You are currently browsing the Just Danika weblog archives for February, 2012.
28. February 2012 by justdanika.
No matter the size of your company, the hurdles and issues we face are the same. I’ve been tackling “innovation” inside of at&t for a year and a half now and these are the core take-aways for creating innovative practices inside of your company.
1. Make powerful decisions and keep moving
Someone on the team needs to be empowered to make decisions. These decisions need to be at every level from is this a good, innovative project worth exploring to what should the name be. Outsourcing a decision to a group that doesn’t have responsibility for the success or failure of a project is going to take time and stunt momentum.
A powerful decision creates a sense of excitement and buy-in as well. Nothing like some team spirit and passion to keep innovation brewing.
Examples:
-At AT&T, during a fast-pitch session with small companies, there is literally 3-5 high level execs who, as soon as they step out of the room, give you a thumbs up or down
-Outsourcing a name to a 3rd party brand consultancy resulted in a bunch of names that the whole team thought were completely off. It created animosity and a sense of failure. What’s in a name? EVERYTHING
2. Always listen openly to emotions of fear and anxiety
When you get wrapped up in a great idea, vision or execution of a great idea, you can’t forget that not everyone has the same needs from an innovative project. Brand, marketing, engineering, business development and other related teams are going to view your project with their own filter. If they work on this project with you, they need it to help them succeed and look good inside of the company. Make sure they are fully onboard with the entire project, not just their section.
Examples:
-Speaking with the now owner of a project I worked on, they were fearful of if this could ever make money. Looking deeper into the anxiety, it seemed a handful of other projects that were shorter, quicker wins had also recently been hitting really bumpy roads. She needed to make some money for the company soon, not in a year. This helps frame the conversations, support and milestones of the project.
-We need to work with this vendor. We do? Yea, they are smart, can bring insightful value and they have been working in this space for a long time…oh yea and they are a close friend of one of the high-up c-levels. Keep probing positively and openly if you aren’t convinced of a choice.
3. Have some fun
Innovation, creativity and value live inside of passion, excitement and fun. The minute you add too many metrics, responsible parties or process is the minute you sacrifice the BIG win.
Even if you are looking for incremental innovation, having fun with the idea helps put ideas on the plate for 5 years from now. Being able to see the larger future and expression of a project drives investment into a project.
Examples:
-If you are still talking about it when you get home, you know you are on the right path.
-Working on a new project around the goal of the next 2 months was cool, talking about what it means for the future of mobile communication, is way cooler.
-Giving a project a stage recently, took a forgotten initiative back to the most interesting conversation at the lunch table.
-When you sit to make a keynote deck, do it with a co-worker. See how the story develops and use the collaboration to create investment into the presentation.
Posted in innovation, tech, knowledge, Design | No Comments »
5. February 2012 by justdanika.
My mom, in her mid-30s, left her associate CPA job to, with a partner, to start her own public accounting firm.
“You know Danika, because I was good, I wasn’t discriminated against.”
Reading a recent NY times article, it refers to Sheryl Sandberg talking about women in tech:
“Specifically, how women, in her view, must take responsibility for their careers and not blame men for holding them back.”
If you are good, and you truly believe that, then you are the only one who can create the career you want. It isn’t going to just happen to you.
Combining our natural characteristics with the strong skill sets needed to get ahead, there are no more excuses.
Posted in tech, Design | No Comments »