Clap, Clap Innovation Crap

The basics if you want to run innovation

So, companies at some point in their business stage decide to innovate. That’s nice. They surely want to make the competition obsolete. They want to stand out and be claimed as the cool guys in the market. And if you are chosen to command the project, running an innovative project requires you understand the basics.

These basics aren’t new. And these basics weren’t designed in another planet (some people still think they are alien ideas). They are entirely necessary and successfully tested, here on earth. For you to innovate, you need to see the bigger picture. I have learnt in my journey three main lessons about how to make a bold step and make a breakthrough:

1) Have a vision and be fiercely committed

If you “don’t see where you want to go” you have a problem. And people with problems seek help. If you don’t have a pile of money to hire a super-fancy-company that does it for you, engage existing members of your team and do research about how to accomplish it. This involves discovering ways to make the competition obsolete only with the people you have.
. With your people, you can create a force that can come up with a unique approach. As a leader, you can be part of this vision by building together, making emotional connections and creating a bond everyone can relate to. If everyone is emotionally connected to this project, half of the battle is won.

2) Strategize along with a superb story to engage

Again, if you don’t know how to create a strategy and you don’t have deep pockets to pay someone to do it for you, be humble, learn how to create it, empower your team, connect emotionally. (Have I said this before?) Show and tell that’s a team job. You are the rightful owner, as your team if you are present in the hole process, not only in some parts of it.

Strategizing is one the most beautiful mental process that exists. Since a young age, I remember to be quietly thinking each step to accomplish my goals. First making an eloquently promise to my parents that I would follow a flawless plan to become a very responsible young girl, so I could have fun with my friends playing video games. (my strategy was a) doing my shores at home; b) having good grades; c)be kind to annoying relatives, all of this just to become the coolest girl in the group with a Super Mario video game offered by my parents).

We are programmed from a young age to design strategies to get what we want. Fine tune how to put together a strategy with your people and combine storytelling techniques to engage all project stakeholders. (Storytelling is one of the ways to engage and connect all stakeholders.)With this little touch, you will rock, and your team will have faith in your leadership abilities.

3) Execute your team projects with joy

Joy is infectious. If you are carrying out these strategies joyfully, your team will have no option but to catch the buzz. Give them reasons to believe in you. Let them share in your vision and strategy. Let everyone come together to implement it. A leader is only as good as his team. Maximize their strengths embrace their quirkiness. Obstacles and challenges will happen, but if you are genuinely connected to your people, execution will run smoothly and productively.

Those are the basics needed to start a new project and excel at it. I am confident that if you master these basics and implement them, an innovative project is just around the corner. But if you want to run an innovation project and you don’t apply half of this basics, I rather, well… “Sh!t and Clap”

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