July is an eventful month for me every year. Summer time, birthdays and traveling make it one of the more memorable times of the year. This July was special for a very unique reason — the Unleash Boston event.
It has been more than 2 weeks since the first Unleash event at the LOFT Boston, but the excitement is still fresh. There was so much to learn, so much to gain from the event that I could have written a book about it.
Unleash was a hackathon. There are a ton of hackathons & design immersions happening around Boston/Cambridge and across the world every week, including many online hackathons. I have been to a few such events over the last couple of years. I believe, as is a general consensus, that hackathons are the best way of experiencing the power of collaboration and intense exchange of ideas, and developing the “hacker” mindset — a willingness to challenge the status quo, and to break the rules of convention to create disruptive new products/services.
Most of the other hackathon/immersion events I have been to are frequented by “seasoned hackers”. I am talking about those committed hackers who spend almost every alternative weekends at hackathons, carry pillows and blankets to sleep at the venue after working into the wee hours, bring toothpaste and brush so that they do not have to leave the venue in the morning. But Unleash was an internal hackathon with people from across various units and functions within Manulife/John Hancock, and many of them had not experienced a hackathon or an immersion event ever before.
I had hallway conversations with quite a few of the participants of the event a week or two prior, and their opinion for the event was mixed. Most were very well aware of the content and format of the event thanks to the very creative and elaborate communication from the amazing LOFT team. But most were also unsure what change a hackathon could bring, and how it would be useful for the organization in the near term and over the long run. It is easy to understand there was a lot of ground to cover!
Day 1 started with an introduction by the very awesome Stephen Douglass of Scramble™ Systems, and included a pitching session that saw an overflow of ideas (45 ideas pitched in one hour), an intense consolidation and team-forming, collaborative team sessions with assistance by coaches and the inspiring presence of senior management. Of course there was endless supply of fuel — beverages and food to fuel the body; encouragement and an intensely creative ambiance to fuel the brain!
By the end of Day 1 all of the participants, including those who were unsure of the benefit of the event a few days past, were baptized into the innovative culture Manulife — John Hancock are fostering. There were team discussions, intense debates, a whole lot of exchange of ideas in addition to hacking and designing. To see Sebastian Blandizzi, CIO of the Manulife’s Investment Division talking to the teams, giving suggestions and pep-talking at close to midnight, summed-up the value the organization placed in the event, and in the power of innovation. That has to be one of the most inspiring sights in my decade-plus career.
Day 2 was even more fun, to see the participants break into teams — fine tune their products/prototypes and practice for the pitching sessions. It was an overwhelming feeling to see the teams believe in their ideas, crafting great pitches with the help of coaches and perfecting all the way to the end of the day.
And the pitches were bold, innovative and fit the mandate. There were 17 great ideas and I don’t envy the judges’ job of having to chose from among the equally impressive ideas — but the judges were from the top brass of the company who know a thing or two about making tough, complicated decisions!
Three ideas were chosen as the most promising and having the greatest potential of taking Manulife and John Hancock into a future of possibilities, ready to serve new customers, millennials and beyond, and better serve the existing customers. But there were, in my mind, three winners:
LOFT Team and the senior management who believed in the power of innovation, and in the power of collaborative events like hackathons to accelerate and catalyze the process of innovation.
All the participants, including myself, who experienced the creative energy and the inspiration during the event and learnt new tools, gained new perspectives and made new rewarding connections.
Manulife & John Hancock, who saw the seeds of an innovative culture that will differentiate the organizations from competition around the world. The event was a pivotal and historic moment in the long and glorious history of the organizations.
Thanks to every one involved in making the event such a great success. A special shout-out to Luann Ngo, the head of operations for Asset management in Vietnam who took the longest trip to join the event.
The process set in motion by “Unleash” is epidemic, exponential and sustained. Manulife & John Hancock are already great organizations to be associated with, but we are getting better and are ready for a future of creative, innovative and disruptive ideas. Come join us in our journey and Unleash the power of innovation!
True to the spirit of the Unleash event, we have since prototyped the pigeon on the logo into an origami paper prototype. We are just artistic, and creative like that!
Note: The opinions and statements are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of my employer.
