What leads to innovation? You.
On August, 28, 2018, I spoke at the ONS Conference in Stavanger, Norway on the topic of Leadership: Stimulate to Innovate.The program description posed a challenging question:
“Not all companies can be Apple or Google. So how can large, complex companies develop and sustain a culture of innovation?”
As a leader who recruited and built key teams at Apple and Nest Labs (now part of Google), I was actually part of creating those cultures. The lessons I learned can help leaders like you to design a work environment where employees are motivated and empowered to think outside the box.
You are the Chief Culture Officer
Whether you know it or not, as a leader, you have the greatest impact on your organization’s culture. In fact, you are the living embodiment of it. Don’t delegate this key responsibility solely to HR. Partner with HR, and take ownership of your influence as Chief Culture Officers. Make yourself visible in the halls. Connect with employees as often as possible, share your passion, energize them with your presence.
Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos created an exceptional culture that began as a warehouse shipping shoes. And became a model of online retailing. “Personally, I cringe at the word leader,” he says. “It’s more about getting people to do what they’re passionate about and putting them in the right context or setting. They’re the ones doing the hard work.” (source: Business Insider 9/20/12)
Build a Culture on Purpose
Your company’s culture is first and foremost about purpose. Why does it exist? What is it here to do? Employees that buy into the company’s mission are passionate about coming up with new ways to accomplish it. If you are looking to innovate, it means you are seeking a change, and change should start with you.
Purpose plays an important role in how Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella turned around the company. “I knew that to lead effectively, I needed to get some things squared in my own mind — and, ultimately, in the minds of everyone who works at Microsoft. Why does Microsoft exist? And why do I exist in this new role?” He even devotes an entire chapter of his book, Hit Refresh: The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft’s Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone, to how he molded the culture.
A Methodology for Passion
You can’t build a winning culture with motivational posters. You need to craft a strategy and build processes that make employee engagement an essential objective.
When I was at Apple, the leadership team behind iPod and iPhone made our people their top priority. Sure, innovating products were at the core of the strategy but every weekly leadership meeting started with talent-related updates. We didn’t just hire the smartest candidates. We did personality evaluations, specific screenings for purpose and passion for their craft and our mission. When we identified a key candidate, we had Steve Jobs and other executives personally call them and share Apple’s vision. “Hi! This is Steve Jobs. I understand you are considering joining our iPhone team and thought I could help you with your decision.” Can you imagine the passion this inspired in a new employee? His personal commitment to the success of our goals continuously impacted our organization; and let me tell you driving innovation is hard, really hard, this types of experiences can help to maintain the passion and focus. Make sure people are constantly reminded of the why, the Purpose.
Our talent strategy required leadership support AND hands-on participation. But I think you’ll agree with me, it was worth it.
A Legion of Leaders
Does all this seem like too much for one person to do? Here’s the amazing part. When you design an environment that imbues employees with intrinsic motivation, they are inspired by you and in turn they inspire others. They will lead by example. People who are passionate about your purpose amplify your culture. Passion feeds the energy, energy feeds the culture, culture stimulates your people. And it’s your people who drive innovation and most importantly, execution.
“It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do” -Steve Jobs
Measuring Cultural Impact
As important as it is to create your culture, it’s just as crucial to keep your finger on its pulse. The yearly all-hands meeting, periodical survey or performance review just isn’t good enough. I co-founded Plause because I was frustrated with the lack of tools to deliver continuous metrics about our cultures. After all, our employees are the most valuable resources we will never own.
Steve Jobs’ greatest achievement was not rescuing Apple back in ’97. Or launching the iPod, iPhone, iPad, iTunes, or the App Store. It was creating a culture that continues to grow and innovate long after his departure.
Apple (AAPL) was trading at $0.55 the week of Steve’s return. Earlier this month, they became the first company to reach the trillion dollars mark.
Organizational culture can give your company the ultimate, enduring edge. It’s a compounding investment whose benefits multiply every single day.
José Benitez Cong has been a talent recruiter and HR veteran who built the iPod and iPhone teams at Apple, then helped staff and manage HR at Nest Labs before they were acquired by Google. Now, he’s co-founder and CEO of Plause, a software platform that helps companies spark employee engagement, alignment and performance. Find out how at plause.com
