What are some ways to encourage digital innovation in your business?

I couldn’t emphasize this more, any one business or business unit needs a strong compelling event for embarking on change, this is no different when leveraging digital innovation and transformation. The key role players need to be clear on the envisioned value to be gained (competitive advantage), why this is key for the sustainability of the business, and by when should this value be realized. The vision should be simple (easily understood) and achievable - a clear step by step plan, with milestones to signify progress. There’s no point to any of us planning the perfect trip, if we indeed have no idea where we are going.

Entender porque digital es relevante para tu negocio: 1. Generará una mejor aproximación a tu estrategia 2. Medir el nivel de madurez digital de tu empresa: talento, cultura, procesos, Front end, modelos de negocio. 3. Medir el gap en aspiración y gap de inversión, revisar si existen opciones de completar ese gap pensando en modelos innovadores con aliados

Adapt to the Audience: Tailor Your Approach: Understand your audience's preferences and adapt your pitch accordingly. Catering to their interests and needs can enhance receptiveness. Positive Tone: Match your tone to the mood of the audience. If appropriate, inject humor or anecdotes to lighten the atmosphere.

Setting a clear vision helps bring laser focus to business objectives. I consider this crucial for keeping the entire team engaged and motivated, making them feel that their daily contributions add to a greater purpose. If the vision is clear, realistic, and challenges individuals simultaneously, you won't need to worry about the natural frustration that sometimes accompanies innovation. Flexibility and an open mind are necessary, and having a clear vision can save a considerable amount of time in building the necessary resilience, allowing your team members to channel that energy towards creativity.

Identify current pain points of employees through crowd sourcing and assess which could be addressed through technology - nothing will drive adoption & innovation as much as simplifying people’s work & life

A clear vision fosters a shared commitment to innovation. It reduces ambiguity and allows teams to focus on initiatives aligned with the overarching goals. It fosters creativity and risk-taking by communicating the organization's aspirations, promoting a culture that embraces change and sees setbacks as learning opportunities. The vision needs to be ambitious, but realistic with respect to current or attainable organizational capabilities and resources necessary to support the initiatives that emerge as a result of its pursuit. Finally, the vision needs to be credible and result from the experience and values of the organization's leaders. Only then it has a realistic chance to be turned into the reality by the rest of the organization.

Ask yourself, as to what do you mean by digital innovation. For example, a farmer can do digital innovation by getting government support/startup support in analysing weather/climate/crop health patterns. But an e-commerce company can for example mobilise themselves to automate tasks and replies.

L'innovation est un chemin, et certainement pas une destination. Vous serez donc dans l'incapacité de dire à vos équipes : grâce à ce process d'innovation, nous aurons atteint tel but à tel horizon de temps. Se mettre sur ce chemin, commencer à avancer, même à petit pas, c'est cela qui compte le plus. Au cours de la progression il faudra garder les yeux et l'esprit ouverts pour apprendre, et identifier à chaque embranchements les possibilités qui s'offriront à vous. Vous vous êtes trompé de chemin à un moment donné : ce n'est pas bien grave ! revenez sur vos pas, et essayer une nouvelle voie. En une phrase : l'innovation est avant tout de l'exploration !

Encouraging digital innovation in business starts with setting a clear vision that acts as a north star for all innovation efforts. This vision should articulate the company's future in the context of digital transformation and how it aligns with the overall business goals. It must be compelling enough to inspire action and clear enough to direct it. To foster a culture of innovation, the vision must be disseminated throughout the organization, ensuring that everyone understands and is on board with the digital direction. Encourage teams to brainstorm and contribute ideas that align with this vision, and recognize efforts that push boundaries and explore new digital frontiers.

I agree, but setting such a vision, as said, you need to have a clear larger business vision and see how digital supports those goals, vision is key to going forward, but knowing your business is mission critical

Insights are vital. Make customers into partners and turn the relationship into something more substantial than a bolt on or piggy-back. Work together to harness digital strengths to provide meaningful information about your shared digital spaces or sectors. Use insights to then create and inspire. But choose the right partners.

Involving customers is important, especially if an organization intents to focus on incremental innovations and keep improving their product portfolio (better business). However, customers won't help much in pursuit of radical and/or disruptive innovations (new business). If the organization has the ambition to become an innovation leader in its business, it needs to create the capabilities and structures that systematically look beyond the first horizon and investigates new trends and technologies that can result in developing completely new producs and/or business models.

Encouraging digital innovation by involving customers is about tapping into the wealth of insights they offer.Engage them through social media polls, surveys, and interactive platforms to gather feedback on what digital advancements they desire. Implement co-creation workshops where customers contribute ideas for new digital products or features.By analyzing customer data and behavior, businesses can identify trends and opportunities for innovation. Create beta-testing groups for customers to try new digital solutions and provide honest feedback. This customer-centric approach not only enhances the relevance of your digital offerings but also fosters a sense of ownership among customers, making them more invested in your digital journey.

Heute erwarten Kunden ein nahtloses, personalisiertes und digitales Erlebnis über alle Kanäle hinweg. Sie vergleichen Ihr Unternehmen nicht nur mit Ihren direkten Wettbewerbern, sondern auch mit den besten digitalen Erlebnissen, die sie kennen - sei es Amazon, Netflix oder Uber. Wenn Sie nicht in der Lage sind, diese Erwartungen zu erfüllen, werden Ihre Kunden zu einem Wettbewerber wechseln, der das kann. Eine Studie von Salesforce, ergab, dass 75% der Kunden erwarten, dass Unternehmen ein konsistentes Erlebnis über verschiedene Kanäle hinweg bieten, und 73% der Kunden erwarten, dass Unternehmen ihre Erwartungen verstehen und sie proaktiv erfüllen.

Coopétition, partenariat : des concepts dorénavant vitaux à maîtriser par chaque entreprise. Si vous innovez, c'est pour répondre mieux au besoin de vos clients et partenaire ? Alors pourquoi ne pas les impliquer dès le départ, en écoutant à tout moment leur besoin, leur ressenti, et en n'hésitant pas à tester 'live' auprès d'eux des nouveaux concepts ou manières de faire.

Añadiría que es clave seleccionar cuidadosamente un grupo diverso de clientes para incluir distintas perspectivas, no solo los más satisfechos. Incluso, un segmento bien elegido de clientes insatisfechos puede ser mucho más valiosos que un comité de aplausos de clientes felices. Esto revela insights no obvios y ayuda a innovar para resolver problemas reales.

One thing that has been a game changer for me is to set up a smart onboarding process with questions. You will get answers and insights that’s very useful for your marketing!

In my experience experimantation is key to going forward, you should start small and do controlled experiments where the business value created is clear. Going in to experiments we dont understand the outcome could be detrimental to your efforts.

Imagine: your company is a kitchen, and your collaborators the cooks of your collective success. As traditional cooks, your employees will necessary need the best ingredients and ustensiles to achieve their mission. But above all, the magic sauce of all of this will be the right to make mistake! after all, there isn't a single dish offered by a top restaurant that hasn't been made over and over again before being put on the à la carte menu.

To foster digital innovation in your business, prioritize team empowerment. Offer autonomy, ensuring your team has the freedom to explore new ideas and methods. Provide the necessary resources and tools, supporting their journey to test assumptions and learn from failures. Set clear goals for guidance, offer constructive feedback to refine strategies, and cultivate an environment that values and rewards creativity. By doing so, you not only encourage innovation but also establish a safe and supportive atmosphere that nurtures continuous learning and improvement. Empowered teams are key drivers of digital success, bringing fresh perspectives and driving your business toward sustained growth.

Innovation is all about people enablement. Empowering your team to think and act is a no brainer. Two important concepts for me are: 1. Only mistake you can do is not learning from a failure. 2. Be clear to be kind

It all starts with trust and freedom to generate and implement the best ideas. Only if the team has a feeling that their work matters, that they are trusted, and have an opportunity to make a difference. Empowering means also offering upskilling and training opportunities to make sure that they can deliver what is expected of them. Finally, even the most motivated team cannot do much without resources that are necessary to implement their ideas. Therefore, it is important to secure the budget for the ideas and projects initiated to implement them.

A través de las capacitaciones constantes de las tendencias digitales actuales se puede empoderar al equipo de trabajo con mejores y más eficaces herramientas para gestionar mejor sus funciones. No toda la innovación digital debe ser dirigida a la publicidad, también puede aplicarse las mejoras de tecnología en los procesos internos de la organización.

Die digitale Transformation ist nicht nur eine technologische Veränderung, sondern auch eine kulturelle. Es erfordert das Engagement und die Unterstützung aller Mitarbeiter, von der Geschäftsführung bis hin zu den Mitarbeitern auf allen Ebenen. Es ist wichtig, eine Kultur zu schaffen, die Veränderungen begrüßt und Innovation und Experimente fördert und das kontinuierliche Lernen unterstützt. Dies könnte bedeuten, dass Sie Schulungen anbieten, um Ihre Mitarbeiter in neuen Technologien zu schulen, oder dass Sie eine "Erkenntniskultur" fördern, in der Fehler, oder besser gesagt, auftauchende Probleme als Erkenntnis und somit als Lernmöglichkeiten und nicht als Misserfolge gesehen werden.

La experimentación debe ser gradual. Yo empezaría con proyectos de bajo riesgo y alto potencial donde el equipo pueda validar aprendizajes rápidamente, y -sobre todo- aprender a gestionar esa autonomía y empoderamiento. Por ejemplo, optimización de procesos internos antes de desarrollar nuevos productos. La clave es definir autonomía, recursos y responsabilidades de forma clara, luego ir expandiendo poco a poco.

From my experience I can suggest several smart moves how leadership may foster innovations and creativity 1. Innovations should not be localized in some dedicated team such as RnD or IT but should be cultivated in all business units 2. It might be useful to have one core team who keeps a portfolio of all initiatives to avoid overlapping efforts, provide simple and useful framework to ensure outcomes from each business case 3. You may consider using frameworks such as OKRs to align on objectives and link with business strategy 4. teams should have necessary amount of resources to run PoC/PoVs, consider proper budgeting 5. don’t afraid failures but learn from them 6. Identify promising tech (Gartner, Forester), apply it. Experiment is a key!

Encourage employees to make decisions based on insights rather than intuition. Implement tools for collecting and analyzing data to identify trends, customer preferences, and operational efficiencies. Leverage emerging technologies that align with your business goals. For instance, adopting artificial intelligence (AI) can automate processes, enhance customer experiences, and provide predictive analytics. Integrate AI-driven chatbots to streamline customer support, allowing for quicker response times and personalized interactions.

I have come across several teams that is accountable for driving digital innovation who still use traditional methods to do their job. Leading by example and powering your digital innovation with digital tools can not only accelerate your journey but also will allow you to shift your culture positively.

Here’s a case study about leveraging data and technology—specifically our agency’s work on Strategic IoT-driven Transformation for an Air Purifier Manufacturer. We worked with our client, an air purifier producer, to utilize IoT data from their products to enhance operations and customer satisfaction. By analyzing data in a profitability-tree-driven approach, we identified strategies to cut service costs and boost customer engagement and filter subscriptions. Our customer data platform use case used IoT data to prompt customers about air filter changes and provide product end-of-life data, improving maintenance and reducing service costs. This led to increased customer satisfaction and established the client as a data-driven market leader.

Antes de invertir en nuevas tecnologías, vale la pena cuestionarse si es mejor inveritr en desarrollar capacidades internas de uso de datos (ej. training en análisis de datos). Luego, buscaría proyectos prácticos para aplicar estas habilidades y aprender a hacer las preguntas correctas a los datos con problemas reales del negocio. La tecnología siempre estará (con mayor o menor complejidad). La clave está en las preguntas que se hacen.

Leveraging data and using technology to translate it into practical use is one of the most effective ways. Feedback from customers is important but sometimes even the customer doesn't know what they'll need. Use the 'test and fail quickly' approach.

Here’s my perspective as the CEO of an agency… In fostering digital innovation, agencies must assess whether to develop capabilities in-house or through partnerships. Key is a framework evaluating if in-house maintenance yields positive gross profit. If not, consider if the loss is offset by gains in agility and control. Additionally, project future needs: will demand for this capability grow over time, will employee turnover make the situation more difficult? I often use this as an initial strategic approach to balance financial practicality with foresight, guiding whether to build internally or collaborate externally for long-term success.

Right collaborations and partnerships can help you optimise cost of your programs, bring thought diversity and share risks widely. However, it is important to assess your third parties and continuously monitor their journey. This will ensure you are doing business with right people without exposing you to regulatory or strategic traps.

Embarking on the journey of digital innovation in my business, I've found that cultivating an environment ripe for creativity is paramount. Breaking down departmental walls and encouraging collaboration has sparked ideas beyond imagination. Personally embracing a mindset that sees failures as stepping stones to success has been transformative. Continuous learning, both for myself and the team, keeps us ahead in a rapidly evolving landscape. Investing in cutting-edge tech is not just a strategy; it's a commitment to staying relevant. Through these experiences, I've learned that true innovation blossoms in a culture that values diversity, celebrates risks, and believes that every challenge is an opportunity to evolve.

Totally agree that digital innovation is a process not an event. Particularly, with new trends such as hybrid working and Gen AI changing the landscape, It is important to continuously learn and evolve how you innovate.

Any innovation comes out of a culture where people are encouraged and incentivized to experiment, take healthy risks, and know it’s okay to fail. Digital innovation isn’t different, so that’s where you need to focus attention. It’s not about tech, it’s about people. This means as a leader, you need to focus on growing those behaviors in all of your employees. Innovation isn’t limited to a specific group or function, but if your culture isn’t set up right, everyone will think innovation is someone else’s job. While you obviously need people keeping the trains on the tracks, create space for people to not only share ideas and suggestions on how things can improve but take the lead on experimenting to see if those ideas and suggestions work.

Aprender es una de las claves de todo el proceso y puedes hacerlo antes o después, primero construye un prototipo y testea con usuario y después los datos te han de servir para refinar tu proyecto

Digitale Innovation erfordert neue Fähigkeiten und Kompetenzen. In vielen Unternehmen haben Mitarbeiter aber nicht die erforderlichen Kompetenzen. Daraus können sich gravierende Folgen ergeben: Neue Technologien werden abgelehnt, Daten nicht genutzt, agile Methoden nicht akzeptiert. Anstatt zu innovieren, stagniert das Unternehmen. Um diesen Mangel an digitalen Skills zu beheben, müssen Firmen systematisch vorgehen. Zentral ist die Analyse von Kompetenzlücken in der Belegschaft. Darauf aufbauend wird ein Fahrplan zum Wissensaufbau entwickelt. Mit Schulungen, Trainings, Mentoring und angepasstem Recruiting werden gezielt die benötigten Fähigkeiten aufgebaut. Wichtig ist, digitale Weiterbildung zu fördern und auch selbst vorzuleben.

Be mindful of the message of your actions when establishing a safe environment for innovation. When incentives favor playing it safe, it subtly discourages risk-taking. For true innovation, risk-taking is essential, and fostering this in a secure, positive team environment is crucial. While clear vision, metrics, and direction are vital, ultimately, team members discern and respond to what you emphasize and reward. It’s important to ensure your message aligns with encouraging innovation.

Nurture a Passionate, Curious, and Dedicated Team: Cultivating a team environment where passion, curiosity, and dedication are valued is key. A team that feels valued and connected with the vision and mission is more likely to embrace new challenges, think creatively, and drive innovation. Encouraging these qualities in your team leads to a more dynamic, responsive, and ultimately effective digital strategy. They are often the first to identify emerging trends, propose innovative solutions, and adapt to changes effectively.

Building on Karrie's point that there needs to be an environment of safety for innovation, I would even say, companies need to acknowledge that "failure" is not to be feared when you are pushing beyond known boundaries. That first-time experience will be your benchmark and opportunity for learning. Providing safety and space for all voices to contribute is another way to optimize innovation. In any agency or company there are going to be those who speak the loudest. The best idea may come from one who typically says the least. Those with different personality types (introverts vs extroverts), neurodivergence, cultural backgrounds, race, gender identity and even organizational title levels need to be given the space to contribute safely.

Encouraging digital innovation in your business is about creating a workplace where creativity is valued, taking calculated risks is encouraged, and emerging technologies are embraced. We want our employees to feel confident sharing and exploring new ideas without worrying about criticism. Imagine teams where diverse perspectives come together in collaborative brainstorming sessions, sparking innovative thinking. Keeping everyone in the loop on industry trends through continuous learning is key. Recognition and rewards for innovation, whether through incentives or a shout-out. Lastly, let's foster a forward-thinking mindset. Encourage our team to envision the future of our industry, ensuring adaptability and long-term success.