Strategies for Fostering Innovation at Work

Should you try Google’s famous “20% time” experiment to encourage innovation? We tried this at Duolingo years ago. It didn’t work. It wasn’t enough time for people to start meaningful projects, and very few people took advantage of it because the framework was pretty vague. I knew there had to be other ways to drive innovation at the company. So, here are 3 other initiatives we’ve tried, what we’ve learned from each, and what we're going to try next. 💡 Innovation Awards: Annual recognition for those who move the needle with boundary-pushing projects. The upside: These awards make our commitment to innovation clear, and offer a well-deserved incentive to those who have done remarkable work. The downside: It’s given to individuals, but we want to incentivize team work. What’s more, it’s not necessarily a framework for coming up with the next big thing. 💻 Hackathon: This is a good framework, and lots of companies do it. Everyone (not just engineers) can take two days to collaborate on and present anything that excites them, as long as it advances our mission or addresses a key business need. The upside: Some of our biggest features grew out of hackathon projects, from the Duolingo English Test (born at our first hackathon in 2013) to our avatar builder. The downside: Other than the time/resource constraint, projects rarely align with our current priorities. The ones that take off hit the elusive combo of right time + a problem that no other team could tackle. 💥 Special Projects: Knowing that ideal equation, we started a new program for fostering innovation, playfully dubbed DARPA (Duolingo Advanced Research Project Agency). The idea: anyone can pitch an idea at any time. If they get consensus on it and if it’s not in the purview of another team, a cross-functional group is formed to bring the project to fruition. The most creative work tends to happen when a problem is not in the clear purview of a particular team; this program creates a path for bringing these kinds of interdisciplinary ideas to life. Our Duo and Lily mascot suits (featured often on our social accounts) came from this, as did our Duo plushie and the merch store. (And if this photo doesn't show why we needed to innovate for new suits, I don't know what will!) The biggest challenge: figuring out how to transition ownership of a successful project after the strike team’s work is done. 👀 What’s next? We’re working on a program that proactively identifies big picture, unassigned problems that we haven’t figured out yet and then incentivizes people to create proposals for solving them. How that will work is still to be determined, but we know there is a lot of fertile ground for it to take root. How does your company create an environment of creativity that encourages true innovation? I'm interested to hear what's worked for you, so please feel free to share in the comments! #duolingo #innovation #hackathon #creativity #bigideas

I was just interrupted during our onsite innovation sprint… “I’m sorry, but I don’t think that’s what our customers want.” We’ve been mapping our innovation roadmap all week, and something fascinating keeps happening: Our social team (who absolutely has a seat at the table) continuously brings a critical perspective: “The conversations on social are focusing elsewhere...” “Our listening tools show this is the actual pain point...” “Here’s what customers are saying in real-time...” Their insights can shift our next steps. And they are backed by data from thousands of real customer conversations flowing through social channels every day, unfiltered and honest. So the most valuable question we kept returning to during our onsite was: → Are we building what WE think matters, or what our CUSTOMERS say matters? Your social team isn’t just executing your social strategy - they’re sitting on insights that should be shaping your entire business strategy. How are you integrating social intelligence into your product roadmap? The answers might surprise you.

The vast majority of people in large organizations are afraid of innovation and change. The cost of failure is typically so high that avoiding risk altogether is the safest option. However, for a company to succeed long term, it must continually attract new users and customers. And to get those new users and customers, you need new ideas, strategies and products. Regardless of any corporate rhetoric, creating new products, especially in a large organization, immediately puts you in a difficult "swimming upstream" position. I've watched brilliant people with ideas worth trying, ideas that could be crazy or crazy like a fox, get driven into submission when their plans are meeting'ed to death. Mediocrity ensues. The status quo survives. And long-term success becomes harder to imagine. A core tenet to innovating is understanding that nothing is going to work perfectly the first time. Blockbuster Hollywood scripts aren't turned into movies after the first draft. Developing a new idea is a maze of ideation, testing, learning, and repeating... The key to success is keeping the following points in mind during the innovation process: 1. Stop talking about It and do something. Simply talking about an idea and holding useless meetings is like sitting in a rocking chair. "It gives you something to do, but you'll never get anywhere." Do something tangible. Make a prototype. Talk to users. Hack something together to test with customers. Just do something. 2. Don't over invest in the beginning. Invest as little time, money and effort as possible to legitimately test your thesis. 3. Recognize quickly if it's a good or bad idea. Be honest and objective with yourself. If it's a bad idea, you'll know. Pivot. If it's a good idea, accelerate the velocity.

I am constantly thinking about how to foster innovation in my product organization. Building teams that are experts at execution is the easy part—when there’s a clear problem, product orgs are great at coming up with smart solutions. But it’s impossible to optimize your way into innovation. You can’t only rely on incremental improvement to keep growing. You need to come up with new problem spaces, rather than just finding better solutions to the same old problems. So, how do we come up with those new spaces? Here are a few things I’m trying at Duolingo: 1. Innovation needs a high-energy environment, and a slow process will kill a great idea. So I always ask myself: Can we remove some of the organizational barriers here? Do managers from seven different teams really need to say yes on every project? Seeking consensus across the company—rather than just keeping everyone informed—can be a major deterrent to innovation. 2. Similarly, beware of defaulting to “following up.” If product meetings are on a weekly cadence, every time you do this, you are allocating seven days to a task that might only need two. We try to avoid this and promote a sense of urgency, which is essential for innovative ideas to turn into successes. 3. Figure out the right incentive. Most product orgs reward team members whose ideas have measurable business impact, which works in most contexts. But once you’ve found product-market fit, it is often easiest to generate impact through smaller wins. So, naturally, if your org tends to only reward impact, you have effectively incentivized constant optimization of existing features instead of innovation. In the short term things will look great, but over time your product becomes stale. I try to show my teams that we value and reward bigger ideas. If someone sticks their neck out on a new concept, we should highlight that—even if it didn’t pan out. Big swings should be celebrated, even if we didn’t win, because there are valuable learnings there. 4. Look for innovative thinkers with a history of zero-to-one feature work. There are lots of amazing product managers out there, but not many focus on new problem domains. If a PM has created something new from scratch and done it well, that’s a good sign. An even better sign: if they show excitement about and gravitate toward that kind of work. If that sounds like you—if you’re a product manager who wants to think big picture and try out big ideas in a fast-paced environment with a stellar mission—we want you on our team. We’re hiring a Director of Product Management: https://lnkd.in/dQnWqmDZ #productthoughts #innovation #productmanagement #zerotoone

In 2021, I proposed an initiative I thought was brilliant—it would help my team make faster progress and better leverage each member's unique skills. Brilliant, right? Yet, it didn’t take off. Many ideas or initiatives fail because we struggle to gain buy-in. The reasons for resistance are many, but Rick Maurer simplifies them into three core categories: (1) "I don’t get it" Resistance here is about lack of understanding or information. People may not fully grasp the reasons behind the change, its benefits, or the implementation plan. This often leaves them feeling confused or unsure about the impact. (2) "I don’t like it" This is rooted in a dislike for the change itself. People might feel it disrupts their comfort zones, poses a negative impact, or clashes with personal values or interests. (3) "I don’t like YOU." This is about the messenger, not the message. Distrust or lack of respect for the person initiating the change can create a barrier. It might stem from past experiences, perceived incompetence, or lack of credibility. When I work with leaders to identify which category resistance falls into, the clarity that follows helps us take targeted, practical steps to overcome it. - To address the "I don't get it" challenge, focus on clear, accessible communication. Share the vision, benefits, and roadmap in a way that resonates. Use stories, real-life examples, or data to make the case relatable and tangible. Give people space to ask questions and clarify concerns—often, understanding alone can build alignment. - To address the "I don't like it" challenge, emphasize empathy. Acknowledge potential impacts on routines, comfort zones, or values, and seek input on adjustments that could reduce disruption. If possible, give people a sense of control over aspects of the change; this builds buy-in by involving them directly in shaping the solution. - And to address the "I don't like you" challenge, solving for the other two challenges will help. You can also openly address past issues, if relevant, and demonstrate genuine commitment to transparency and collaboration Effective change isn’t just about the idea—it’s about knowing how to bring people along with you. #change #ideas #initiatives #collaboration #innovation #movingForward #progress #humanBehavior

Thrilled to share a cool breakthrough I had today with AI in learning. It’s a method you can apply to any event you curate. ✨ I was running a full day workshop on innovation for the Entrepreneurs' Organization in Winnipeg (thanks Samantha Duha for hosting me!) and I wanted to give the participants some async “pre-work” to get their creative juices flowing BEFORE they arrived at the workshop. 🧠 As an entrepreneur and educator, I’m constantly exploring new methods to inspire and provoke thoughtful learning in my workshops. ✏️ So I ran an experiment and created an AI prompt that attendees could copy and paste in ChatGPT (or Claude, or Co-Pilot), which directed the AI chatbot to have a focused back-and-forth conversation with the participant about the workshop topic before they arrived. 💬 For any optional activity before a workshop, I’d normally expect only 20% of participants to follow through. 🤷🏻♂️ But 100% of the attendees did the optional homework! I was blown away by the engagement! I’ve never seen that before! 🤯 So going forward for all my workshops and important meetings, I will always assign async prework with an AI prompt to stimulate ideas. 💡 I want attendees to come engaged and excited to discuss solutions to a problem, and AI makes it so much easier! 🙌 Try it out and let me know what you experience! *** Here’s a VERY simplified version of the prompt: 🟢 Dear AI, please ask me these 3-5 questions about my knowledge of this workshop on topic ABC [insert topic]. Wait for my answer to each question, before going to the next one. 🔵 [Then you, the workshop curator, should create 3-5 important questions you want your attendees to consider, and insert them here, Q1… Q2…Q3…] 🟡 Based on my answers, please identify any assumptions I’m making, and offer suggestions for any alternative perspectives. Keep it simple.

In “The Venture Mindset”, we explore how successful companies foster innovation by prioritizing people over rigid processes. However, placing people over process does not mean that there is no process at all.     Chaos doesn't necessarily translate into innovation; moreover, it can easily destroy ideas. The design should facilitate cutting through quite a bit of the internal bureaucracy and keeping the development team small, independent, fluid, and protected from internal politics. Let's examine two examples of this principle in action: Case Study 1: Gmail at Google Google's approach to Gmail is a textbook example of the power of trusting talented individuals: 1. The project started with a single engineer, Paul Buchheit.  2. Leaders provided a vague directive: "Build some type of email or personalization product."  3. There were no strict feature lists or rigid processes.  4. Google executives supported the project and bet on its potential. Result: Gmail revolutionized email services and became one of Google's most successful products.    Case Study 2: The Happy Meal at McDonald's The Happy Meal's success shows how intrapreneurship can thrive even in traditional corporate environments: 1. Yolanda Fernández de Cofiño, a McDonald's franchisee in Guatemala, developed the concept.  2. She created a children's menu without approval from headquarters.  3. McDonald's world conventions allowed for idea exchange.  4. Executives recognized the potential and scaled the idea globally.  Result: The Happy Meal became a worldwide success and a staple of McDonald's offerings.    Here is what you can do to support the employees in your company:  1. Trust your talent: Give motivated individuals the freedom to pursue their ideas.  2. Provide resources: Offer support and necessary tools without micromanagement.  3. Create "racetracks": Design systems that allow for rapid development and testing of new ideas, with clear funding mechanisms, simple rules, guardrails, and milestones.  4. Embrace calculated risks: Be willing to bet on promising projects, even if they're unconventional.  5. Scale successes: When local innovations show promise, be ready to implement them more broadly.    How does your organization balance structure and freedom to foster innovation? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments! #stanford #stanfordgsb #venturecapital #startups #innovation #technology #founders #venturemindset 

Early in my career, I worked with two very different leaders within the same company. Under the first, team meetings were silent affairs where new ideas were often met with criticism. We stopped contributing. When I moved teams, my new manager actively encouraged input and acknowledged every suggestion, even the imperfect ones. Our productivity and innovation skyrocketed. This experience taught me the power of psychological safety. That feeling that you won't be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, or concerns. Here are three concrete ways leaders can foster psychological safety in meetings: 1. Practice "Yes, and..." thinking. Replace "That won't work because..." with "Yes, and we could address that challenge by..." This simple language shift acknowledges contributions while building on ideas rather than shutting them down. 2. Create equal airtime. Actively notice who's speaking and who isn't. Try techniques like round-robin input or asking quieter team members directly: "Alyzah, we haven't heard your perspective yet. What are your thoughts?" 3. Normalize vulnerability by modeling it. Share your own mistakes and what you learned. When leaders say "I was wrong" or "I don't know, let's figure it out together," it gives everyone permission to be imperfect. AA✨ #PsychologicalSafety #InclusiveLeadership #WorkplaceBelonging

Want more productive workshops? Try stopping them sooner. Workshops often lock people in a room for two or three hours and expect them to do their best thinking on demand. Do we really have to hold people hostage to be productive? Lately, I’ve been using a technique I call "Echo Sessions." Instead of forcing deep work to happen in real time, we kickstart an activity, get clarity, but then stop just as people are getting into it. That pause is intentional. It’s based on the same principle as the Pomodoro technique—when you leave something unfinished while still feeling engaged, you'll find it easy to return to it later and give it space to percolate. Instead of dragging out a long workshop, I schedule an Echo Session later—often in the same day—where everyone brings their independent or small group work back for discussion, iteration, and action. Why does this work? ✅ Encourages Deep Work – People get time to think, research, or create in their own way, rather than being forced into artificial collaboration. ✅ Optimizes Meeting Time – Workshops should be for shared understanding, decision-making, and iteration—not for quiet focus time. ✅ Respects Different Work Styles – Some need time to walk and think. Others need to sketch. Some want to research or tap into AI. Echo Sessions give people time and space to work in the way that’s best for them. ✅ Creates Natural Momentum – Stopping at a high-energy moment makes people want to continue later, giving them space to create, rather than leaving them drained from a marathon session. ✅ Reduces Calendar Lockdowns – Instead of monopolizing hours at a time, work is distributed more effectively and meetings are only used when necessary. Most importantly, this approach treats participants like adults. It gives them flexibility and agency while ensuring that meetings serve a clear, valuable purpose. We don’t need long workshops. We need better workshops. Curious—how do you approach workshop fatigue? Would this work in your team?

The biggest threat to innovation isn't lack of ideas - it's how we handle the silence in meetings. When I first started leading engineering teams, I interpreted quiet rooms as agreement. I've since learned that silence often masks the most crucial feedback your team isn't sharing. The conventional wisdom suggests that quiet meetings indicate alignment or that 'no questions means clarity.' This assumption could be costing your company its next breakthrough. What I've discovered through leading hundreds of innovation meetings: 1. Your most insightful team members frequently hold back their best ideas during group discussions 2. The fear of being wrong in front of peers often outweighs the potential recognition for being right 3. Teams calibrate their responses based on how the first 1-2 people react to an idea This creates a dangerous cycle where innovative ideas die in silence, not in debate. The solution isn't more brainstorming sessions or 'innovation workshops.' Instead, I've found success by: 1. Deliberately seeking private feedback after group sessions - the insights shared in these conversations often contradict the public consensus 2. Creating space between ideation and evaluation - allowing teams to submit thoughts anonymously before any group discussion 3. Actively challenging the first positive responses - this signals that critical thinking is valued over quick agreement The most valuable innovations I've seen didn't emerge from loud, energetic brainstorming sessions. They came from quiet thinkers who initially kept their controversial ideas to themselves. What's the most innovative idea you've seen that was initially met with silence? #techleadership #innovation #leadership