Company Culture Forges Teams that Inspire Innovation

We’ve been trying this out at Honestly and we’re sharing
some tips that we’ve learned.

“A good idea can come from anywhere.”

You’ll hear this said in our internal meetings all the time. But it’s not as
simple as it sounds.

Company culture forges teams that inspire innovation. And even though
we’re not perfect, we’ve been trying this out at Honestly and we’re sharing
some tips that we’ve learned.

People change culture. It’s up to the leaders to drive innovation by
recruiting a team with a wide variety of backgrounds and skills to foster a
culture of creativity. It’s important to find the balance between internal and
external innovation, teaming up with strong innovators or entrepreneurs is
becoming a key differentiating factor for many businesses. Partnering with
business-minded, creative agencies for a collaborative culture is one
effective strategy to increase innovation. It’s not one-size-fits-all, find a strategy that helps your company evolve.

Make failure work for you. Leaders must take the opportunity to share
their mistakes and apply the lessons learned to future endeavors. Through
thoughtful risks, CEO’s are learning to work in close collaboration with
employees and customers to use fast experimentation to explore new
opportunities. Learning from failures leads to greater improvement and
overall success for your company. Improve your culture by being an
adaptable leader who encourages creative thinking throughout your
organization and has the power to shape a culture of innovation.

Building a culture that contributes to the success of your business takes time. By investing in human capital, CEO’s focus on creating a culture that uses technology to enhance customer relationships and build trust. In a world where technology is always changing, customers want to know that
they can trust the people behind the technology. High-touch marketing is a
great example of the mesh between people and technology. Where businesses find long-term value in the right customers through the use of technologies to make an emotional connection with your customers. Take the time to show your customers that you care about what’s best for them, while offering validation at every touch point. The key is to use technology to enhance your interactions with customers by earning their trust and attention.

RESOURCES

As you start thinking about your company culture, here’s a quick rundown
of our top recommendations:

Articles

How a Fully Distributed Company Keeps Its Team Engaged — ‘It can work for
everyone,’ says WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg, who oversees 1,100
employees in 77 cities.

Building A Company Culture Of Innovation — In a fast-changing business
environment, increasingly reliant on digital technology, leaders must
nurture innovative thinking to survive.

Books

Zero to One — Legendary entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel shows how we can find singular ways to create those new things.

Leaders Eat Last — Sinek illustrates how the best workplaces foster trust and cooperation because their leaders create environments in which people naturally work together to do remarkable things.

Podcasts

Akimo — A podcast by Seth Godin that covers topics in society and culture.

HBR IdeaCast — A weekly podcast featuring the leading thinkers in business and management.

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