#12: Fostering innovation
Why you should provide time and support so your teams can innovate more
Hey friends,
In this edition, I talk about:
why innovation is crucial and how you can encourage it
how I got a new certification
3 tweets I liked
a thread on effective 1:1 meetings
a book recommendation: “The Ride of a Lifetime”
1/ Foster innovation
Peter Drucker, probably the most famous management consultant ever, coined the phrase “innovate or die”.
And I think he was right.
Innovation is critical for the success and growth of tech companies, and all companies, for that matter. But it doesn't just happen; leaders must actively create an environment where people feel empowered to innovate.
Here are some ways to foster innovation:
Provide time for experimentation. Allow engineers to dedicate a percentage of their time (say 10–20%) to work on new ideas or prototypes.
Reward innovation. Formally recognize and celebrate employees' innovative projects and ideas. Consider innovation bonuses or rewards. Publicly spotlight innovative work.
Encourage risk-taking. Let teams know that occasional failures are acceptable as long as they learn from them. Innovation involves experimenting with uncertainty; emphasize that taking risks is part of the job.
Challenge the status quo. Ask your team: "How can we do this better?" and "What beliefs should we rethink?" This prompts them to question existing processes, technologies, and business models.
Listen to ideas from all levels. Innovation can come from any team member, not just senior engineers. Actively solicit input and ideas from everyone. Have suggestion boxes or idea sessions.
Provide resources. Give engineers access to the technologies, tools, skill development, and mentorship needed to pursue innovative projects. Remove barriers to experimentation.
Frame failure as learning. Reframe failed innovative attempts as valuable learning experiences. Focus discussions on lessons learned rather than who was at fault. Over time this mitigates the fear of failure.
Lead by example. Demonstrate your own willingness to innovate, take risks, and occasionally fail. This inspires technical teams to follow your lead.
From this list, I am particularly fond of providing time for experimentation and framing failure as learning.
If you don’t provide explicit time for innovation, people will get lost in the minutiae of their everyday tasks.
If you do provide this time, miracles can happen:
• Google: Gmail, Google News, and AdSense all came from 20% time, where Google allowed engineers to spend one day a week working on their own projects.
• 3M: Post-it notes were invented by an engineer using 15% of his time to pursue his own ideas. 3M has a long history of innovations from its 15% rule.
• Microsoft: Excel and many early Microsoft applications were created during "hack weeks" where employees could work on whatever they wanted.
On the other hand, if your team is not working in an environment that lets them try things out and fail, they will not have the courage to try again.
Leaders should understand that out of 10 ideas, 9 could be bad ones but the 10th could change the face of the company.
This is a “barbell strategy” used in investing as well. You place 80% of your money on safe investments, that have a guaranteed return and 20% of assets that are more risky but can generate a massive return if they take off.
Team leaders and managers have the obligation to apply these strategies at all levels of the organization but in the end, it is up to the upper management to foster an environment where teams feel empowered, motivated, and equipped to innovate, ultimately leading to more creative solutions and breakthroughs for your organization.
2/ Another certification: Systeme.io
I am a lifelong learner. I am confident that you cannot survive in this economy if you’re not constantly learning.
I am also a person who wants to grow every day, and usually in more than one field.
Management and leadership continue to be my main concern and passion, but I also want to expand my knowledge in online business.
That’s why I constantly read and learn about stuff like:
sales
marketing
organic and inorganic growth
As I already have a website, an online course out there and I’m planning another one, I need a system to have them all in one place.
And the best option I could find is Systeme.io.
It’s an all-in-one platform for creating content and selling your products online. Including:
a blog
funnels
online courses
automated emails
And they recently released a free online certification course for their platform. While this is especially for people who want to build websites and funnels for others, it’s a great way to learn the platform if you use it for yourself.
Not to mention the fact that I’m a sucker for certification exams. I love taking exams and I’m pretty good at it. To be honest, I probably haven’t failed an exam in my life.
(Come to think of it, I should start writing about this or maybe create a product on learning and exam taking. I’ll keep that in mind)
So, during the weekend I studied for about 3-4 hours and got the Systeme.io certification. I learned a lot of stuff for myself and if you need help creating a website or selling a product really fast, let me know.
3/ Tweets I liked
3 tweets that made me think, educated me or amused me over the last week. (click on the images to read the whole stuff)
a longer tweet from my friend, Louie, about important discoveries and inventions that happened by accident
a lesson in motivation by Jeanne, who ran a marathon at 48, 18 years after her first one.
This viral thread on Joe Sugarman’s Copywriting secrets
4/ My own favorite piece of content:
This week I wrote a thread on why I think the 1:1 meeting you have with your manager is the most important discussion you should have if you want to advance in your career. And what you should do to make it work for you.
Here it is, expanded:
1/ Make sure they happen
If you have a good manager, he will take care of setting them up. But some of them won't. Schedule regular meetings, at least once a month, with him/her. If she cancels one instance, make sure you ask for another slot in the following days.
2/ Have an agenda
It's good to have small talk, but it's better to talk about the things that you care about.
project updates
any help you need
your career aspirations
Have a fixed agenda and add or remove items from it for each encounter.
3/ Ask for feedback
Most managers are reluctant to give feedback if it's not positive.
Make sure you ask:
what could be improved
what is expected from you
what skills you should develop
You are the only person responsible for your future.
4/ Track your progress
You should already have a career development plan in place, set at the annual performance review. Discuss your progress on your objectives and let your manager know if some of them are outdated or should be changed. Avoid surprises at the next review.
5/ Document what you discuss
After each meeting, send a brief email with:
what was discussed
what are the action items
who should act on them by when
Again, don't leave things to chance. People's memories play games on them, sometimes.
6/ Provide feedback
This meeting is not only an opportunity to receive feedback. It's also an opportunity to provide it too. Maybe your manager should be more involved. Maybe his communication style should change. You should be transparent and let him know what you think.
7/ Don't take it personal
There is a chance that you won't like what you hear in some of these instances.
keep your cool
practice active listening
understand her perspective
Take a moment to internalize the feedback and say you'll come up with an improvement plan.
TL;DR: Take control of your one-to-ones:
Make sure they happen
Have an agenda
Ask for feedback
Track your progress
Document what you discuss
Provide feedback
Don't take it personal
5/ Book recommendation: “The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company" by Robert Iger
I just finished listening to this book and it’s full of gems.
It’s Bob Iger’s memoir, from his entry job performing menial labor on television sets at ABC to becoming one of the most admired CEOs in the world, leading Disney for 15 years.
The book is full of leadership advice, especially for people who are in charge of creative teams.
And I ask myself, aren’t programming teams creative?
Well, they should be! So, there are a lot of lessons each tech leader can take from this book.
Here are some key takeaways and lessons from "The Ride of a Lifetime":
• Culture beats strategy - Iger emphasizes that a strong company culture focused on creativity, innovation and collaboration is more important than any business strategy.
• Manage risk, but don't be afraid of it - Iger discusses how he weighed the risks of big acquisitions but ultimately moved forward because of the potential upside.
• Foster innovation through creative freedom - Iger gave creative leaders like Pixar's John Lasseter autonomy and freedom to innovate, which ultimately drove massive financial success for Disney.
It is a very good read, and it goes through all the M&A processes that Iger as CEO has done by acquiring Pixar, Marvel Studios and 21st Century Fox to become one of the biggest companies in the world.
As a somewhat fun fact, Iger resigned as Disney’s CEO on Feb 25, 2020, only to be called back by the board on Nov 30, 2022.
He is still running the company.
Thank you for reading, and let me know if you liked something in particular in this newsletter.
Until next time,
Leo
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