Right Lane Theory — Speed of Innovation for People, Process, and Technology

I have been thinking about how the “right lane theory” applies to the speed of innovation for people, process, and technology. Hear me out: On the freeway, the right lane is the slow lane. But, it seems like the slow lane moves more consistently—or even faster than the fast lane sometimes. So is the same true for innovation?

The breakthroughs and the fast movers seem to have a burst of growth and change the game, but then a group of steady slow movers seems to capitalize on that innovation and achieve massive (but steady) growth. The same is true for people. Some people move faster and slow down faster, but others move consistently ahead at a steady pace. Let’s unpack this in a bit more detail.
 
 

Accelerating the Pace of Innovation

Innovation is a constant today, and to keep up with competitors, it seems like you have to keep accelerating innovation. But is faster necessarily better? And what’s more: Is innovation at a breakneck speed sustainable?

To answer this question, I looked for real-world examples that could show us what happens when companies up the pace of innovation with high hopes of great success, only to see not-so-stellar results. My first case in point is the mega monolith of Tesla.

Have you ever heard the old saying about “getting too big for one’s britches?” This seemed to happen to Tesla, as the premium electric vehicle maker may have overestimated when ramping up marketing and growth. Tesla encountered production problems and became overwhelmed by an exponential increase in demand for its cars. As things stand now, Tesla is uncertain whether the group can meet this high demand.

And then there’s Peloton, a massive power player in the home fitness industry, which grew in leaps and bounds during COVID. Peloton encountered the opposite issue, having ramped up production to meet booming demand, only to halt production as demand plummeted. 

These are just two examples of companies that were considered massive innovators (and granted, they certainly are), which saw extreme growth—only for it to be halted by extenuating circumstances or the market catching up.

An article on EY shows another pitfall of pushing the limits on innovation. It points out how when businesses scale innovation, they sometimes lose their company purpose and have to backtrack and re-establish the core company vision and mission. That is a danger no one wants to happen during scale-up.

So, what is a safe level of innovation to try to attain, and how can companies accelerate the pace of innovation they’ve already established? We believe staying in the “right lane” and making measured innovations in people, process, and technology is the key to success.
 
 

Innovations in People

The talent shortage is real right now, so if you’re able to fill your staff, you’re doing better than most. According to research findings published by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. currently has 11.3 million job openings, but only 6 million people qualified and available to fill them.

The harsh truth we are dealing with today is that it’s nearly impossible to innovate on your team unless you first innovate through the labor shortage. But there is good news and a silver lining amid this employment predicament, as some of the most innovative organizations are finding ways to make the most out of the people they already have—and you can too.

Here are just a few creative ways to deal with the labor shortage.

Recruitment with the Wow Factor

With so much competition for recruiting the best among a small supply of ready workers, getting creative with recruitment is no longer an option. You need to find some way to make your company stand out from the rest and draw potential hires to you versus the other options.

This may include promoting job ads online, teaming up with staffing agencies in your local area, etc. And when it comes to writing that job description, reel in a recruit with something witty and different. After all, dry and bland doesn’t scream “This is the place you want to be” to potential employees.

Give Unnecessary Admin Tasks the Axe

Automation is enormous these days, and making it available to your team can change the game for you. It allows the more time-consuming administrative tasks your staff assumes to be handled with technology, thus freeing them to focus on more important work. This has proven to boost both productivity and higher retention.

Give Your Staff Some Slack

Basically, this means being more flexible with your staff, from scheduling to vacations and more. Studies show that job flexibility is crucial for many workers when joining—or remaining at—a company.

Boost Employee Benefits

Upping wages is always a win, but there are still ways to attract workers and make your current employees stick around when that is not an option in your budget. Among these ways include offering incentives such as professional training and development opportunities, company events, and overtime options, to name a few.

Innovations in Process

When it comes to innovation, we can take a lesson from Dropbox, featured in Fast Company for being among the most innovative companies to work at in 2022, thanks to its having developed processes for adopting remote work and changing with the times.

For example, while several companies went remote during the pandemic and are now shifting into a default mode of hybrid or full-on return to the physical office, Dropbox set itself apart by being more proactive and intentional about the transition. The new initiatives at Dropbox include “Dropbox Studios”—instead of traditional offices, these are seen as gathering places for collaboration and team building. They’ve also included “Core Collaboration Hours” during the workday.

While Dropbox’s initiatives have proven a success (the quarter after instituting the change showed double-digit revenue growth for the company compared with just a year earlier), some companies that have changed all of their processes overnight have not been so lucky. Why? Because in their haste, they have experienced so many pain points that their teams become dysfunctional.

The good news is that there are ways to address cumbersome internal processes to innovate from the “slow lane”:

• Pick a process to improve

• Assign a team to oversee the changes

• Map its steps

• Identify bottlenecks and problems

• Solve the problems and remove extra steps

• Test

• Implement

Word to the wise: Don’t try to change them all at once. After all, it’s hard to keep too many new ideas going.

Innovations in Technology

With technology evolving at lightning speed, new and exciting tools are constantly being made available to help drive innovation. Procurement has many options available, from project management to communication, plus CRM, marketing, design, accounting, etc. With the correct implementation of these tools, you can help provide your team—and operations—controlled growth and ever-increasing and evolving innovation.

And for anyone wanting to adopt new technologies and make substantial changes in innovation especially, it is not always easy to get everyone on board with your vision. Don’t worry about being in the right lane. As long as you’re moving forward, it might prove to be even better for your team. To learn more, connect with our team today.