Fostering a Culture of Innovation. Involve Everyone in Idea Generation! | Sam Zellner

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In this episode of the An Hour of Innovation podcast, Sam Zellner talks about fostering a culture of innovation within organizations. He explains the importance of involving all employees in the innovation process, managing risks associated with new ideas, and measuring the success of innovation initiatives.

Sam is the CEO of Inspire IP, a SaaS platform dedicated to helping corporations build and sustain innovation ecosystems. Sam also served as an Executive Director of Innovation at AT&T.

Takeaways

• Innovation is for everyone, not just a select few.
• Start small and build your way up to a culture of innovation.
• It’s important to lower the risk level for new ideas.
• Every idea doesn’t need to be a complete game changer.
• You need metrics to know what you’re doing in innovation.
• Don’t fire people for good ideas that didn’t work.
• Innovation challenges can focus employee efforts and engagement.
• You need a system that people believe in to capture ideas.
• Recognizing and celebrating successes is crucial for innovation culture.
• People need to feel heard and valued for innovation to thrive.
• Innovation requires a structured process to be effective.
• Employee involvement in idea generation is crucial.
• Startups have a more fluid innovation process than large corporations.
• Recognition of all contributors boosts morale and engagement.
• Learning from failures is essential for future success.
• Innovation can stem from unexpected sources within the organization.
• Encouraging a culture of innovation can lead to better employee retention.
• Small innovation projects can lead to significant improvements.
• Proving the value of ideas to executives is key for implementation.

Sponsors

Webflow – Create custom, responsive websites without coding

• https://try.webflow.com/0lse98neclhe 

MeetGeek – Automatically video record, transcribe, summarize, and share granular insights from every meeting to any tool

• https://get.meetgeek.ai/yjteozr4m6ln 

Connect with

• Website: https://inspireip.com/ 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-zellner-ip/ 

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction

02:01 Sam’s Background

04:29 Building a Foundation for Innovation

11:15 Risk Management in Innovation

13:55 Measuring Innovation Success

17:38 Balancing Innovation and Maintenance

22:10 Empowering Employees to Innovate

28:46 Innovative Ideas from Real Experiences

32:54 The Importance of Process in Innovation

34:55 Navigating Employee Ideas and Ownership

40:06 Differences in Innovation Between Startups and Corporations

44:54 Learning from Failures and Expert Misjudgments

46:33 Advice from Sam

Podcast Links

• https://linktr.ee/anhourofinnovation 

Connect with Vit

• Website: https://vitlyoshin.com/contact/ 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vit-lyoshin/ 

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