Steps for Creating an Innovative Product Development Culture

This HealthTech startup was able to 3x its impact, after I asked one question. I was consulting for a promising HealthTech startup in New York, lead by their CEO Peter. They had great funding and an inspired mission, but something felt off. The once vibrant team now seemed drained, trapped in a cycle of relentless output. “What more should we do? What else can we add?” — their product roadmap was a frantic mess. Innovation took a backseat to meeting deadlines and market pressures. The team’s creative spirit was suppressed by the stress of delayed delivery deadlines and market pressures. Peter couldn’t understand the lack of drive in his team, and was tired of pushing people. So I came in, and after spending a few days with them learning and observing, I asked a simple question in a late night meeting: "Peter, why did you start this?" The silence was deafening, but the answer was clear: To develop a simple, effective solution that could revolutionize healthcare. We revisited our strategy, and took action in 4 steps: ▶ 1. Integrated teams Broke down silos between sales, marketing and product. Fostered collaboration and unity. ▶ 2. Refocused on problem-solving Pivoted from pumping out features to addressing the health problems. This reignited creativity. ▶ 3. Outcome-based measurement Judged success by real user impact instead of just number of features. ▶ 4. Cultivated innovation Encouraged questioning, experimenting and learning. Empowered the team to explore new ideas. Gradually, this overhaul re-energized the team. They felt like contributors again, not cogs in a machine. Peter connected better with his team, and his leadership became more empowering. By going back to their origin story and core mission, the startup regained its status as a HealthTech innovator. Over the next 3 years, they went on to impact over 350,000 lives. Have you ever faced a 'feature factory' dilemma? How did you navigate it? #healthtech #healthcare #startups #product

Most companies claim they embrace failure. But walk into their Monday meetings, and watch people scramble to hide their missteps. I've seen it countless times. The same leaders who preach 'fail fast' are the first to demand explanations for every setback. Here's the uncomfortable truth:  Innovation dies in environments where people feel safer playing it safe. But there's a difference between reckless failure and strategic experimentation. Let me show you exactly how to build a culture that genuinely embraces productive failure: 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 Stop asking "Who's fault was this?" and start asking: "𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘺𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨?" "𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘴?" "𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯?" 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 '𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬' Monthly meetings where teams present their failed experiments and the insights gained. The key? Leaders must go first. Share your own failures openly, specifically, and without sugar-coating. 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 "24-𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞" After any setback, give teams 24 hours to vent/process. Then require them to present three specific learnings and two potential next steps. This transforms failure from a dead end into a data point. Most "innovative" teams are just risk-averse businesses in disguise. They've mastered innovation theater, not actual innovation. Don't let your people think they need permission to innovate. Instead, start building systems and a culture that make innovation inevitable.

HOW TO CREATE SAFE SPACES FOR UNSAFE IDEAS You hire brilliant people and tell them to innovate. Then you make it impossible for them to do so. Most companies develop an immune system that rejects new ideas like they're some kind of virus. Here are the five innovation killers you need to spot and eliminate: KILLER #1: DEMANDING CRYSTAL BALL ACCURACY You want detailed business cases for projects that are inherently uncertain. The fix: Create different approval processes for exploration vs. execution. Exploration projects get smaller budgets and you measure success by what you learn, not what you earn. KILLER #2: BEING SCARED OF EVERYTHING Your processes are designed to avoid any downside risk, which also kills any upside potential. The fix: Separate "experiments you can't afford to mess up" from "experiments you can't afford not to try." Different projects, different comfort levels with risk. KILLER #3: MAKING INNOVATION FIGHT FOR SCRAPS Innovation projects have to compete with your proven money-makers for resources. The fix: Set aside dedicated innovation resources. 10% of engineering time, 5% of budget, just for projects where you don't know what'll happen. KILLER #4: JUDGING EVERYTHING ON QUARTERLY RESULTS You evaluate innovation projects on the same timelines as your day-to-day operations. The fix: Innovation gets measured by learning cycles, not calendar quarters. Success is about insights you gain, not deadlines you hit. KILLER #5: THINKING FAILURE MEANS SOMEONE SCREWED UP You define success as "execute the original plan perfectly." The fix: Success becomes "figure out what works as fast as possible." Changing direction gets celebrated, not punished. The framework that can transform your innovation culture: EXPLORE → EXPERIMENT → EXECUTE EXPLORE PHASE: Small budget, big questions. Win = quality insights. EXPERIMENT PHASE: Medium budget, specific hunches. Win = fast validation (or fast failure). EXECUTE PHASE: Full budget, proven concept. Win = flawless delivery. Different phases, different rules, different ways to win. Companies don't lack innovative ideas. They lack innovative environments. QUESTIONS TO DIAGNOSE YOUR INNOVATION IMMUNE SYSTEM: ❓How many good ideas die in approval meetings instead of real-world tests? ❓What percentage of your "failed" projects actually teach you something valuable? ❓How long does it take to get approval for a $10K experiment vs. a $10K efficiency upgrade? ❓Do your best people feel comfortable pitching risky ideas? If your best employee came to you tomorrow with a risky but potentially game-changing idea, would they feel safe pitching it? *** I’m Jennifer Kamara, founder of Kamara Life Design. Enjoy this? Repost to share with your network, and follow me for actionable strategies to design businesses and lives with meaning. Want to go from good to world-class? Join our community of subscribers today: https://lnkd.in/d6TT6fX5 

I’ve been a huge fan of Tom Fishburne for years since we were classmates at Harvard Business School. Tom started drawing cartoons on the backs of HBS business cases, which evolve to become his famous and insightful Sky Deck cartoons.  I was always on the lookout for them. I invite my connections across all industries to subscribe to Tom’s insightful newsletter. Last week’s issue particularly resonated with me. Tom highlighted that labeling an idea as polarizing can quickly kill it, as businesses usually avoid such ideas in favor of safer, more universally appealing ones. However, there’s power in polarization. Trying to appeal to everyone often results in appealing to no one. In a cluttered world, the last thing a company can afford is to create indifference. Several years ago, I was helping the innovation group of a large carrier and saw firsthand the graveyard of idea killers. Many innovative ideas, often originating from those in the field who directly experience pain points, did not make it past the first round of evaluation. To help this carrier effectively evaluate innovative ideas and develop a repeatable process, we implemented a few key strategies: 1. Idea Champion Program: We assigned champions to promising ideas to advocate for them, gather feedback, and iterate on the concepts. 2. Cross-Functional Evaluation Committees: We created committees with members from various departments to ensure diverse perspectives in idea evaluation. 3. Fail Fast, Learn Faster: We encouraged a culture where failure is acceptable as long as we learn from it quickly. Prototyping and piloting ideas in controlled environments helped us make informed decisions. 4. Customer-Centric Approach: We focused on ideas that directly addressed customer/staff pain points, involving these stakeholders early in the development process. 5. Regular Review Cycles: We established regular review cycles for all submitted ideas to ensure they received proper attention. By implementing these strategies, we helped the carrier create an environment where innovative ideas could thrive. This process not only brought new solutions to the market but also fostered a culture of creativity and continuous improvement. Remember, the goal is not to avoid polarization but to harness it. Great ideas often provoke strong reactions, and that’s where their power lies. By creating a structured process to evaluate and nurture these ideas, we can ensure that they have the opportunity to make a significant impact. https://lnkd.in/eWfV_a-t