Creating the time to innovate -- Part I

I am frequently approached by leadership from other divisions asking how my teams find the time to be so innovative. I propose that it is not finding the time, but rather creating the time. We all need more time in the day, but if you create a culture which inspires quality, you will naturally have the time you've been looking for.

Culture
A culture of continuous improvement runs through my team's veins. When inefficiencies arise, the team identifies solutions to improve productivity.

Team members are encouraged to give back to the team (I call this "team community service") by proposing and implementing better ways of doing things. Generally it's about 20% of their time (equating to about 1 day per week).

The key is not assigning tasks nor me saying what to do, but rather giving each individual a blank slate to identify and contribute to the areas they are most passionate about. (See previous post about motivation.)

Quality
Where do we get the time to implement these solutions? We have a constant pulse on things which prevent us from working on value-add tasks. From here we identify where we need to simplify or improve quality. These improvements in quality add up to very large time savings.

At first the team uses this extra time to catch up on value-add work and achieve a consistent flow. However, once we achieve optimal flow, we use the extra time gained to continue to innovate, gradually reaching the magic 20% time for each individual.

Suggestions to get started
Analyze your team's errors, production bugs, defects, and other distractions which require someone to stop what they're doing and spend time fixing issues. Use the 80/20 rule to determine the 20% of items causing 80% of the issues, and start to eliminate them.

It may be difficult at first, but leverage key team member strengths and passions. Some folks will not mind putting in extra effort, especially if it means helping the team in the long run and working on something they enjoy.

Be sure to track your team's progress. Take a baseline of key metrics today (number of production defects, average time spent fixing issues, etc.), and track improvements along the way.

The key is to have a tipping point in mind: when do you stop giving the time saved back to "business as usual" work and start giving it to "team community service?" Some individuals may only be able to reach 10%, while others may reach 20% or more.

You will see that 10-20% of time spent on innovation and continuous improvement will produce 2-10x gains for your team in the long run. Create the time to do it.


Update: Read Part II of this topic here.

What motivates us

Daniel Pink challenges the conventional way of thinking about motivation. He points to research demonstrating larger rewards do not necessarily lead to better performance for tasks involving conceptual and creative thinking.

So what does motivate us?

Autonomy
No one likes a micro-manager. When things are 100% planned it equates to zero innovation. Self-direction, on the other hand, drives engagement.

Software company Atlassian provides developers 24 hours once a quarter to work on whatever they want, however they want. The only thing they must do is show their results to the company at the end of the 24 hours. This quarterly event has produced many new products, bug fixes, and productivity improvements which may never have emerged otherwise.

Mastery
Why do people play musical instruments? I learned to play the piano after college, not because I was getting paid for it (I wasn't), but because I enjoyed doing it and seeing my progress along the way.

Open source projects are another example here (think Wikipedia or Linux). Contributors to these projects do not get paid, many already have jobs, but challenge and mastery spark their desire to contribute.

Purpose
We want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. This goes hand-in-hand with my post about the power of "why."

Skype's founder said, "Our goal is to be disruptive, but in the cause of making the world a better place." That is quite a purpose to get up and go to work for every day.

It is important to note that money is in fact a motivator. If you pay someone too little, that can be severely de-motivating. Pay someone enough to get the issue of money off the table and they can focus solely on their work.

The power of "why" in leadership

Simon Sinek explains it's not what we do or how we do things that makes us a great leader; it's why we do it.

Sinek describes how our brains are hard-wired to follow those who believe what we believe. It is this connection which inspires others to take action, not because of what we're doing, but why we're doing it.

In the business world, great companies rally around leaders with big visions. Steve Jobs said he wanted to "put a ding in the universe" and go to bed each night saying "we've done something wonderful." Instagram set out "to change the way we see the world." These purpose-driven statements call on something more than just what the product is, or how it's made. They drive action through inspiration.

Sinek points out that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., gave the "I have a dream" speech, not the "I have a plan" speech. 

People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it.