Innovation Jan 16, 2016 · Leadership Essay

At a luncheon with fellow IT execs, the question came up: What's the greatest challenge in transforming and innovating technology? Most people were discussing challenges with integrating old platforms. The reply: "The organization's culture and its people within the company have always been the greatest hurdle, not technology."

A few people looked puzzled, which required some explanation.

"How does your company compete when everybody is using the same technology — hardware, software, third-party vendors? If everybody has the same starting point, how do you make an impact and stand out from the pack?"

It Starts With People

Some of the greatest innovative successes have been born out of working with awesome people. The job: helping people at multiple levels see the vision by gathering business aspirations and translating them into real product and services backed by a visual technology roadmap that people can understand.

To spark innovation, transform your culture. Create an environment that immerses people in technology and dares them to experiment.

The Formula

Experience Tech + Fail Fast + Learn + Have Fun = Produce WOW
  • Experience technology through play. Our "Think Tank" was designed as a living room at work — to play games.
  • Fail fast in a safe environment — and learn. Great things come from failure.
  • Have fun using technology and imagine how to create business value.
  • Create a product that WOWs your customer.

The journey focuses on making people comfortable to express new ideas that solve business problems. Why a journey? It never ends, and it requires extreme personal involvement to help people emerge from their comfort zone.

The Hard Part

A true innovation leader earns respect by inspiring each person individually. Everyone is a snowflake — different in motivation, emotion, communication, values. Maslow's hierarchy of needs proposed this in his paper, "A Theory of Human Motivation."

You need to decide how you'll touch each person in your company. This is the hardest point. Ask yourself daily: How will I inspire someone today to make a personal or professional difference in their lives? It's not easy — and if you don't, you cannot lead, and innovation will fail.

What's My Role?

Often asked: what's my role in an innovative culture? Architect, sales person, presenter, developer, marketer, analyst, financier, operations, infrastructure dude, project manager, tester, recruiter, talent scout, mentor, mediator — and a demo guy.

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