POSTED BY Suzi Craig

Jun 12, 2012

“Creating A Culture of Innovation” Panel, Connecticut Business Expo Recap

Fathom partner David Louden participated on a panel, “Creating A Culture of Innovation,” at the 2012 Connecticut Business Expo. He was joined by Michelle Stonz, a former industrial development CEO and owner of Epiphany Enterprises, Doug Brown, professor in the MBA program at Post University and the panel’s moderator, Derek Beere, New Media Manager for Mason, Inc..

I interviewed Dave and asked him to share the highlights of the conversation.

What were some of the bigger topics that resonated the most within the topic of innovation?

The group very much stayed on topic about what it means to create a culture of innovation within an organization. One two-sided question that we spent a lot of time on was: “how do you create the room for innovation and what do some companies do to squash it?” A lot of examples of how to invite creativity were discussed, particularly surrounding inclusive management styles. A hierarchical organization was identified as a deterrent to innovation. In that type of culture, where someone makes all the decisions without a lot of discussion or input from other people, it makes it difficult for innovation to take root.

Derek, Dave, Doug and Michelle in action at the Connecticut Business Expo

We also discussed how fear is an innovation killer. With many people focused in recent years on whether their business was working or how the economy impacted their livelihoods, it was tough to keep innovating.

Were there discussions about how to foster innovation?

Several. How to encourage innovation was discussed a lot. We all see that creating an open environment, where people get comfortable with asking questions is essential. Equally critical is leaving room to allow for different answers to emerge versus leaping too quickly to the solution. Being okay with letting something gestate for a while is challenging for many leaders.

What did you get out of the discussion?

That it never ends. This is something I know from the work we do at Fathom, but the idea that innovation is a practice, not an event was reinforced.

How do you think this discussion was received and where else would you have taken the conversation if you had more time?

The crowd was very enthusiastic. It was the end of the day and we went over our allotted time with many people continuing to ask questions after the session was officially over. To me, this spoke to the quality of the conversation. For a followup conversation, I would like to discuss more concrete examples and case studies.

So, what distinct take-aways did you share?

My closing remarks encouraged attendees to ask questions and keep asking them. For those in a leadership position, I recommended they work to create an environment where questioning is encouraged and valued as much as answers.

Is there something you’d do different at Fathom to encourage more innovation?

A big part of what we do for clients is in the innovation space. We create the room for big conversations and help organizations put discipline around how to innovate for their business. But, like all companies, we could definitely do more to encourage innovation within our own team.

The main challenge is allocating enough time to get creative about our business on a regular basis. In the business environment right now, there is a trend towards “doing more with less.” So, how do you make room for innovation instead of the “to do” list? You need to make time and room for creative dialog or it will never happen. This is something we wrestle with and so far, we’re keeping our big conversations open and continuing to evolve at a rapid pace.

Posted by: Suzi Craig
Email the author: suzi@fathom.net