How To #OccupyInnovation

A three-step transformative approach easily implanted in the heart of any organization

On November 17th, 2016, I spoke at the annual How To Get There (HTGT) Summit, which brought together 3,000 attendees from corporations, startups, and innovation hubs, fostering an atmosphere in which these organizations “can innovate faster, together.”

Over the course of an afternoon, there were 44 “How to” sessions, covering topics ranging such as “How to Scout Startups,” “How to Spin Out,” and “How to Apply Design-thinking in Corporations.”

A number of Collaborne clients were in attendance and presenting at he summit, including Hans Schoenfeld, chief innovation officer of The National Police Corps of The Netherlands, who spoke about the approach by which government agencies could embed innovation within their organizations. Other clients included the Port of Rotterdam Authority and NN Group.

With a rapidly growing ambition for organizations to hardwire innovation into the circuitry of their operations, Collaborne was invited to present a session entitled “How to #OccupyInnovation.” It was based on blog post of the same name, which I wrote back in July.

I was joined in my talk by Kors van Wyngaarden, medical officer of digital health for Philips, and Miguel van Bodegom, chairman of the Dutch Open Hackathon.

During the session, I covered how organizations can start an “innovation movement,” drawing parallels with the “Occupy” movement that has swept through the world, mostly notably with 2011’s Occupy Wall Street protests.

Here are the slides of the session.

The session provided a three-step approach for organizations aiming to put innovation and transformation at the heart of their strategies.

The approach is as follows:

1. Provide teams with practical know-how they can use to innovate effectively. At Collaborne, we refer to this as “technology-as-a-coach”— striving every day to put technology in the hands of people that will make them more innovative and more creative.

2. Establish a process that is easily followed, leading teams from market insights and customer needs to a well-articulated value proposition addressing an uncovered challenge or opportunity.

3. Give teams and sponsors analytics they can use to steer and manage innovation daily. And I mean actually tangible and actionable data that can help make innovation better, every day.

See you all next year at the How To Get There Summit!