At Colloqui, we often refer to what we call the ‘Innovation Tax’ – the idea that many businesses are eager to innovate but are held back for one reason or another (e.g. global headquarters eager to stick to legacy guidelines). But innovation is the main force that defines whether a company can pivot and sustain what investors expect, and is even more important (and fast-paced) in the digital age. According to a 2020 McKinsey Global Survey, more than half of surveyed executives identified digital transformation as a competitive advantage or are refocusing their entire business around digital technologies.
Technical director in the office of the CTO at Google Cloud, John Abel, describes innovation as “a combination of engaging the people, enhancing the processes and accelerating both through the value of technology.” His team developed “Heptagon Thinking” which is a seven point system for collaborative innovation. The seven components of this method of innovating are:
Empower – Be inclusive. The best innovation often comes from within an organization.
Listen – Listen to understand, not to respond. Improved listening leads to a more guided conversation and better comprehension of ideas.
Why – Ask a series of “why” questions, for example, “Why are we doing this?” and “Why will our customers care?”
Friction – Overcoming the Innovation Tax; remove existing bias to allow bandwidth for people and resources to focus on changing things for the future.
Famous – Focus on what your business is known for, and what your customers have come to expect from you.
Space – Incorporate breaks for distance and reflection of ideas.
Fast – Share ideas quickly and without hesitance or proper backup; sharing early helps you fail fast and learn from it.
At Colloqui, we are constantly challenging the status quo and designing new ways of thinking around digital, virtual and hybrid communication for our clients. Let’s connect to discuss a complimentary innovation session with the goal of generating new ideas and approaches to evolve brand communications in the virtual/hybrid space.
Use this 7-point plan to create a collaborative culture and drive lasting innovation was initially published on October 4, 2021 by Fast Company.
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