Does your organization operate like a factory or a laboratory?
Factories are process-centric and do the same thing all the time to maintain the status quo. They don’t make changes–they just pump out the same things over and over.
On the other hand, laboratories are places of experimentation. People ask questions and try new things. Employees in labs make mistakes along the way, but that just helps them learn what doesn’t work and gets them closer to a new great idea.
It’s all in your mindset. When you think of your organization as a laboratory, you encourage experimentation and innovation.
I developed a framework to drive innovation in any company:
- First, challenge assumptions. Question everything. Why are things done the way they are? Do you have to do things that way?
- Create a team. Volunteer to lead an effort to find a better way of doing things.
- Define your objective. What does the future of work look like? How can you make things better? Communicate that to the rest of the team and organization.
- Experiment. Empower employees to take action. Try new things and put your ideas into action. If it doesn’t work, go back to the drawing board. If it goes well, you can implement broad-based change across the company.
The most innovative companies work through this framework on an ongoing basis. You should be in a cycle of questioning assumptions, experimenting, and evaluating.
Every company can find ways to innovate. It’s all in your mindset. As you think like a laboratory and challenge convention, you can continually push the boundaries and become a leader in innovation.
I put together a video which talks about this in more detail. Please check it out below and if you want more content like this you can subscribe to my Youtube channel.
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This episode is sponsored by Hibob.
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