Tips for Exploring Technology Innovations

Sometimes, finding a compelling problem instantly inspires possibilities. Other times, crickets. Rather than waiting around for lightning to strike, we recommend that teams take a more proactive approach, and deliberately provoke their own imaginations. One of the most effective, powerful, and fun tools we have created for such self-provocation missions is what we call “Analogous Exploration.” Building upon the extensive research demonstrating the power of unexpected new combinations, we encourage folks to seek radically unexpected sources of inspiration to provoke their thinking. This means not only leaving the room, and not only leaving the building, but also leaving the industry and the conventional definition of “competitor set” behind. Analogous Exploration is not benchmarking. One early application of this radical tool was with a struggling Semiconductor Company whose sales organization had been refined over time to cater predominantly to its largest customers (who ordered hundreds of millions of units annually). The company’s senior leaders felt they needed to “reinvent the customer experience for smaller customers,” and asked for our help. (Story too long for LinkedIn tldr: they instituted a radical new information-sharing agreement with their largest distribution partner, which they believe is one of the largest supply chain innovations in their industry in the last 50 years.) The COO of the company jokingly confided later that they had been watching the competition closely… but the competition didn’t know how to solve their problems either! By deliberately seeking out unexpected sources of inspiration, the organization was able to jump-start revolutionary innovations that serve the smaller businesses every bit as well as they already did the large customers. Getting out of the box like this will not feel efficient. But it is effective. We have since seen Australian financial services organizations glean insights for how to establish trust with new customers from a barber shops & tattoo parlor (those are fascinating stories), Israeli tech companies learn from farmers’ markets, New Zealand fisheries take notes from prominent tea purveyors and bespoke coffee shops, and Japanese conglomerates attracting top-tier millennial talent based on insights from a rock climbing studio and a belly dancing instructor. Despite their differences, one critical commonality among each of these environments is that the teams positioned to solve the newly-defined problem lacked the requisite inputs to trigger fresh ideas. Imagination is fueled by fresh input, and yet all too often, teams are stuck in a conference room, post-it pads in hand, banging their heads against an all-too-ironically spotless whiteboard. Analogous Exploration is a tool to help folks get out of their context on purpose, with intention, to come back with the inspiration they need to fuel fresh thinking.

I’ve long been interested in technology but when I started to explore it seriously over a decade ago, I was going off the beaten path. Few people understood what I was doing or why. Now, I increasingly have clinicians asking me how they can get started on a career in health innovation. My first piece of advice is to get started in some way. Whether it’s a project in the hospital you’re at or advising a startup, doing the work very quickly gives you a sense of what aspects are interesting. All too often, people want some kind of training or degree so they feel qualified to do this. While an additional degree or learning to code doesn’t hurt, it isn’t a prerequisite. As long as you’re willing to learn as you go, the field is still young enough that you can make a lot of progress. You’ll learn quickly what you like, what you’re good at and what’s out there. The other thing I recommend is networking. Getting to know others in the space, learning from them, asking them for resources they used, pitfalls they faced etc etc. The key is to be respectful of their time by reading about their background, being prepared with questions and following up after a few months on how their advice helped. I was told that an effective tool to get to know people in the space is to ask everyone you meet - who are three other people I should talk to? As you keep doing this, the list grows exponentially but eventually starts to converge as the same names come up. At that point you know many of the key players in the space. Developing this network leads to learning and also opens up opportunities. I call these non-linear opportunities. Going to medical school and becoming a doctor is a linear path. Not easy, but a known series of steps produces an outcome. In contrast, exploring the space as described above opens up new opportunities that are hard to predict ahead of time. Finally, I encourage people to take a little more risk. Health is a risk averse field - for good reason. However, we may sometimes overestimate the risk. When I left a job and academic career at Johns Hopkins it felt like a tremendous risk - I felt like I was throwing away decades of work. However, the reality was that I could still be a cardiologist as a fall back plan. The bottom line is that a little risk can pay off disproportionately. As you do more and more work in the space, and take advantage of opportunities that come your way, eventually the side gig turns into the day job and seeing patients becomes a side gig. These are the lessons I’ve drawn from my own journey and speaking with other leaders in the space. I’m curious if this resonates. What other advice have you received that was helpful? What advice do you give to others? Comments welcome 👇

Here’s a new, highly-timely way to classify innovations: FLEXIBLE vs. INFLEXIBLE. When chaos abounds, prioritize the FLEXIBLE. Yet companies usually spend most money and time on what’s INFLEXIBLE. Six ways to change the balance are: 1️⃣ Map your innovation portfolio How have you spread your bets along axes such as time horizon, type of risk taken, and ability to change course? Know where your portfolio is currently at, and what profile you wish to move toward. 2️⃣ Create options What are inexpensive bets you can place on ways your world might shift? Consider, for instance, low-cost products that might be embraced by customers feeling acute economic pressures. Perhaps these bets have a relatively large probability of not paying off – that’s OK if they’re taken inexpensively, keeping your financial risk small. 3️⃣ Think platforms, not products Platforms create flexibility to change what you offer customers, while retaining a sticky customer relationship. They often have a software component, even in the world of physical goods. 4️⃣ Stay focused on your customers’ constants We can be certain that today’s chaotic environment won’t settle down soon. But your customers’ Jobs to be Done stay fairly constant. Know those very well and concentrate on them. 5️⃣ Prioritize business model and service innovations Product innovation often takes time and multi-year planning. Business model and service innovations are much more flexible (and cheaper), yet oftentimes companies lack clear mechanisms to pursue these. Fix that. 6️⃣ Pursue Costovation You can concentrate some of the less flexible portions of your portfolio on cost innovation (Costovation), because your costs are often more controllable than your revenues. Use the tools of innovation to radically re-think your costs. The innovation literature has many classifications: disruptive vs. sustaining, existing vs. new market, etc. But it’s been rare to classify flexible vs. inflexible. Now’s the time to change that. When everything seems to be swirling, focus on what’s FLEXIBLE.

Innovation—and making change in general—isn’t about blindly jumping into the unknown. It’s about mixing boldness with a plan. It’s not just having an idea and running with it. Before you step into the open air, you take your wild idea, pack it, check it, test it, and bring that reserve - because you may need to pivot mid-jump. Here's the basic framework my teams use: 💡 IDEATE - take in an idea or brainstorm ones within the team to get after problems or inefficiencies you see in your system, and turn it into a problem statement. ✈ DESIGN - design a portfolio of solutions against that problem statement that you can take and test, along with the process you'll use to define and measure success. Start thinking about who will own it, and how you'll resource it. 🏗 PROTOTYPE - build test solutions and MVPs, and run experiments as needed to test their efficacy. Figure out what works, what doesn't, and what you want to scale. Co-build that refined solution with the champion who will own it. 📈 SCALE - time to build out your solution! Communicate, build your change management plan, and roll it out! 🤝 INTEGRATE - execute that change management plan and make sure your solution works in your ecosystem. 📊 ASSESS - keep checking on things. Is your solution working the way it's supposed to? Is it fixing the problem in your ecosystem? What else needs to be changed? And that's usually what leads you to a new idea. Even with a good plan, the leap is still risky and requires you to be bold. But the effort is (or should be!) grounded in preparation, strategy, and the willingness to adapt mid-air as needed. Happy Friday, team! #ArmyInnovation #LetsGo

86% of Breakthrough Innovations Happen When We Pause to Wonder "What If?", Yet Most Leaders Fill Calendars Too Full for Curiosity Scrolling through LinkedIn on this relaxed Saturday morning, Khozema Shipchandler's celebration of Twilio's 400th patent caught my attention. His words about innovation being "our engine" rather than just a buzzword resonated deeply as I sip my coffee, mind wandering beyond weekday constraints. What truly powers innovative cultures and discovered fascinating patterns: → Space Creates Breakthroughs Organizations that build legitimate "think time" into workweeks see 3.7x more employee-generated innovations. Companies with protected thinking hours experience significant creative output, yet 78% of knowledge workers report having zero unstructured thinking time. ↳ As Khozema noted, each innovation represents "a spark of curiosity, a bold idea, & the drive to build something new" → Psychological Safety Drives Bold Thinking Teams with high psychological safety produce 41% more innovative solutions than peers. When employees feel secure taking risks without fear of ridicule, organizations experience 37% fewer implementation failures and 2.5x faster idea-to-market cycles. → Cross-Pollination Transcends Boundaries Our analysis shows 68% of transformative business ideas originate from outside industry frameworks, often sparked during moments of relaxation or unexpected connections that traditional work structures rarely accommodate. ↳ Organizations breaking down silos see innovation rates triple compared to those with rigid department boundaries Cultivating Curiosity-Driven Culture ✦ Inspiration Catalysts – Install physical and digital spaces where employees share articles, ideas or thoughts that sparked "what if" moments, creating continuous innovation triggers. ✦ Celebration Rituals – Implement storytelling practices highlighting both successful innovations and valuable "productive failures," reinforcing that exploration is valued alongside execution. ✦ Connection Architecture – Design both physical and digital environments that facilitate unplanned interactions across functions, knowing innovation thrives at intersections. ✦ Reflection Rhythms – Build regular pauses into organizational cadence—like I'm enjoying this Saturday—where stepping back allows patterns and possibilities to emerge. The most innovative organizations recognize that building creative culture requires both structure and space—systems that nurture curiosity while providing the safety and resources to transform questions into impact. What's one unexpected source that's sparked your best innovation? Love exploring possibilities, Joe PS: We are building People Atom, the private network where forward-thinking HR leaders and founders learn to balance structured execution with creative exploration to transform innovation cultures. Our first private roundtable for CHRO's is scheduled on July 11th in Chennai (DM me for details)