Innovate Together: Turning the Impossible into Possible with Your Team

Build Dexterity Into Your Strategy

What do your teams think is impossible for your company? What do your customers believe you’ll never do for them? Discussing these “impossible” ideas and finding ways to make them possible can show your teams what true agility and action look like.

To start shifting mindsets towards possibility, invite teams from all levels of your organization to a solution-focused session. If you don’t have the authority to make changes on the spot, try to include someone who does.

Setup for In-Person Meetings:

• Divide the group into teams of three to five people, ensuring an even number of teams.

Setup for Remote Meetings:

• Split the entire group into Team A and Team B.

Focus Areas:

• What will never happen in our industry but would be amazing if it did?
• What would clients/customers say we would never do for them but wish we would?
• What cultural or organizational changes would never happen in our company?

Brainstorming:

• Give participants 10 minutes to list as many “impossibles” related to their topic as they can.
• For example, a list for customer “impossibles” might include: “You’ll never make customer service a pleasant experience” or “You’ll never make appointment scheduling easy.”
• For in-person meetings, ask teams to write their lists on paper. For remote meetings, have teams create their lists in the chat box.

Swapping Lists:

• After 10 minutes, have teams swap their lists with another team.
• In-person: Give your list to the team on your right.
• Remote: Team A exchanges lists with Team B.
• Pro Tip: For more honest lists, don’t reveal the swapping step until after the brainstorming phase.

Converting Impossibles to Possibles:

• Give teams 15 minutes to turn the other team’s “impossibles” into “possibles.”
• To jumpstart solutions, ask:
• What needs to change or be implemented to make this possible?
• What resources would be required to make it a reality?

Sharing Solutions:

• When time is up, ask each team to share the “impossibles” they received and how they turned them into “possibles.”
• Start a group discussion about the solutions. Did people find it easier to solve the other team’s “impossibles” rather than their own? If so, they’re not alone — research shows that problems often seem easier to solve when they’re not our own.

Implementing Solutions:

• Guide the group in deciding which “possibles” should be implemented and why.

Next Steps:

• Once you’ve succeeded here, make this exercise part of your strategy.
• Keep looking for areas in your business to improve or capitalize on immediately.

Identify Innovation Opportunities

When was the last time your team came up with a bold new way to sell your products or explored a new customer segment? Resilient companies are always looking for new revenue opportunities.

To build innovation resilience and increase revenue, try using a technique called “hunting grounds”. This method has led to real-life successes. Imagine we’re an airline company aiming to boost revenue. By using this technique, we analyze our business through eight categories, or hunting grounds. For fresh ideas, we answer both positive and negative questions about each category. The eight hunting grounds are:

1. New product and service
2. New brand experience
3. New business model
4. New distribution channel
5. New customer segment
6. New strategic partnership
7. New communication channel
8. New business process

These categories help us see our business from new perspectives, beyond just improving our products. Let’s focus on “New brand experience” for a moment. First, think positively about our brand and explore new ways for customers to experience it. What does an ideal brand engagement look like? Encourage your team to think creatively. For example, we could extend the customer experience beyond the plane ride. How about a curbside concierge to help with check-in and guide you through security, or gate greeters to answer questions and smooth the boarding process?

Next, approach brand experience from a negative perspective. What negative experiences do customers have with our brand, and how can we fix them? Maybe people find air travel with our brand stressful due to long customer service lines when re-booking a canceled flight or a disorganized luggage retrieval process. To improve, we could offer video kiosks with live service agents at the gate or baggage claim, or a service that retrieves luggage while passengers relax after their flight.

This was a brief overview of just one hunting ground. Imagine the variety of ideas you’ll generate by exploring all eight hunting grounds with your team. Look at your list of hunting grounds. Which one best addresses a current business issue for you? New business model? New customer segment?

On the Road to Resilience

When was the last time your team suggested removing a feature from your best-selling product or customizing products for a local market or an underserved niche? To help your team stay innovative and resilient, introduce them to a technique called “40 New Opportunities.” This method helps your team look at your products or services in new ways, ultimately building resilience.

Let’s explore the categories for innovating your existing products or services. Think about which products or services might need a fresh approach or update. Make a note of any that come to mind. There are many directions you can take with this technique.

For example, imagine we’re a national chain of movie theaters. With locations closed during the pandemic and competition from streaming services, we need creative ways to increase value and revenue. Let’s consider niche targeting. Ask yourself questions like, which niches are underserved by our competitors? Where can we create a new niche to attract customers?

One idea could be a cinema in the metaverse, designed with gaming mechanics. Consumers could virtually experience our multiplex, from buying a ticket and fresh popcorn to watching a film from a beanbag or a pristine white bed. They could watch feature films, independent movies, or festival screenings. A presence in the metaverse would connect us to early adopters and help us survive if another pandemic shuts down theaters.

Another niche opportunity could be targeting private parties. This demographic isn’t served by our rivals and could attract groups wanting to avoid indoor contact with strangers.

“40 New Opportunities” is just one tool your team can use regularly to innovate and unlock value while building resilience.

Conclusion

Innovation and resilience are critical for any company aiming to thrive in today’s dynamic business environment. By engaging teams in exercises that challenge perceived impossibilities and exploring new opportunities through structured techniques, organizations can foster a culture of agility and creative problem-solving. Regularly implementing these strategies not only leads to innovative solutions but also builds a resilient, forward-thinking workforce prepared to tackle future challenges.

Key Takeaways

1. Engage Teams in Problem-Solving:

• Encourage employees at all levels to brainstorm and discuss ideas once considered impossible.
• Provide structured sessions for these discussions, both in-person and remotely.

2. Brainstorm and Swap Ideas:

• Have teams list “impossible” tasks related to customers, company culture, or industry norms.
• Exchange these lists and work on converting the “impossibles” into actionable “possibles.”

3. Innovative Solution Implementation:

• Share and discuss the solutions within the group.
• Decide on which feasible “possibles” to implement for immediate business improvements.

4. Hunting Grounds for Innovation:

• Use the “hunting grounds” technique to find new revenue opportunities across eight categories, such as new products, business models, and customer segments.
• Analyze both positive and negative aspects to generate innovative ideas.

5. 40 New Opportunities Technique:

• Regularly apply this method to rethink and innovate existing products or services.
• Identify underserved niches or new niches to attract customers and increase value.

6. Fostering Resilience:

• Continuously look for ways to innovate and adapt.
• Build a resilient team that is not only capable of generating creative solutions but also prepared to implement them effectively.

By integrating these strategies into your company’s routine, you can turn seemingly impossible challenges into opportunities, driving growth and sustaining success in an ever-changing market.