They say necessity is the mother of innovation. We certainly saw the old proverb play out as businesses grappled with COVID-19: Pivoting (or even completely overhauling) their operations, adapting to hybrid work, and relentlessly matching up to soaring customer expectations.  

But must it take a socio-economic tidal wave to introduce a culture of innovation within our teams?  

In short, no.  

By actively and continuously promoting innovation, companies can breed resilience amongst their talent, making them adept at failing quickly, and steadfastly applying their learnings. This, in turn, enhances an organization’s ability to match the pace of changing consumer needs. How then, can leaders instil and maintain this outlook?  

Here are five takeaways from GDS’s recent world-leading business events, direct from industry experts who are pioneering an innovation-first approach.  

1. Create a Lab

“The notion of a lab is carving out the capability to take a small team to prototype something… and scale it.” 

That’s according to SriRaj Kantamneni, Chief Information & Digital Officer at Schreiber Foods, and opening keynote speaker at the recent GDS CX Innovation North America Summit.  

Kantamneni argues the optimal “lab” is very small to resemble the agile, disruptive nature of a start-up organization.  

Indeed, harnessing the decisive and bold disposition of a start-up – along with the cross-functional expertise of existing employees – has the potential to unearth ground-breaking, yet realistic initiatives, which are scalable.   

2. Encourage Psychological Safety

Ask yourself, are your teams empowered to fail? Or are they scared to take risks?  

Innovators need to feel confident that they will not be punished if the first iterations of an idea do not instantly succeed.  Emily Evangelista, Global Vice President of Digital at Nu Skin highlighted this concept as one of her key learnings from launching a ground-breaking beauty and wellness app during the GDS CX Innovation summit.  

Nu Skin’s strategy centred around becoming the Uber for beauty and wellness. Where two separate apps, one for the driver/affiliate and another for the rider/user, combine to create a seamless customer experience.  

With over 100,000 downloads in a matter of months, the “Vera & Stela” apps have been a testament to Evangelista’s disciplined approach to constant innovation. “We have created an environment at Nu Skin where it’s safe to fail.”  

“It’s safe to try things, learn fast, and learn forward.”
– Emily Evangelista, Nu Skin

When asked how to ensure teams know this “safety” is authentic, Emily replied: “You model it yourself, as a leader. I am transparent when I make mistakes.” 

She caveats, “I’m not talking about total free reign, we can’t throw millions of dollars at crazy ideas. But we use data, and we hold ourselves accountable. So have a path to test, and then have a path to pivot.” 

3. Develop a Chain of Trust: From the C-suite to the Lab

Evangelista described the “tough conversations” that come with an authentically innovation-focussed dynamic, as her team pitched a “selfie-timeline” feature for their app to the C-suite – who initially displayed caution in the face of such a risk.  

The feature offered the potential for users to actively track the progress of their skin, and in turn, drive app retention and loyalty. 

“It paid off!” Evangelista described the selfie-timeline’s contribution to the app’s 55% repeat visit rate amongst users.  

But unchartered territory requires tough conversations! Innovators must hone the confidence to address their own leaders, including the C-suite, and inform them when something did not work the first time.  

If a team witnesses their own leader pitch new ideas to their bosses, it will encourage a ripple effect of more ideas.  

4. Intentionally Allocate the Resources

SriRaj Kantamneni from Schreiber Foods referenced the “often mistaken presumption” that once an organization introduces the idea of an innovative culture – new initiatives will just get done through sheer perseverance. “No. You need the resources and backing too,” he shared.

Crudely, innovators will only truly recognize their organization’s interest in pushing boundaries when they witness a proportionate allocation of the budget for risk-taking.  

Tip: Gaining confidence and resources from finance executives comes from proving that each innovation will provide key learnings which will positively impact the business long-term. Undeniably, highlighting your intent to transparently apply and communicate any learnings is integral. 

5. Make Way for Change

At the recent GDS CX Innovation EU summit, one financial services leader asked Noémie Ellezam, Chief Digital Officer at Societe Generale for her top tips in managing the tension between the innovators and the regulators within legacy organizations.  

Ellezam nodded knowingly. “Of course, this is a reality for us.” 

She encouraged the delegation to communicate the dangers of “dying healthy” to those who chronically dismiss opportunities to embrace change. In a landscape of rapidly changing customer expectations, failing to future-proof one’s business strategies is perhaps the most perilous approach of all.   

GDS Summits are tailored 3-day virtual event conferences that bring together business leaders and solution providers to accelerate sales cycles, industry conversations and outcomes. Regarding the CIO Summits 88% of Delegates said the overall experience of Digital Summit they attended was either Above Average or Excellent whilst 92% of Delegates said the Digital Summit provided them with actionable outcomes to support their current initiatives.​  

For more, click here to hear from attendees on how GDS has helped them to achieve their business outcomes.