How can Business Innovation professionals manage their workload?

Prioritization: Aligning tasks with strategic business objectives. • Time Management: Utilising tools (eg the Eisenhower Matrix to differentiate between urgent and important tasks, xls or trello boards) • Collaboration and Delegation • Adaptability: Regularly evaluating and adapting strategies to suit changing priorities. • Continuous Learning and Reflection 💡

Use a Prioritization Matrix: Employ tools like the Eisenhower Matrix to categorize tasks based on their urgency and importance. Focus primarily on tasks that are both urgent and important. Evaluate Task Alignment: Assess how each task aligns with your innovation goals and expected outcomes. Prioritize tasks that contribute significantly to these objectives. Delegate or Outsource: For tasks that are less critical to innovation outcomes, consider delegating or outsourcing. This approach frees up more time and resources for high-impact innovation activities And my personal favourite: schedule and time-box the most important stuff. It's a productivity boost!

Get ready to clear your schedule and your base plan should be how to deny new tasks. New tasks are hardly of even importance, leave them for your team and just pay attention to tasks which are not welcomed by other members

I always ensure that I am flexible. In business, priorities can change rapidly and being able to be agile and adaptable to the day ensures that you're able to focus on what matters most. Becoming OK with not completing a task that you had planned to complete that day due to new priorities is an important skill.

Die wichtigste Priorität ist, dass man selten mehr als 2-3 größere Projekte machen kann. Egal was eine Priorisierungsmatrix sagt. Meist kommt nur ein gutes Ergebnis zu Stande, wenn man nicht an zu vielen Projekten parallel arbeitet. So steigt auch die Geschwindigkeit und die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit nimmt zu.

I would like to offer 2 thoughts: 1) the power of OKRs as a more Agile concept of bringing focus and clarity to a team and drive outcomes without immediately raising the pressure that waterfall kind of deadlines typically result in. And 2) clarity of terminology. An outcome oriented approach using milestones as defined points in time with clearly defined outcomes and clear responsibilities is powerful. Many times I have seen that outcomes and activities get mixed up and clarity is lost

Setting realistic deadlines is crucial for effective workload management. Professionals should consider the complexity of tasks, available resources, and potential obstacles when establishing timelines. Avoid overcommitting and allow for unexpected challenges by building some flexibility into deadlines. This helps prevent stress and enhances the likelihood of meeting objectives successfully. Regularly review and adjust deadlines as needed, taking into account changes in priorities or project requirements to maintain a realistic and achievable schedule. Working with unrealistic deadlines can create a lot of avoidable pressure that increases workload. Be strategic to execute tasks with timelines and always use realistic deadlines.

setting realistic deadlines is easier said than done. When developing ideas and innovations, it makes sense to set time frames for the different phases along the innovation funnel - however I strongly recommend to keep a certain level of flexibility and agility.

A definição de prazos realistas torna-se viável apenas após a conclusão da Definição de Pronto (DoD). Em minha trajetória, observei projetos nos quais a data de entrega foi a primeira coisa a ser estabelecida, antes mesmo do escopo.

Maintaining open communication with team members is essential for effective workload management. Regularly update your team on project progress, share insights into challenges, and encourage them to communicate any concerns or roadblocks. This fosters collaboration, ensures everyone is on the same page, and allows for timely adjustments to workload distribution if necessary. Clear communication enhances team efficiency and helps build a supportive and cohesive work environment.

Klingt einfach ist aber am Ende doch kompliziert, weil man schnell aneinander vorbeiredet. Daher muss Kommunikation mehrdimensional erfolgen. Einmal klar in der verbalen Kommunikation aber auch schriftlich festgehalten unterstützt von einem Monitoringsystem, um jederzeit den aktuellen Stand zu sehen.

Comunicar-se frequentemente tem sido uma constante em minha experiência, onde percebo que é essencial afirmar o óbvio. Trazendo o máximo de contexto, proporcionamos uma visão abrangente. Em certas ocasiões, o foco excessivo no micro da atividade pode resultar na perda da perspectiva global. Todos os canais de comunicação são válidos, contudo, é crucial avaliar o tipo de mensagem a ser transmitida e as pessoas envolvidas para garantir uma abordagem eficaz.

Define a powerful “not-to-do” list. In my experience, using the START, STOP, CONTINUE framework when discussing strategy and action plans has helped a lot. Think of things you should START doing. What opportunites are there? List all the things your should STOP doing. What’s not working, what was not effective, what didn’t bring the desired outcome. Validade what you should CONTINUE doing. Think of what is working or could be improved, what is replicable and could be done effectively. Compare the all the lists. Look for balance. Your STOP list shouldn’t be disproportionally smaller then the other lists.

Mais relevante do que definir o que será realizado é estabelecer com clareza o que não será abordado. Qualquer elemento que possa desviar a atenção da execução atual deve ser excluído, visto que representa uma distração. A transparência desempenha um papel crucial nesse processo; é fundamental explicar por que determinadas tarefas não serão abordadas no momento, evitando a impressão de falta de comprometimento ou descaso. Construir uma maturidade de equipe é essencial para compreender que tomar decisões sobre trade-offs é uma parte intrínseca de qualquer negócio.

In innovative environments, setting the right boundaries with stakeholders is crucial - since most of the times ideas aren't the scarce resource, but time and energy of the innovation development teams. Thus, a clear idea funnel and process for idea validation is helpful - since it creates transparency for all stakeholders involved.

Estabeleça uma rotina regular de pausas e trave sua agenda para que isso ocorra. O simples ato de reservar 15 minutos para se afastar do ambiente de trabalho ou da mesa pode ser revitalizante, proporcionando uma perspectiva renovada e insights valiosos. Em minha jornada, aprendi que diante de desafios aparentemente insolúveis, é contraproducente ceder à ansiedade. Afaste-se do problema por alguns dias ou compartilhe a situação com pessoas completamente alheios a ela. Essa abordagem permite enxergar a questão por ângulos diferentes, muitas vezes resultando em soluções inovadoras e esclarecedoras.

The ability to recharge requires self awareness as to what works for the individual. As an introvert, and for other introverts, time away from social interactions allows space to recharge and tackle challenges with a fresh perspective. I often find that a new idea or solution to an existing problem can appear from nowhere during this time. I think the ability of the subconscious to innovate and solve problems is powerful yet not well understood.

There are multiple methods to recharge and for mental recovery available. A method that can be used within a team are regular retrospective and recovery meetings. The team comes together to talk about "softer" aspects of their daily work and projects - how everyone feels, how communication, collaboration and wellbeing can be improved, which creates the basis for a profound mutual support and understanding. These meetings can be enriched by doing a guided group meditation or breathwork session to bring recovery into the body and mind, and not only fostering cognitive recovery.

Not everything that glitters is gold. In the world of innovation, it’s easy to be dazzled by the excess of shiny new things out there. The real challenge lies in discerning what is truly relevant for our work or industry and what is not. Making these trade-offs requires a keen understanding of our goals and the needs of our industry. It’s about filtering the noise to find the genuine innovations that can make a real difference in our business. Do it in a deliberate way.

Within the field of business innovation, managing the workload and preventing burnout is even more important than in more conventional areas, since people tend to bring a high level of passion for the new and innovative projects/products they're working on - they're often "burning" for the matter, which can also lead to "burn out" as a consequence, when combined with high workload and the lack of rest & recovery.

Kreativität entsteht selten im Kreativraum oder am Schreibtisch, sondern im Leben, also draußen:) - Schaut euch um, was um euch herum passiert, geht spazieren und denkt über euer Problem nach oder was immer euch gut tut. Den Blick zu weiten, die eigene Blase zu verlassen und offen anderen Meinungen begegnen, selbst wenn es nicht eure ist, gibt eurer Innovation immer einen Schub.

Innovation fails because data driven decision makers have no data to support an innovation decision that has never existed before. This is the number one frustration of innovation leaders. Hard work never kills, frustration kills. To win over data driven decision makers requires innovation leaders to overcome decisions based on correlation with those based on cause and effect. People focus on what happens, shift this to why and how. Managing decision making is a big part of the workload. Putting effort into making a proposal decision ready will remove burnout and effort from the job.