How to bring a spark of innovation in an established business
It was once a company with a long history of success. For many years, they have relied on the same classic management practices to keep the business running smoothly and ensure their employees are productive.
The business structure was rooted in a "business as usual" mentality, with an emphasis on what had worked in the past and an aversion to taking risks.
However, as the company continued to grow, they realized that the same classic management practices were not enough to keep up with the pace of innovation. The company saw that they needed to take a new approach to managing innovation, one that would allow them to keep up with current trends and be able to quickly adapt to changing customer needs to enable the company to stay ahead of the competition and keep pace with the latest trends and technologies.
To address this, they brought an entrepreneur into the organization to step in and shake up the traditional business model. This entrepreneur challenged the existing business structure and focused on leveraging technology and pushing the boundaries of innovation. The enthusiasm and vision of the entrepreneur brought new energy and excitement to the team, inspiring them to think differently.
The company decided to separate the innovation area from the classic business and the new department to move away from traditional management practices and implement Lean management. This new approach allowed them to focus on activities that create value and eliminate activities that do not add value.
The goal was to focus on Experiment, Measure, Pivot or Persevere and Accelerate innovation opportunities. For this to happen, the company had to create a culture of experimentation. This method focused on giving the development team more autonomy to try new ideas and experiment with new technologies.
The new team began implementing a Build-Measure-Learn approach. She was encouraged to work closely with their clients to better understand their needs and goals and to quickly test and refine ideas. Everyone was encouraged to come up with ideas, test them quickly, and fail quickly if the ideas didn't work. This allowed them to create new value propositions and innovative solutions that their customers found truly valuable.
They built a prototype of a new product and tested it on the market. They quickly gathered data and feedback from their customers and used it to improve the product and refine features. Once the product was ready, the team moved on to measuring its success. Using analytics, they tracked user engagement, customer satisfaction and key performance indicators. Throughout this process the team continued to learn.
This build-measure-learn process was repeated several times until the product was perfected. This allowed the company to move on to the next idea much faster than traditional methods.
The results of Lean's approach to innovation have been impressive. Not only did the product become a hit, but the company also saw significant improvements in customer engagement and satisfaction. The moral of the story is that lean management can be used to manage innovation and help companies develop successful products faster.
Today's market is constantly changing and entrepreneurship is an essential component of a successful business. Entrepreneurs bring a fresh perspective, innovative ideas and a willingness to take risks that can help traditional businesses remain competitive and relevant.
Without entrepreneurs, traditional businesses would struggle to keep up with the changing times.
© Inspired by "The Lean Startup" - Eric Ries
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