I spend a lot of time talking to customers, and large software company representatives (ok, MOSTLY IBMers, but not exclusively by any means).

Lately, all the buzz has been around innovation. How to innovate. How to cultivate innovation. How to prepare, or prevent the day when the next competitor to their 100 year old brand pops up in a garage somewhere in the Midwest with a product offering nearly as good as theirs.

Surely the answer must be to hire young developers fresh out of school, or working on their own startup ventures, right?

Wrong!

Unequivocally wrong.

Certainly there is merit in continually connecting with universities and keeping an eye out for new talent, but ignoring internal teams with years, and sometimes decades of domain knowledge is a sure path to quick irrelevance.

The answer lies somewhere between the two extremes

Companies shouldn’t replace their well-established teams for the sake of hiring the next shiny graduate who has a fresh dose of perspective to offer. That, in and of itself, doesn’t guarantee innovation.  It’s not the means to the end.  Though they WOULD profit from expanding their teams to have a diverse group, free from all the rules, red tape, bureaucracy, etc.

Your diverse teams should include some fresh talent, some middle of the way folks, and some more tenured talent, as well. The collaboration between those people in a neutral environment is where true innovation begins.

Leverage your internal teams, but remove the rules!

Perhaps the biggest impediment to innovation in large enterprises is the fear of doing things differently. Successful innovation is best nurtured (at least at first!) in a vacuum, removed from the usual rules and restrictions that may govern their day.

Setup a ‘safe’ environment where teams are encouraged to think up truly unique ideas, and eliminate the requirement that they have any immediately obvious relevance to the business.   Let people play.

There are some groups and marketing firms that will invite executives into observation rooms where they are asked to watch young children play, and make notes.   Think about it. What is it you find when young kids are left alone to play?   There are no rules. They innovate. They build impossible Lego sculptures, or draw ridiculous animals.   We have to find a way to allow innovation to bloom in large corporate structures, and this takes time.

Most of us have forgotten how to truly play with no rules.   We may participate in weekly pick up games with friends, or meet to go for a run with friends even. These activities, however, all have rules.   We’re talking about something deeper.

Offer rewards

Surely one tried and true method of obtaining results is to offer incentives for success.   Develop a commercially viable solution? Cash prize. Come up with something truly unique, with no obvious business value? Same, give a cash prize.   Even a voucher for dinner will accomplish the intended result.

Remember, R&D has two components.   The research piece is separate from the development piece. Great ideas don’t have to be fully fleshed out.

Share what ideas have worked in your shops if you have some. We’d love to hear some success stories!