If exponential change can happen during the COVID-19 crisis, we must be able to create it sustainably in the future. How?
Bosses are prescriptive and definitive. Coaches question and listen, asking people to come up with their own answers, and guide rather than tell. Smart CEOs know they’re more effective helping, supporting and partnering than directing from on high.
Your innovation toolkit
how large organisations can think and act like start-ups
The DNA of
successful
organisations
Facilitate, motivate, collaborate: coaches, not bosses
Click the arrows to see what successful organisations do
Leading companies operate 4x faster than less-nimble peers. Why? Quicker turnaround and action on:
They have speed
Making
strategies
Allocating resources
Putting capital to work
Reviewing
strategies
found their work enjoyable more often
used their strengths more often
had confidence
when gaining skills
Employees crave learning
31%
33%
37%
It's a FACT:
The days of rigid work hierarchies are over. Smart CEOs understand that being separated from what’s really going on in the organisation is detrimental. Rather, they should facilitate, which works hand in hand with motivating a team. It’s far easier to motivate engaged employees who feel well supported. Facebook’s 2018 talent-management case study tells us that of employees who chose to stay on after six months:
Facilitate
1
In a study of management styles conducted by academic Julia Milner and leadership expert Trenton Milner, it was found that, when initially asked to coach, many managers instead demonstrated a form of consulting. They simply provided the other person with advice or a solution. They said “first do this” or “why don’t you do that?”.
Motivate
2
Too often legacy companies divide themselves by department or function. This stifles innovation.
In collaboration, we think better and solve problems more efficiently.
Collaborate
3
Nurture within the organisation. Optimise existing talent, empower innovative thinking.
Which steps come first?
Leading businesses invest as much to upgrade their core as they do to innovate
‘Business as usual’ is dangerous
It’s as important to change as it is to run the business
Harness technology
and talent
They’re ready to invent
Bolder, braver decisions
They’re all in
Change is built into leading businesses’ DNA, regardless of how intense the pressure
High-performing organisations are
3x more likely to say their data and analytics have contributed at least
The road to recovery is paved with data"
They make data-driven decisions
Ismail Amla
Chief Growth Officer, Capita plc
Data gives a scientific basis to decision making where previously it was instinct led
20% to EBIT
20% - 50%
They follow the customer
of top companies attribute their economic gain to being focused on the customer
Be customer-centric
not internally focused
Keeping teams smaller allows for more nimble proactivity and action
Amazon uses a two-pizza rule: if you can’t feed a team with two pizzas, the team’s too big.
Challenge what’s gone before. In 2020, leading businesses are doing in 10 days what used to take at least 10 months, with fewer people.
Internal collaboration and innovation is fostered through a company’s culture and leadership
They break the mould
Ismail Amla and Vivek Wadhwa
From Incremental to Exponential
Telling workers how to do their jobs results in unhappy employees. Yes, training is necessary. Yes, continuing education is vital. But there’s a tremendous difference between telling and teaching.”
Does your company have a protocol to ensure efficient and fair meetings?
Has it established any
collaboration processes?
What training does it offer managers to help them better motivate employees?
Are there regularly-run surveys to understand employee motivations and perceptions of their work?
Do employees feel comfortable approaching and speaking with senior managers?
How accessible are senior managers to regular employees?
Have any specific successful innovation projects emerged
from collaboration?
How much of an employee’s time
is spent working in cross-functional teams?
Do employees self-segregate by unit and function at lunch and in other social settings?
Is the physical office space
designed to foster collaboration?
Ed Catamull
CEO, Pixar
Members of any department should be able to approach anyone in another department to solve problems without having to go through ‘proper’ channels. It also means that managers need to learn that they don’t always have to be the first to know about something going on in their realm, and it’s okay to walk into a meeting and be surprised. The impulse to tightly control the process is understandable given the complex nature of moviemaking, but problems are almost by definition unforeseen. The most efficient way to deal with numerous problems is to trust people to work out the difficulties directly with each other without having to check for permission.”
Questions to ask yourself:
Encourage leaders to be coaches, not bosses, to guide for quicker project turnaround
1
Recognise that everyone is an innovator, at every level. Even small ideas add up
2
Identify the rulebreakers; they’ll help the organisation to think differently
3
Ensure your innovation project teams are multi-disciplinary
4
Reward and incentivise innovation and quick turnarounds, especially from the bottom up, across all operations within the business
5
Give all employees free access to executive and senior teams
6
Remove distractions, barriers and red tape within the organisation
7
Provide support and restoration for those who are exhausted from all the duties of their regular jobs
8
Cut down to essential meetings only, freeing up time for employees to get on with their jobs
9
Allow for innovation project members to freely collaborate with external parties.
10