Innovation in Change

Transforming the operating system seldom commences by emphasizing innovation practices, as our creative energy is usually hindered by other domains. However, ultimately, embracing an Evolutionary OS revolves around change. We aspire for our organizations to become more flexible and responsive. In practical terms, this implies enhancing our learning capabilities and becoming adept at exploring new avenues. This principle is crucial not only at the product level, where we engage with the market, but also in our work methodology. Any alteration in any aspect of your operating system is an act of disruption and innovation. Therefore, even if you haven’t delved into discussing the comprehensive approach to novelty immediately, rest assured that you are making progress in that direction.

Questions on Innovation

The following questions can be applied to the organization as a whole or the teams within it. Use them to provoke a conversation about what is present and what is possible.

What is our philosophy on innovation?
Where, when, and how does innovation happen?
Who participates in innovation? Who has the right to innovate?
How do we approach incremental and disruptive innovation?
What is the role of failure and learning in innovation?
How do we evaluate new ideas, approaches, and products?
How do we balance the short term and the long term?
How do we manage our portfolio of ideas, prototypes, and products?

What does it mean to be People Positive about innovation?
Recognize that people are inherently creative given the right conditions. Trust them to sense opportunity and pursue it fluidly. A true culture of innovation is one where we can’t tell the difference between operations and invention.

What does it mean to be Complexity Conscious about innovation?
Accept that innovation is inherently uncertain. A healthy amount of variation and divergence is necessary if you want a vibrant ecology of self-renewal. Have the discipline to make bets in good times and bad.

Now that you are familiar with the dimensions of our theory, let’s discuss how we can apply it. Like many other tools, our approach can be used in different ways. It can be used descriptively to describe your own way of working or that of another team. It can be used diagnostically to analyse positive or negative patterns we have observed (e.g. why do new employees feel confused by the onboarding process?). In addition, some teams use our approach to envision how the organisation could evolve.

We use it primarily as an awareness-raising tool to capture stories, tensions and experiments that are happening in the real world. We ask the teams themselves to interpret what is happening. Regardless of the approach, our approach usually triggers a rethink in the teams as they begin to systemically rethink the way they work. A meeting is no longer just a meeting; it becomes a forum for belonging, an opportunity to share information, a chance for buy-in or even a potential waste of time. Our approach encourages such conversations, and these conversations will ultimately lead to change.

Every decision is associated with emotions. When you are faced with a decision, the subcortical structures in your brain are activated and trigger a cascade of emotions, instincts and bodily sensations. These elements influence a somatic decision or even bring it about before you are aware of it. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as a “gut feeling”. The interplay between our different thought systems happens so quickly and seamlessly that we often don’t even realise it. We may hold on to the belief that most of our decisions are made objectively and rationally, but this is not the case.

Therefore, at this point, you should have already made your decision. Somewhere in your mind or body, you know it. Either you believe that we need to change the way we work and are ready to take that step, or you don’t believe it and never will. Those who believe – the catalysts, the visionaries, the risk-takers – have understood that the future will not be a desirable place unless we change how we work together as humans to design and build the future in a way that employees will love coming to work.

So where do we go from here? The answer is simple; the implementation is a challenge. If you have some responsibility over others – in business, philanthropy, education, public service, your community or even at home – it’s your job to improve the humanity, vitality and adaptability of the current organisational system. If you are ready to do so, we can embark on this journey together.