Mingle!

Good ideas can come from everywhere

Steve Jobs combined his passion for design with his expertise in technology to innovate. Few of us have this kind of double talent or skill. But every large organization has!

Corporations have an amazing number of in-house experts. They might work in Marketing, IT, technical/medical, legal, compliance, finance, HR, manufacturing, etc. Many of these colleagues also have links to external partners. Innovation Leaders can engage with these experts and connect them to each other, to stimulate innovation and create networks.  

• I recall a situation in which a marketing innovator in Latin America wanted to solve a market development challenge. He came up with a tech solution, based on NFC. When connected with an IT innovation team from the same company in Europe, it became clear that a more innovative solution, based on new WiFi technology, might be more effective. 
• An Australian innovator wanted to solve a cost issue in the supply chain. Thanks to making a connection with one of her colleagues in the US HQ finance team, an appropriate external partner was identified and an innovative experiment could be tested.

To mingle is not rocket science, but simply making the effort to create networks and connections. This can start small, with the Innovation Leader developing a small network of passionate employees from different functional areas. These networks can easily be created and build, e.g.  by:

• having 1-1 lunches with colleagues from different departments, to connect with enthusiastic experts 
• giving inspirational talks at departmental staff meetings and town hall meetings across the corporation, to increase awareness
• organizing workshops that include employees from other divisions, to mingle and ideate
• setting up innovation challenges, requiring submissions to be jointly developed and proposed by members from at least 2 departments
• organizing regular TED-like talks to share innovation success stories, based on collaboration 
• using software to set up self sustaining super-networks of experts who are eager to work together

It’s incredible to experience how many people want to collaborate, but just do not find the way to connect with like minded colleagues within the corporate labyrinth. 

There are of course challenges related to cross-functional collaboration. This is where the Innovation Leader can play an important role.

• Silos within corporations “speak different languages”: horizons or platforms can mean very different things in Marketing vs. IT
• Department leaders need to provide strong sponsorship, e.g. provide dedicated time and recognition for collaboration with other departments.

A nice side effect of collaboration-networks is to help avoid duplication of experiments and sharing of learnings. Collaboration can (should) also be expanded externally of course.

As Isaac Newton said:

“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”

So, as Innovation Leader, I made every effort to identify and connect passionate innovators from the most diverse parts of the organization. I shared their success stories across the organization and with their leadership. 

More reading on collaboration: Liberating Structures

What are your thoughts, experience? Please share and discuss below.