Ten takeaways from our panel discussion on enterprise innovation.

On September 28th, we welcomed our clients, friends, and colleagues back to our Vancouver studio for the first event we have hosted following the pandemic. This time, we brought together an incredible group of panelists to discuss the topic of innovation and its role in fueling growth and resilience.

We were grateful to welcome Katrina Lee, Sr Director of Product Management at HP, Christine Kuo, Global Head of SAP d-shop, and Kevin Ehman, Director of Strategic Design at the Government of British Columbia, to share insights on their own experiences, navigating the internal workings of their respective organizations to bring better services to the customers they each serve.

To summarize the discussion, we’ve pulled together a snapshot of ten takeaways that can help you guide your own approach to building a culture of innovation within your own organization.

1 – Innovation Defined

Creating something new that has value comes in various forms; look to clearly connect that value to your organizational imperatives and/or business goals and objectives.

2 – Pushing Forward Through Pullback

During times of business slowdown, this is actually the time to make gains through innovation that will set the foundation for future competitive advantages.

3 – Innovation as a Mindset

More than just groundbreaking inventions, innovation is a perspective that challenges the status quo and seeks improvements across a spectrum from incremental to exponential.

4 – Perseverance Payoff

Innovative thinking requires consistent determination to see things through barriers; to focus on outcomes rather than deliverables.

5 – Power of the Collective

Although innovation can be sparked by a sole contributor, consider the power of group consensus around how best to deliver and execute the innovation initiative.

6 – Innovation Centralization & Decentralization

Innovation can stem from either a defined department “hub” or “think tank”, but will also powerfully from individual contributors across practice groups that can spot opportunity.

7 – Embrace Risk Management to Win

Inherent in any innovation effort is the element of risk; embrace the risk through the development of specific mitigation strategies without diluting the potential upsides.

8 – Hiring with Innovation In Mind

Innovative thinking comes from within the mental models unique to each individual; look to curate and build a team of thinkers with an innovation mindset already instilled.

9 – Freedom of Failure

Progress in business isn’t always linear in nature; allow for steps back in order to move forward with new ideas, practices, and processes. 

10 – Be Heard

Great ideas that inspire come from having been heard; seek to develop an environment of knowledge sharing and envisioning through openness and transparency.

Certainly there’s a lot more to establishing the culture and framework for innovation, and many factors that define our success. These insights are a great starting point to start the process of understanding; what is the right approach for our team, for our organization?

If you’re exploring ways to kick start your own innovation initiatives, reach out to us, we can help.