Linear thinking won’t solve wicked problems!
On the 11th & 12th of February the famous Eric Ries, the man who coined the concept of “Lean Startup” invited fellow entrepreneurs to exchange lessons learned and knowledge on different approaches in innovation within startups and corporates. Of course we had to go.
But the way – if you aren’t 100% sure what Lean Startup means, feel free to read my previous blog post where I point out it’s core principles.
Here are our key learnings from the conference:
Metrics in Innovation
Yes, every business needs metrics to validate whether an initiative is following the right path. But: businesses need to define their own Innovation Metrics without limiting themselves from going beyond measuring. There is no one-fits-all solution.
If you tell people where to go, but not how to get there, you’ll be amazed by the results.
– General George S. Patton
The “north star metric” is a key metric that is directly aligned to the value that a company creates for a client. It ensures that the team chooses the right path. If you give people a mission instead of detailed plans, expect better outcomes.
Becoming a leader in Innovation
Leadership in Innovation needs to be trained. This enables organizations to make the shift from product-centered organizations to human-centered organizations – in which both customer and employee are valued above all else.
Want to know more about this? Check out this amazing book.
Culture in Innovation
Entrepreneurial cultures:
- Can be fostered through the ways we daily interact within an organization
- Are built when everyone understands the product vision. Can everyone answer the question “where are we building towards”?
- Depend on being able to empathize with the employees – what matters to them?
- Need constant feedback loops
- Are built when expectations and priorities are communicated clearly
- Need adoptable people
- make teams love solving the problem rather than building the product
Failure in Innovation
Businesses need to be brave and embrace failure to achieve future success.
Think of ants.
An ant population always sends 5% of their population to the “edges” – to some other place where they could find new food sources. The rest of the population works on their core and takes care of day-to-day business.
Ants invest in trial and error. And so should you. Best by making use of Lean Startup methodology.
