantage

Companies that prioritize employee experience gain a significant competitive edge.

Case Study 1: Tech Innovators Inc.

Tech Innovators Inc., a major software company, implemented annual employee experience audits three years ago. Since then, they’ve seen a 40% reduction in turnover and a 25% increase in productivity. By regularly gathering feedback and acting on it, they’ve cultivated a dynamic and motivated workforce, allowing them to maintain a leading position in their sector.

Case Study 2: Health & Wellness Corporation

Health & Wellness Corporation, a global leader in healthcare services, integrated annual audits into their HR practices. By listening to employee feedback, they revamped their benefits package to better address employee needs, which resulted in a notable improvement in employee satisfaction scores and a significant decline in absenteeism. This proactive approach has turned their employee experience into a benchmark for the industry.

Engaging in annual employee experience audits not only nurtures a thriving organizational environment but also serves as a catalyst for business growth and success. To further deepen your understanding, check out How to Create a Culture of Innovation and 5 Essential Elements for Driving Successful Change.

Extra Extra: Futurology is not fortune telling. Futurists use a scientific approach to create their deliverables, but a methodology and tools like those in FutureHacking™ can empower anyone to engage in futurology themselves.

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High-Performing Innovative Culture Case Studies

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High-Performing Innovative Culture Case Studies

GUEST POST from Art Inteligencia

In today’s fast-paced business environment, cultivating a high-performing innovative culture is not just an advantage—it’s a necessity. Organizations that manage to embed innovation into their cultures can harness the creativity and problem-solving capabilities of their employees to deliver sustained competitive advantages. Here, we explore three compelling case studies of organizations that have successfully fostered such cultures. To deepen your understanding of fostering innovation in a work environment, check out my innovation strategies page.

Case Study 1: Google

Google has long been heralded as a paragon of innovative culture. With its famous ‘20% time’, where employees can dedicate a portion of their workweek to personal projects, Google encourages creativity and exploration. This policy has led to the creation of products like Gmail and Google News. Google’s culture emphasizes psychological safety, allowing team members to express ideas without fear of ridicule. To understand more about managing successful innovation programs, explore our deep dive into innovation programs.

Case Study 2: Spotify

Spotify’s organizational model is known for its flexibility and adaptability, encapsulated in what it calls “squads, tribes, chapters, and guilds.” Spotify encourages autonomous teams, or “squads”, to develop and iterate quickly while maintaining alignment with broader company goals through cross-functional “tribes”. This decentralized model enables rapid innovation while fostering a strong sense of team ownership and accountability.

Case Study 3: 3M

3M is often cited as a pioneer of innovative culture, with its commitment to innovation deeply embedded into its history. The company dedicates a significant percentage of its annual revenue directly to research and development. Known for its ‘15% culture’, 3M allows employees to allocate 15% of their working time to developing projects of their own choosing, which has been instrumental in creating breakthrough products like the Post-it Note. This approach highlights 3M’s focus on long-term innovation and sustained market leadership.

Conclusion

As demonstrated by these organizations, a high-performing innovative culture does not materialize overnight. It requires deliberate strategies, such as promoting psychological safety, decentralizing decision-making, and encouraging creative freedom. The success stories of Google, Spotify, and 3M offer valuable insights into the elements necessary to create such an environment. For more insights into innovation and culture, visit more of the articles here on the Human-Centered Change and Innovation blog.

Bottom line: Futurology is not fortune telling. Futurists use a scientific approach to create their deliverables, but a methodology and tools like those in FutureHacking™ can empower anyone to engage in futurology themselves.

Image credit: Pexels

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The Interplay Between Culture and Organizational Change

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The Interplay Between Culture and Organizational Change

GUEST POST from Chateau G Pato

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, successful organizational change is not merely a strategic imperative but an existential necessity. At the heart of this change lies an intricate and often underappreciated force – organizational culture. Culture, the unwritten ethos of any organization, influences how change is perceived, implemented, and sustained. As a human-centered change and innovation thought leader, I aim to explore this interplay between culture and change through insightful case studies that underline this dynamic relationship.

Case Study 1: Acme Corp – The Culture Catalyst

Acme Corp, a leading player in the tech industry, was facing a critical phase. Despite strong technical capabilities, they found themselves lagging in innovation and customer satisfaction. The root cause was traced back to the company’s culture, which was mired in risk aversion and departmental silos, stifling cross-functional collaboration and creativity.

Recognizing this, the leadership embarked on a cultural transformation journey aimed at fostering a more agile and collaborative environment. Here’s how they did it:

Leadership as Culture Champions: Leaders demonstrated the desired behaviors, championing open communication and empowering employees to take calculated risks.
Redefining Values and Behaviors: They revisited their core values, aligning them with the new strategic vision, and communicated these through storytelling and workshops.
Structural Adjustments: The company restructured teams to promote cross-functional collaboration and introduced dynamic project teams to address complex challenges.

Within two years, Acme Corp experienced a marked increase in innovation output and customer satisfaction scores. By making culture a focal point, they were able to unlock the full potential of their organizational change initiatives.

Case Study 2: HealthCo – Navigating Cultural Resistance

HealthCo, a large healthcare provider, embarked on a digital transformation journey aimed at enhancing patient care and operational efficiency. However, the initiative faced significant resistance rooted in a deeply ingrained hierarchical culture. Employees were accustomed to rigid procedures and hesitant to embrace new technologies.

HealthCo’s approach to overcoming this challenge involved:

Inclusive Change Design: Involving employees at all levels in designing the change process, which provided a sense of ownership and reduced resistance.
Targeted Training Programs: Comprehensive training sessions were held to equip staff with the necessary skills and confidence to use new digital tools effectively.
Recognition and Feedback Loops: Establishing mechanisms for recognizing adaptation efforts and fostering an ongoing feedback culture to continually refine the processes.

While the transformation at HealthCo took longer than anticipated, the focus on gradually reshaping their culture ensured a sustainable, long-term embrace of digital practices, ultimately leading to improved patient outcomes.

Conclusion

The interplay between culture and organizational change is both intricate and profound. As seen through the experiences of Acme Corp and HealthCo, understanding and harnessing cultural dynamics is crucial to effective change management. Leaders must recognize that culture is not merely an abstract concept but a tangible influence on strategy and execution. By proactively aligning culture with change objectives, organizations can drive innovation, enhance performance, and thrive in a fast-paced world.

Whether you are in the nascent stages of a transformation or managing ongoing change, always remember: culture is the lens through which change is viewed and valued. Cultivate it wisely, and it becomes your greatest ally in transformation efforts.

Image credit: Pixabay

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The Impact of Leadership on Innovation Culture

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The Impact of Leadership on Innovation Culture

GUEST POST from Art Inteligencia

In today’s fast-paced business environment, innovation is not merely a desirable feature but a critical factor for survival. Organizations often tout their dedication to innovation, but the difference between those that succeed and those that fail is frequently the presence of effective leadership. Leaders play a pivotal role in shaping an innovation culture, influencing it from the top-down dynamics of the organization.

Leadership: The Catalyst of Innovation

Leadership is the cornerstone of innovation culture. Effective leaders encourage a mindset of curiosity and experimentation, ensuring that innovation becomes embedded in the very fabric of the organization. They provide vision, create safe environments for taking calculated risks, and celebrate both successes and failures as essential learning experiences. By doing so, they not only inspire but also empower their teams to innovate consistently.

Case Study 1: 3M’s Leadership Philosophy

3M is often cited as a hallmark of innovation culture, and its leadership philosophy is central to this reputation. From the company’s early days, leadership at 3M promoted an ethos of research and development freedom. William L. McKnight, a former executive, was instrumental in cultivating this atmosphere. He famously championed a “15% rule,” allowing employees to dedicate a portion of their working hours to self-directed projects.

This practice led to the development of iconic products such as the Post-it Note. McKnight’s leadership created a fabric of innovation deeply woven into the culture of 3M. By empowering employees with autonomy and trust, leadership at 3M fostered a prolific environment where innovation could thrive organically.

Case Study 2: Google’s Innovation Ecosystem

Google’s approach to sustaining an innovation-driven culture is another exemplary model. Under the visionary leadership of founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, and currently Sundar Pichai, Google created an ecosystem where creativity and “moonshot thinking” are not just encouraged but are critical to its operations. This is embodied in their “20% time” policy, similar to 3M’s philosophy, which allows employees to spend a portion of their time on projects they are passionate about.

This leadership-driven policy led to the creation of groundbreaking products like Gmail and AdSense. Beyond policies, Google’s leadership invests in creating physical and cultural environments that spark creativity and cross-pollination of ideas, from its open office spaces to the innovative use of technology. Leadership at Google orchestrates an intricate balance between freedom and structured innovation paths, ensuring consistent alignment with the company’s strategic goals.

Cultivating a Culture of Continuous Innovation

The leaders who enact transformational change within organizations are those who tailor their strategies to foster a culture of continuous innovation. They encourage diverse ideas, cross-departmental cooperation, and maintain robust feedback mechanisms. Crucially, these leaders recognize and reward innovative behavior, setting a precedent that amplifies throughout the organization.

Innovation is not solitary; it is a collaborative endeavor that demands a supportive culture. Leaders are the architects of these environments, and without their active engagement, innovation can stagnate. By observing and learning from successful models such as 3M and Google, other organizations can glean insights into crafting environments where innovation is not only possible but inevitable.

In conclusion, the impact of leadership on innovation culture is profound and unequivocal. Leaders must embody and propagate the values of innovation across every facet of the organization, ensuring that it is consistently nurtured and valued. It is through purposeful leadership that organizations can cultivate a thriving innovation culture poised for long-term success.

Image credit: Pixabay

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Everyone hates to fail, why do you?

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Everyone hates to fail, why do you?

GUEST POST from Janet Sernack

If you have ever had a significant setback, made a serious mistake, or failed at completing an important task, you will have experienced some kind of deep emotional and visceral, largely unconscious, negative, reactive response to it.

By becoming passively or aggressively externally defensive and blaming and punishing others for the outcome, or by withdrawing internally, and attributing self-blame and self-punishment for what may have happened.

Everyone hates to fail because either type of reactive response stings and causes discomfort, dissonance, sorrow, suffering, and pain since you are feeling ashamed, judged, and shamed by yourself and by others. We need to re-think how we approach and digest failure, to scale and leverage it as one of our 21st-century superpowers.

Sabotaging your chances of success

According to a recent article in Psychology Today, this reactive response triggers your avoidance motivation, which then often exceeds your motivation to succeed!

Describing that the fear of failure causes us to then unconsciously sabotage our chances of success, as well as our ability to cultivate and manifest the superpowers necessary to thrive in the 21^st century.

Self-doubt settles us into a denying the need to experiment, and a reluctance, full of excuses, to experiment further with adopting, iterating, and testing new and novel ideas. Or in taking smart risks, that help you connect, explore and discover and design opportunities for making important and necessary, personal and professional changes.

Pivot and adapt to disruptive events

Yet, our ability to experiment, test, validate and iterate creative ideas is critical to surviving and thriving through the current decade of both disruption and transformation – which more of us are viewing as a series of relentless, continuous, and exponential changes, requiring unlearning and radically new learning processes.

In a 2021 Deloitte survey of 2,260 private – and public-sector CXOs in 21 countries, 60% of the respondents said that they believe disruptions like those seen in 2020 will continue. The resulting challenge is underscored by another of the survey’s findings:

Seventy percent of the CXOs do not have complete confidence in their organisation’s ability to pivot and adapt to disruptive events.

This confidence can be developed by re-thinking how we approach and digest failure, to scale and leverage it as a 21st-century superpower.

Developing 21st-century superpowers

Here are the four key superpowers, to be supported by digital technologies:

Nimbleness: The ability to quickly pivot and move. (“We used to do this, and now we do that.”)
Scalability: The ability to rapidly shift capacity and service levels. (“We used to serve x customers; we now serve 100x customers.”)
Stability: The ability to maintain operational excellence under pressure. (“We will persist despite the challenges.”)
Optionality: The ability to acquire new capabilities through external collaboration. (“Our ecosystem of partners allows us to do things we couldn’t do previously do.”)

Rethinking our fears of failure

None of these 21st-century superpowers can be developed without experimentation and collaboration.

Where you are able to self-regulate your fears of making mistakes and failure, by becoming a smart risk-taker who willingly, stretches the envelope and steps outside of your safety and comfort zones.

This helps maximise your potential and ability to learn and develop in the growth zone, where we stop self-sabotaging our chances of adapting and learning, succeeding, and growing in an uncertain and unstable world.

Everyone hates to fail because it’s hard to self-regulate the basic emotions of disappointment, anger and frustration, and deep shame. Resulting from and the distorted thinking patterns that accompany failure, often immobilising you which results in an unwillingness and inability to disrupt yourself and take intelligent actions.

Slow down to rethink, respond, regroup, play and thrive

It all starts with leading, teaching, mentoring, and coaching people to slow down, to learn, and appreciate the value of taking “time-out” for retreat and reflection.

At ImagineNation, in last week’s blog, we described how this involves developing regular reflective practices, where people can pay deep attention, and learn how to master these basic emotions and unresourceful thought patterns. How this allows them to be playful and experimental in developing new mindsets, rethinking habits, and resourceful emotional states, which are foundational for developing 21st-century superpowers.

Failure can become valued as a process and resource for effecting significant human-centric change, deepening learning, and improving your future fitness.

Consequences of avoiding failure

According to the same article in Psychology today – “shame is a psychologically toxic emotion because instead of feeling bad about our actions (guilt) or our efforts (regret) shame makes us feel who we are”.

By getting to the core of your egos, your identities, your self-esteem, and your feelings of emotional well-being and resourceful thinking habits.

Because everyone hates to fail, we all unconsciously seek ways of mitigating the implications of a potential failure – “for example, by buying unnecessary new clothes for a job interview instead of reading up on the company – which allows us to use the excuse, “I just didn’t have time to fully prepare.”

Benefits of embracing failure

Rather than succumbing to the notion that everyone hates to fail, it is much more useful to develop healthier ways of embracing and flowing with it which might:

Motivate you to reflect deeply to consider and deliberate as to what might be the most intelligent and brave actions to take under the range of circumstances you find yourself in.
Inspire you to risk-taking those intelligent actions through developing sound risk anticipation, management, and mitigation strategies that help boost your confidence.
Commit to doing just a bit more, in inventive ways that add value to the quality of people’s lives as well to your customer’s experience of your product or service.
Encourage you to access your multiple and collective intelligence, be more courageous, compassionate, and creative in co-sensing, co-discovering, co-designing, and co-creating innovative solutions to complex problems.
Enable you to learn from others, and harness people’s collective intelligence to adapt and grow, through teaming, in ways that serve the common good.

Tips for rethinking and self-regulating fears of failure

A few tips to support you to rethink, respond, regroup and thrive that we will explore more deeply, through real-life stories and examples, in our next two ImagineNation™ blog posts (November and December):

Be willing to redefine and reframe failure as what it means in your unique context, review past failures and see if you can find benefits that resulted from them.
Set approach goals and not avoidance goals to view failure as a challenge that can be mastered.
Control the controllable by intentionally managing your mindsets, shifting any negative perspective, and unpacking distortion and generalisations about failures and their negative consequences.
Imagine yourself doing well, achieving your goals by composing and painting a picture or image of a desirable and compelling future success.
Develop healthy self-compassion for when you do mess up, make mistakes and fail, by being kind and understanding, and empathic to your won humanness.
Focus on every experience, no matter what it brings is an opportunity for deep learning and creative and inventive change.

Rather than living in a world where everyone hates to fail, why not adopt the rethink, respond, regroup, thrive pattern, be future-fit and develop your set of 21st-century superpowers in the face of the acute disruption of COVID-19?

Where it is expected that the business environment, over the next three to five years, will be the most exciting and innovative period that many of us may learn from and experience in our lifetimes?

Want to know why you might have a fear of failure?

Participate in our online research study “Ten Signs you may have a fear of failure” which we adapted from the article “10 Signs That You Might Have Fear of Failure… and 2 ways to overcome it and succeed” by Guy Winch Ph.D. in Psychology Today. Click here to access the survey.

We will happily share the results and findings with you if you leave your name and email address on the form provided. By sharing these details, you will also qualify for a complimentary 30 minute one on one online innovation coaching session, with one of our global professionally certified coaches to help you overcome your own anxieties and fears about failure and develop your 21st-century superpowers.

Join our next free “Making Innovation a Habit” masterclass to re-engage 2022!

Our 90-minute masterclass and creative conversation will help you develop your post-Covid-19 re-engagement strategy. It’s on Thursday, 10th February at 6.30 pm Sydney and Melbourne, 8.30 pm Auckland, 3.30 pm Singapore, 11.30 am Abu Dhabi and 8.30 am Berlin. Find out more.

Image credit: Unsplash

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Sickcare Culture of Conformity versus a Culture of Creativity

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Sickcare Culture of Conformity versus a Culture of Creativity

GUEST POST from Arlen Meyers

Sickcare is a culture of conformity and competition. Premeds know it. Medical students and residents learn it. But, once they graduate, they are told they will be paid for value. Unfortunately, few will teach them how to do it and reconcile the culture of conformity and competition with an innovative culture of creativity, collaboration and interprofessional communication.

We should be thankful that we are starting to see some cracks in the armor.

Here are some ways to balance the two mindsets:

Start with higher education reform To prepare students for a post-Covid future, colleges and universities need to double down on preparing them for digital jobs. But even teaching platform skills aren’t enough. Few employers are interested in hiring candidates who’ve just completed a training program, they’re looking for relevant work experience. The good news is that there are two promising models for colleges to go beyond the traditional career services function to provide students with relevant digital training and work experience.
Overcome the fallacies about creativity. To avoid premature closure, teams should arrive at an “almost final” decision and then intentionally delay action in favor of additional incubation time. During this time, everyone should commit to thinking about the problem and sharing their ideas. If the team can’t find a better approach during the incubation period, they should proceed with their original solution. Leaders can improve group creativity by paying close attention to how ideas are discussed in diverse group settings. They should encourage team members to build on each other’s ideas instead of pushing individual ideas. This doesn’t mean that ideas should be accepted blindly when they contain flaws; instead, they should approach ideas with an open mind to acknowledge useful aspects and improve weaknesses using plussing or the similar “yes, but, and” approach. To promote more creative ideas, leaders should utilize simple tools to capture individual ideas before they are opened to the whole group. Group discussions should be conducted asynchronously, where team members look at each other’s ideas and use them to refine and create new ideas. If done remotely, leaders should find other ways to bring the team together to bond and build trust with each other
Teach creativity and entrepreneurship in medical school and residencies. Here is something so you don’t have to do reinvent the wheel.
Rethink how we recruit and accept medical students Medical education is not alone, as noted in a recent HBR article describing how Goldman Sachs changed how they recruited new hires. Perhaps it is time for medical schools to adopt three new ways of recruiting and accepting medical students.
Give medical students the opportunity to get experience working in a more creative culture as part of an internship or rotation.

6.Train the trainers. Provide faculty with the knowledge, skills, abilties and competencies they need to integrate creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship as part of their basic science and clinical rotations. But, what should an introduction to entrepreneurship teaching and learning include for basic science and clinical faculty who do not have innovation and entrepreneurship domain expertise include?

The learning objective of the module should be to know how to integrate healthcare innovation and entrepreneurship topics into basic science courses and clinical rotations by challenging students with case based, problem based and project based learning in real world settings and applications to help them perfect sickcare entrepreneurial knowledge, skills, attitudes and competencies.

7. Let medical students and residents take a gap year to learn how to create and sell something. Over half of medical schools already have an arrangement whereby students can take a one year leave of absence. But they call it something other than a gap year. They call it getting an MBA. Or, offer them a fellowship in entrepreneurship and innovation.

8. Close the doctor-data scientist digital divide to create a more cooperative culture of data analytics creativity.

9. Hire leaderpreneurs to become department chairs and deans. Rethink the triple threat.

10. Give medical students and residents an exit ramp. The next phase of medical school education reform is in progress. One question medical educators and Deans will have to address is, “What business are we in?” Are you in the business of graduating doctors who will only take care of patients directly, or, are you in the business of creating opportunities for graduates to pursue biomedical careers of their choice, including non-clinical careers that do not involve seeing patients face to face for a significant part of their working life? Patients are not the only stakeholders that have a dog in the sickcare hunt.

11. Teach philanthropreneurship Philanthropreneurship has four elements. First, the driving force must be a passion to make life better for others, especially those who are underprivileged. Second, there has to be an element of giving, whether this is in terms of money or time. Third, there needs to be creativity, the envisioning of novel approaches to solving problems. And finally, philanthropreneurship requires leadership and strategic thinking– directing, organizing, and influencing the efforts of others.

12. Destroy your innovation silos Sick care badly needs innovation if it is to become healthcare . Yet, it’s questionable whether it can be fixed from inside. Despite the popularity of open innovation and community based, participatory innovation networks, healthcare organizations and doctors seem to shun outside ideas and collaboration and are perceived as arrogant know-it-alls, stuck in the ivory tower or healthcare city , when it comes to knowing what’s best for patients. They have a silo mindset that blocks collaboration with other stakeholders in the innovation supply chain. The challenge for most organizations is to create and engage stakeholders.

Innovation starts with mindset. The clinical mindset is different from the entrepreneurial mindset and the ethics of medicine are different from the ethics of business. We need to give experience, educate and train doctors who can reconcile the two. Thankfully, it is starting to happen and it will make better doctors.

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All Leadership is Change Leadership

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All Leadership is Change Leadership

GUEST POST from Randy Pennington

Taxi companies could have created a ride scheduling and payment app. They didn’t.

There are a number of reasons why it didn’t happen, but the biggest reason was reluctance to challenge the status quo.

The same goes for a host of other companies. Blockbuster’s failure to proactively innovate—or even take the opportunity to purchase Netflix—is one of the most notable. We can’t forget, however, Nokia, IBM, Kodak, BlackBerry, MySpace, and RadioShack.

We don’t know the exact conversations about change in any of these companies, but it is a very safe bet to assume that no one stood up and said, “Let’s do nothing because we want the company to fail.”

We all want our organizations to continually be better. If they are going to be better, we must do at least some things different. If things are going to be different, they have to change.

That makes all leadership, especially in today’s world, change leadership.

Change Leadership not Change Management

Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper famously said: “You manage things. You lead people.”

Unfortunately, the remainder of her statement is often omitted: “We went overboard on management and forgot about leadership.”

That happened with our approach to change, too.

We have gone overboard managing the immense amount of data, projects, and things to be coordinated and corralled in our attempts to “manage” change. It stems from our desire to remove the messiness and bring order to the process of change.

It is a worthwhile objective, but as historian Henry Adams reminded us, “Chaos was the law of nature. Order was the dream of man.”

Change—especially the transformational growth we need today—is always messy. Most important, it is more likely to fail because of faulty leadership rather than faulty management.

Leadership is about influence. Nothing more and nothing less. For our organizations and institutions to flourish in the future, we need more leaders who can influence others to disrupt the status quo.

Disrupting the Status Quo

We come by our desire for order honestly. The human brain appears is hard-wired to value certainty and view uncertainty as a potential threat.

The human application of Newton’s First Law also has an impact. We learned in high school physics that objects at rest tend to stay at rest, and objects in motion tend to remain in motion until they are acted upon by a greater force in the opposing direction.

That explains the why inertia of the status quo exists. It doesn’t actually help you overcome it. Here are four actions you can take right now.

1. Create Emotional Readiness to Counteract Fear

People, organizations, and industries change for one of two basic reasons: crisis pushes them to change, or opportunity pulls them to do so. You occasionally see a combination of both, but there is usually one primary diver. Most of us wait on crisis. If you find yourself there, don’t sugar coat or waste it. Just realize that you are likely to be playing from behind in the marketplace. It’s not that all of those failed and disrupted companies didn’t try anything. It is that they waited for crisis to generate emotional readiness. The best organizations seize opportunities. Netflix jumped from distributing DVDs to delivering its services through a streaming platform even though the company was not in crisis. It wasn’t an easy change, but Reed Hastings created a compelling vision of the future that focused on proactively creating value for the customer rather than playing catch up to survive.

While many people are hesitant to change, everyone wants to get better. The only way to maintain momentum and ensure long-term success in today’s marketplace is a relentless focus on making yourself indispensable to your customers.

2. Provide Involvement and Support

Sending a positive message about seizing the future does not ensure that people will embrace or pursue it. You cannot rely solely on a change communication plan if the goal is to inspire people to take new action. Get everyone involved early and often. People support what they help create, and no one ever argues with their own ideas. Likewise, your team will need training and support. Becoming proficient and comfortable with new ways of thinking and working take time even when there is complete support. Knowing that coaching, training, and support are available helps overcome the fear of incompetence.

3. Tell Positive Stories Early and Often

Facts impart knowledge. Stories create connections and feeling, and feelings inspire people to stick with a change even when doing so is uncomfortable. The elements of a great storyare the same if you are making a successful movie or leading organizational transformation. You need a character with which everyone can identify, a believable plot with a conflict to overcome, struggle, and resolution. Sharing positive stories about real people achieving results helps overcome resistance. More important, it provides a respected counterbalance to naysayers that might try to sabotage your change efforts.

4. Go First

Ross Perot, founder of EDS and Perot Systems, once told me that Leaders eat last, but they go first.His meaning was more than a pithy play on words. Your team is watching. It is more difficult for them to get excited about where the organization is going if they sense reticence from you. Your influence is highest when you model the willingness to pursue change that you want from others.

Change is hard. Resistance, risk, and fear are real. The important decisions and strategies on which you need to execute can be scary. If, on the other hand, there is no resistance, there is no substantial change.

Change no longer influences the environment. It is the environment. Your job is to inspire and influence a culture that continuously challenges the status quo to remain relevant to your customers and stakeholders. That means all leadership is change leadership.

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Creating a Culture of Everyday Innovation

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Creating a Culture of Everyday Innovation

GUEST POST from Chateau G Pato

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, organizations must prioritize innovation in order to stay competitive and thrive. However, many companies struggle to foster a culture of innovation that transcends the occasional brainstorming session or special project. True innovation must become a part of the fabric of daily operations, ingrained in the mindset of every employee from top to bottom.

So, how can organizations instill a culture of everyday innovation? By encouraging and empowering their employees to contribute ideas and improve processes continuously. Here are two case studies that exemplify this approach:

Case Study 1: Google

Google is renowned for its culture of innovation, which is evident in its diverse range of products and services. One key to Google’s success is its “20% time” policy, where employees are encouraged to spend 20% of their work hours pursuing their own passion projects. This policy has led to the creation of products like Gmail and Google Maps, which have revolutionized the way we communicate and navigate the world.

Google also holds regular hackathons, where employees come together to brainstorm and develop new ideas in a collaborative environment. These events not only foster creativity and innovation but also help break down silos between teams and departments, encouraging cross-pollination of ideas.

By empowering employees to take risks, experiment, and think outside the box, Google has created a culture of everyday innovation that drives the company’s success.

Case Study 2: 3M

3M is another organization that excels at fostering innovation in its day-to-day operations. One of 3M’s most famous innovations is the Post-it Note, which was the result of a serendipitous discovery by a scientist trying to develop a strong adhesive. This accidental invention led 3M to adopt a philosophy of “innovating by mistake,” encouraging employees to explore new ideas and opportunities without fear of failure.

3M also has a program called “Genesis Grants,” which provides funding for employees to pursue innovative projects that align with the company’s strategic goals. This initiative not only incentivizes employees to think creatively but also shows that the company values and supports their ideas.

By creating a supportive environment where employees are encouraged to experiment, take risks, and think outside the box, 3M has built a culture of everyday innovation that drives continuous improvement and propels the company forward.

Conclusion

Creating a culture of everyday innovation requires more than just lip service from leadership. Organizations must empower their employees to contribute ideas, experiment, and take risks in order to drive meaningful change and stay ahead of the competition. By following the examples set by companies like Google and 3M, organizations can cultivate a culture of innovation that fuels growth, creativity, and success.

SPECIAL BONUS: The very best change planners use a visual, collaborative approach to create their deliverables. A methodology and tools like those in Change Planning Toolkit™ can empower anyone to become great change planners themselves.

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Creating a Culture of Innovation

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Strategies for fostering a culture that encourages innovation and empowers employees to embrace industry shifts

Creating a Culture of Innovation

GUEST POST from Chateau G Pato

In today’s fast-paced business environment, the ability to innovate and adapt to change has become more essential than ever. Companies that cultivate a culture of innovation are better equipped to respond to market shifts, stay ahead of competitors, and drive growth. However, creating and sustaining such a culture is no easy feat. It requires a strategic approach, strong leadership, and a commitment to empowering employees to think outside the box and pursue new ideas.

Case Study 1: Google

One company that exemplifies a culture of innovation is Google. From its inception, Google has been known for its commitment to experimentation and its willingness to take risks. The company’s famous “20% time” policy allows employees to spend up to one-fifth of their workday on projects of their choosing, fostering creativity and giving employees the freedom to pursue innovative ideas. This policy has led to the development of some of Google’s most successful products, including Gmail and Google News. By empowering employees to explore their passions and experiment with new concepts, Google has created a culture that values innovation and encourages employees to constantly push the boundaries of what is possible.

Case Study 2: Pixar

Another example of a company that has successfully fostered a culture of innovation is Pixar. The animation studio is renowned for its commitment to creativity and its focus on collaboration. One of Pixar’s key strategies for promoting innovation is its “Braintrust” meetings, where the company’s top creative minds come together to provide feedback and critique on each other’s projects. This collaborative approach ensures that ideas are constantly refined and improved, leading to the creation of some of the most successful animated films in history. By creating a culture that values open communication, feedback, and collaboration, Pixar has built a workplace where employees feel empowered to take risks, think creatively, and push the boundaries of storytelling.

So, how can companies create a culture of innovation like Google and Pixar? Here are a few strategies to consider:

1. Encourage experimentation: Give employees the freedom to explore new ideas and try out innovative concepts. Create spaces for brainstorming and collaboration, and provide resources for employees to pursue their passion projects.

2. Foster a culture of feedback: Encourage open communication and constructive criticism among team members. Create opportunities for employees to share their ideas, receive input from others, and refine their work.

3. Lead by example: Demonstrate a commitment to innovation and experimentation at all levels of the organization. Encourage leaders to take risks, embrace failure as a learning opportunity, and support employees in their creative pursuits.

By implementing these strategies and cultivating a culture that values innovation, companies can empower employees to embrace industry shifts, drive growth, and stay ahead of the competition. In today’s rapidly changing business landscape, a culture of innovation is not just a nice-to-have – it’s a necessity for long-term success.

Image credit: Pixabay

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The Importance of Diversity and Inclusion in Building an Innovative Culture

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The Importance of Diversity and Inclusion in Building an Innovative Culture

GUEST POST from Chateau G Pato

In today’s rapidly changing and fiercely competitive business landscape, companies are constantly seeking ways to stay ahead of the curve and drive innovation. One of the key ingredients to building a truly innovative culture is diversity and inclusion. By embracing a wide range of perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds, organizations can unlock creativity, drive progress, and ultimately, achieve greater success in their endeavors.

Case Study 1: Google

A prime example of a company that has prioritized diversity and inclusion in fostering an innovative culture is Google. The tech giant has made significant strides in promoting diversity within its workforce, with initiatives such as unconscious bias training, diversity recruiting efforts, and employee resource groups for underrepresented groups. By actively seeking out diverse talent and creating a culture of inclusivity, Google has been able to tap into a wealth of diverse perspectives and ideas, leading to groundbreaking innovations such as Google Maps, Gmail, and other products that have revolutionized the tech industry.

Case Study 2: Airbnb

Another company that has demonstrated the power of diversity and inclusion in driving innovation is Airbnb. The hospitality platform has made diversity and inclusion a core part of its company culture, with initiatives such as unconscious bias training, diversity and inclusion workshops, and partnerships with organizations that support underrepresented communities. By actively promoting diversity in its workforce and fostering a culture of inclusion, Airbnb has been able to attract a diverse range of talent, leading to innovative ideas such as the Experiences feature, which allows users to book unique activities and experiences hosted by locals around the world.

In both of these case studies, we see the tangible benefits of diversity and inclusion in building an innovative culture. By bringing together individuals from a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, companies are able to foster a culture of creativity, collaboration, and innovation. Diverse teams are more likely to challenge the status quo, think outside the box, and come up with innovative solutions to complex problems. Inclusive cultures also create a sense of belonging and psychological safety, encouraging employees to share their ideas, take risks, and push the boundaries of what is possible.

Conclusion

The importance of diversity and inclusion in building an innovative culture cannot be overstated. Companies that prioritize diversity and inclusion are not only able to attract top talent, but also drive creativity, foster collaboration, and ultimately, achieve greater success in their industries. By embracing diversity and creating a culture of inclusion, organizations can unlock the full potential of their employees, drive innovation, and stay ahead of the competition in today’s rapidly evolving business landscape.

Image credit: misterinnovation.com

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