There’s never been more pressure to innovate – and to do so quickly – than in the past two years.
No industry has been untouched.
And there have been some amazing innovations! (and amazing acceleration of innovations that had been sitting on the proverbial shelf waiting for… (fill-in-the-blank – buy-in, budget, validation, time…).
But how does innovation happen? Do teams or individuals innovate best?
As with most things in organizations, the answer is – it depends.
There is research showing that well-defined problems with single, best answers can be solved faster and more elegantly by an expert in that area.
The other 99% of the challenges (aka opportunities) – complex issues with many possible solutions – will require a team.
But all teams are not equally innovative or effective.
There is a famous quote – “A camel is a horse designed by committee.” (Alec Issigonis) – highlighting the downside of collaboration.
(Of course, in the Middle East, a camel would be preferable. But I digress.)
Most of us have probably been on teams that eventually produced a “camel” just to be done.
What makes the difference? In my experience, the following five conditions (borrowed from design thinking and organization development) are the most critical for channeling the talents and passions of a diverse group of SMEs and stakeholders.
- Compelling Need – We’ve seen this during covid. To stay viable, however, organizations will need to continue to innovate in the absence of a crisis. So it becomes essential to clearly communicate who will benefit and how.
- Manageable Team Size – Many software and healthcare product teams involve 20+ employees (automotive PD teams can have 500+ members). To be most effective, the larger team will need to include smaller, cross-functional “working groups” of 5-8 members.
- Clear Problem (or Opportunity) Statement – There’s nothing more daunting to the human mind than being confronted with a blank canvas and no instructions. Having a clear direction, point of view (whose problem is being solved), and a few constraints helps to get everyone on the same page and moving forward more quickly.
- Facilitating Structures – Generative questions, cross-functional work groups, and lists of prompts elicit ideas and channel the group’s creative resources without prescribing the outcome. For instance, the basic who-what-where-when-how can serve as a reminder to look at many aspects of the current business model and consider options for each.
- Playful prototyping – Providing tools for teams to translate their ideas into physical prototypes facilitates cross-functional communication and enables rapid testing and iteration.
There is no one right innovation – only one (or more) that works for your organization at a particular point in time. Giving your team the right tools and process guidance is the surest path to viable ideas.
Looking for tools beyond brainstorming and mind-mapping? Ask me about train-the-trainer support to restock your toolbox.
