Most people will tell you that you need an innovation structure, multiple procedures, company-wide training and an innovation team to run an effective innovation program.â¨
They're WRONG! It's one of the reasons so many of these initiatives fail. People make them too complex, stifling business growth innovation rather than enabling it.
But don't you provide these services Nils?
Yes, I do. But I make sure processes don't overwhelm and that the training feels like fun. The difference is in knowing what will help people versus hinder them.
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A massive hurdle that people face in changing their results is a behavioural one. You can have the best process in the world, but if you don't know how to fundamentally change behaviour, those processes are worth diddly squat.
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Today, I will show you the critical concepts you need to run a business growth innovation program without any processes, support, or training.
So that you can get results happening now without having to implement costly programs.
And suppose you do want more structure, training and support as your initiative grows. In that case, you'll know the fundamentals for the business growth innovation program to succeed.
This will mean you can leave work on time and sleep easy knowing business growth results are coming your way.
Let's dive in nowâĻ.
I've got well over 20 years of psychological technique experience behind me.
I'm not a psychologist, but I did date one for 10 years and then spent the next 10 years in therapy understanding what went wrongâĻ
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But seriously, behavioural science is one of the simplest ways to get more out of yourself and your team. And if it's a change in results you're looking for, then look no further than creating behavioural change.
There are four pillars you need to create behavioural change:
1. Creating the 'Want to' - this is the motivation, desire, and need to do a behaviour
2. Creating the 'Chance to' - giving people the time, space and or permission to do the behaviours
3. Creating the 'How to' - learning the desired behaviour skill or
4. Creating the 'Prompt to' - every behaviour follows a prompt
1. 'Want to'
People are 100% motivated all the time. It's just that they may not be 100% motivated by your business growth innovation.
To help change that, we need to give people an alternative narrative (story) to the one already going on in their heads. Their existing narrative might be that innovation is too risky, too hard, not worth it etc.
Your job is to share stories that help illustrate why business growth innovation is important. You also need to share how it can be safe so that people can see themselves in this new story and replace their old story with your new one.
I unpack this in my latest resource The Relaxed Innovation Leaders Guide to Getting Anyone to Innovate
2. 'Chance to'
Your people are very capable of innovating, but if you don't give them permission or time to do it, then nothing will happen. If both of these are an issue, call the innovation something else and ensure there's a time code for their timesheet that gives them permission to work on it. Or employ the 5minute innovation techniques shared earlier.
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3. 'How to'
We all have latent innovative and creative skills (many of which we had when children), but not all of us know how to innovate. In fact, very few do. Showing them a technique or asking them how they could learn a technique is a cost-effective way to get training happening without spending any money. More on this in a few moments.
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4. 'Prompt to'
All behaviours are triggered by a prompt of some kind. The prompt may be obvious or inconspicuous, but there are prompts for every behaviour we have. At its most basic, your phone rings, and it prompts you to pick it up. Your email inbox chimes, and you check your email inbox.
The good news is you can design for new desired behaviours (e.g. innovation growth. behaviours) by coupling a desired behaviour or activity with an existing activity. So that an existing behaviour becomes the prompt. For example, after our Monday morning check-in, I will write on the whiteboard and ask the team one idea-generating question.
Research by Dr. BJ Fogg, the worlds leading Habit scientist from Stanford University, has shown its best to add new behaviours to follow an existing one. Some others could be - After I check my emails, I willâĻ, After getting off the phone, I willâĻ
Make sure you check out his awesome book for more tips on this. https://tinyhabits.com/
While there are other components to consider, such as culture and specific observable, measurable behaviours, the four pillars are more than enough to get great results.
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