User Centricity Through Systemic Innovation
(originally published on the CX by Design Ideas Blog)
I just finished reading Bad Blood by John Carreyrou. It’s a fascinating account of the rise & fall of Theranos, the “innovative” blood testing company that mistook innovation for a public relations campaign.
Besides its psychotically-focused leaders and their enablers, what struck me most about the story is Theranos’ approach to innovation: the siloed, need-to-know-basis of information flow; the detrimental secretiveness that disempowered and terrified the workforce into silence; the persistent belief that innovation is only reserved for cult personalities with black turtleneck sweaters.
Theranos is an extreme example of siloed innovation. We can easily point to it and say, “That’s crazy-town. That’s not us.”
And yet, look around.
