Stop the World; I Want to Get Off Be Innovative
Beth Schaefer IPD Director
In the first Stop the World article, I discussed making room for important work. Read Stop the World; I Want to Get Off Do Important Things to set the stage to engage or re-engage with your work and your coworkers. While that article discussed important work, some readers may have noted that it left out Innovation.
This month’s article focuses on making time to be innovative, which – because it’s so important – gets its own article. 60% of CEO’s rate innovation as important to the organization. Innovation is what allows an organization to flex, adapt, grow, and offer unique solutions to customers. Some might say innovate or disappear.
Take a look at your calendar for this week; how much time have you set aside to be innovative?
Innovation Culture Killers
In the first article, being physically (but not mentally) present and looking busy were called out as an enemy to productivity; they are also the enemy of innovation. The brain will not spend time on creativity when it is overworked or when pretending to do work.
Avoid these innovation culture killers:
1. Overloading people with operational tasks.
Those who lack time to complete their work are 3 times more likely to struggle with innovation. The trend to eliminate workers and “do more with less” continues. While I agree that a reduced workforce saves money in the short-term; in the long-term, the burnout will:
- Reduce workers’ ability to find process efficiencies
- Delay the development of new products or product improvements
- Negatively affect quality customer service (which research consistently tells us is closely correlated to how individuals feel about their jobs)
- Diminish the ability of workers to problem-solve
2. Encouraging only Quadrant 1 activities.
The first article in the series introduced The Covey quadrant model that categorizes workplace activity. Quadrant 1 activities are necessary and important, but having your head down, checking off task after task kills “aha moments”–those moments where you and your team discover a process improvement or a brilliant new way to suit customer needs. Constantly moving to the next thing does not allow the space for the brain to think creatively.
10 Strategies to Balance Necessity with Innovation
1. Improve processes so that mundane tasks don’t take so long!
Find out what rules and protocols are soaking up work time and fix them. “Process debt” can build up in small pieces without being noticed. Innovative people will be innovative if you remove the routines that prevent innovativeness. Ask your people. They will tell you which processes are overburdened and can be easily streamlined. Create an agile or flexible list and reorder each month based on current needs and new suggestions. Pick one cumbersome process each month and fix it.
2. Add innovation to performance goals.
Established goals are green lights that allow people to schedule innovation time. Host regularly scheduled “innovation sprints” every 2 weeks or once a month to help your team meet those goals. Consider inviting other departments to your sprint to create/revise a process you share.
3. Grant permission to turn off the world.
Encourage your team members to occasionally ignore the phone and turn on an Out of Office message to create blocks of time for activities that promote creativity. Set the example by blocking off time on your own calendar and pointing that out to your team.
4. Be Attuned.
Do not schedule or expect innovation during busy times. Most organizations have hectic periods where business is brisk or times when holidays or vacations are more frequent and fewer workers are in the office. Do not squeeze innovation into time when people are scrambling to serve customers.
5. Allow reading and viewing.
Reading leads to learning. Learning leads to innovation. Learning can also happen when viewing a Ted Talk or listening to a scientific podcast, or similar program. “I insist on a lot of time being spent, almost every day, to just sit and think. That is very uncommon in American business. I read and think.” -Warren Buffet.
6. Subtract something old before adding something new.
Innovation equals projects. Projects equal work. More work equals tough choices. Encouraging innovation may generate more ideas than can be simultaneously executed and sustained. If you continue to launch the new without removing the old, you have a recipe for overwhelming your team, and they will circle back to innovation stagnation.
7. Reward subtraction.
Addition is visible. Subtraction is invisible. Leidy Klotz addresses this in Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less where he calls this Shiny New Object Syndrome. Organizations tend to reward new things – additions – but they seldom recognize when someone is able to subtract an underperforming project or streamline steps to a process. Hold meetings focused on subtraction. Create a guideline to complete or subtract a priority or project before adding a new one. Openly celebrate subtractions; do not limit innovation to additions.
8. Make a path to submit new ideas.
If you ask your team how and when they submit innovative ideas, would they know? Provide many venues and modes for sharing. Let your team know that innovative ideas can be communicated through a sketch, a paragraph, a one-page document such as an SBAR, or a conversation. Make it easy to be innovative.
9. Teach innovation and creativity.
While some of your team members may just need time or permission to be more innovative, others will need specific tools, guidance, or established patterns for how to be innovative. See Innovation Tips and Tricks for more ideas on how to encourage innovation from your team.
10. Model
Ensure that your team sees you taking time to be innovative.
I know… All of this is easier said than done, so next month we will tackle, Stop the World, I Want to Get Off Find More Time
Stop the World Series Resource List
The 7 Habits
Encouraging Creative Thinking in the Workplace
Falling Behind on Work? Take These Steps to Get Back on Track
Finding Your Innovation Sweet Spot
The Hidden Tactic Overloaded Workers Are Using to Catch Up
How CEO’s Make Time to Create That Unexpected Lead Forward
How to Catch up on Work When You’ve Fallen Behind
How to Give Busy People the Time to Innovate
How to Gossip Strategically to Get Ahead at Work
Systematic Innovative Thinking
Top 10 Productivity Killers in the Workplace