Episode 127: Building Innovation Muscles

“That is one of the most difficult things, especially in a corporate environment, I think to get people to have that zone of safety. A lot of times when we talk to people within our organization like a Nelnet and we ask them to come up with a brand new idea, we try to protect them as much as possible from having to present their idea until they have some evidence around it. And have them think differently about that early stage so that they can explore and go in a different direction than their original idea. So we have a process we call 1, 2, 3, 4. And it's really an incremental way to take an idea and time box it and move it forward. So the way it works is it's one minute, two hours, three days and four weeks. And so, those are the arbitrary boxes of time.” - Brian Ardinger

In this episode of Control the Room, I had the pleasure of speaking with Brian Ardinger about his work helping entrepreneurs and organizations innovate.  He begins with how and why he decided to dedicate his career to innovation.  Later, Brian shares a practical approach to organizational innovation called the 1-2-3-4 method.  We also discuss the importance of creating a shared understanding of what innovation means for each of his clients.  Listen in for tips on how to instigate innovating both inside and outside the organization