Keep calm and soldier on; innovation is within your grasp

Many financially distressed companies face the following situation: they know a significant need for innovation exists within their business. However, they are so caught up in the survival game (living day by day/week by week/month by month) that the innovation horizon is an ideal rather than a reality.

How long can this strategy persist? The survival game can reap short-term benefits if no technological/game-changing advances within their industry/profession exist. However, can we honestly stand back and say that the current pace of technological change/disruption facilitates this?

How do companies approach innovation appropriately? 

Start by committing the time

The entrepreneur.com article points out that dedicating pockets of time to innovation isn’t a unique concept. Tech companies have experimented with a variety of ways to encourage creativity and innovation at work — like Google’s infamous 20% time, which gives employees one day per week to work on projects of their choosing.

Structured innovation time has proven remarkably effective for us, too, in surfacing and developing ideas and evolutions in a way that daily work time simply can’t. And it’s no wonder: The average employee spends one-third of their time in meetings, let alone working through sprint cycles to hit deadlines — and while this can be effective, it can also limit the creative thinking necessary for innovation.

But contrary to what many companies do, we found that 20% time wasn’t effective for us. Frankly, I don’t believe innovation is achievable when you’re doing it off the side of your desk. And when we tried it, the time spent on innovative projects was often overrun with regular work. So we decided to dedicate an entire week every quarter, and sometimes more often when opportunities warrant it.

The article adds that not every single staff member can participate for the full week. And that’s okay — our customers come first and we must ensure they still have access to the support they need. But outside of that caveat, we do our best to empower everyone to put aside as much as they can so we can just focus on innovating. This prioritization allows team members to really tap into a creative flow that produces marketable results.

Make it inclusive

The entrepreneur.com article points out that most tech leaders have attended or sponsored a hackathon, and this model works well for a lot of organizations. These ubiquitous events are popular because they’re a low-risk way to tap into the spirit of innovation and creativity within a short timeframe.

But hackathons tend to attract a certain type of participant, and we wanted to find a way to get our entire company involved with innovation events — not only our R&D team or developers. Diverse teams tend to be smarter and more creative, which can lead to stronger results. That’s why we want people from every department to have a seat at the innovation table including marketing, customer success and our people team.

The article adds that anyone with an idea can pitch it, and the pitches with the most votes move forward with self-appointed teams. This helps with breaking down silos and empowering individuals who might not normally get to collaborate to break out of their usual teams and approach ideas and projects with a fresh perspective. In fact, the only criterion we impose is that every team must present their work at the end of the week.

Trust your team with autonomy

The entrepreneur.com article points out that studies have shown that innovative companies perform better, with higher profits and stock returns. But I’ll admit that when we first launched Blue Sky Week, I was worried the no-rules event would result in projects unrelated to our core business objectives. We have had a few internally focused outcomes — like the development of a warning light and Slackbot for an office washroom with a door that didn’t lock properly.

But we quickly realized giving people the autonomy to determine their projects and how they unfolded led to better overall results — features and product iterations that customers had been asking for, like search within our communities, and pagination for course listings. Not to mention new offerings that we needed, such as a mobile app and generative AI functions. And this adds up: Research clearly shows that people who feel empowered to act with autonomy have stronger job performance, higher job satisfaction and greater commitment to the organization, and this leads to a willingness to work toward better customer outcomes.

Of course, we do set the stage with data on customer usage, problems and pain points, so that teams have context around our most pressing needs. But ultimately our people run the show.

Reap the organizational benefits

The article adds that bringing the whole company together to cross-collaborate on new projects has had undeniable cultural benefits. It’s reduced silos across the organization, and has been a great way to foster relationships and bonds while breaking up the routines and ruts we can all get into.

But it’s also reinforced the value of fostering an innovative mindset. The reality is, the pace of today’s tech advancements means innovation is critical all the time — not just once per quarter. With AI rapidly changing the game for tech companies, it’s essential to have opportunities and processes in place that keep products and services evolving to meet customer needs.

The entrepreneur.com article points out that we don’t expect the results of a single week’s work to be perfect. But seeing how much we can accomplish in a single week can often be amazing to all involved. It resets our expectations of what’s possible and stirs up the creative juices for regular work.

We’ve all heard the expression about not being the smartest person in a room or on a team. But better than acknowledging that fact is actually creating systems that unlock the genius of your team — and “Blue Sky Weeks” are a great way to do just that.

Juggling many roles

The life of a business owner or senior leader (of the C suite fame) is always challenging. There is no rest for the wicked; professionals must constantly reinvent themselves to remain relevant.

However, there is time for you to take a step back and make a decision that is in the company’s best interests. Don’t hesitate to ask for help and keep an open line with shareholders. Asking for their patience and possible investment may reap downstream benefits that increase their return on investment. Shareholders are just as invested in the company’s success as you are, and they will always be willing to invest in a leader who has an eye on innovation, provided that it will revolutionise the business.

Keep calm and soldier on.