Using the wisdom of Steve Jobs to build a true culture of innovation

Steve Jobs being a great innovator is old news. 

Yet, we still talk about him. Why? Because his wisdom and reflections on life at Apple are timeless, and we can all learn a lot from what he has to say. 

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”

But work at one of the world’s biggest tech companies is vastly different from the struggles that most companies face day-to-day. The constraints, bureaucracy, and economic factors faced by the average organisation are often overwhelming, and can leave little space for innovation or invention. 

So, I’ve taken some of my all-time favourite pearls of wisdom from Mr. Jobs himself, and translated them into practical, actionable tips for the modern global business.

The quote: “The greatest artists like Dylan, Picasso and Newton risked failure. And if we want to be great, we’ve got to risk it too.”

The approach: Create a fail fund

Think of a fail fund like a training budget - an amount that is completely open for employees to use however they want, as long as it’s used to take a risk. It’s an allocated budget for each team member to try something new, no questions asked. Teams can pool together their fail funds to spend on an experiment, research, or anything else that will help them test a revolutionary new solution. 

A couple of things to keep in mind before implementing a fail fund company-wide:

1. This money must be easy to access: Employees should fill out a form describing what experiment they want to undertake, and the money is allocated. 
2. Make sure fast validation processes are in place: Whether you’re using design sprints, lean experimentation, or simply creating a prototype, making sure every team member knows the company endorsed methods for testing. 
3. Have clear next steps: Has one of your teams found a winning solution? If so, make sure there’s a clear roadmap for how to put this product or service into production. 

The quote: “Technology is nothing. What’s important is that you have faith in people, that they’re basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they’ll do wonderful things with them.”

The approach: Invest in everyone, not just the people that seem promising

With many businesses scrambling to invest in innovation, a battle for talent has also emerged. Competition is fierce, and often the best people are snapped up by major tech giants. But spotting potential is like trying to imagine the future, it’s a fine art that we aren’t nearly as good at as we think!  

Here are a few tips for how to change your mindset around which team members have potential: 

1. Just because a person works part-time, it doesn’t mean they are not committed, or that they don’t have great ideas or perspectives. Women are often overlooked for this reason: because they have kids at home, it’s assumed that they aren’t interested in innovation. Take some time to gather the “people you least expect” into a room and host a structured brainstorming session. You have nothing to lose, and you might just find the next big idea. 
2. Make sure your managers have all the tools they need; including interpersonal training. Managers know how to “manage”, but do they know how to support, empower, and lead? Ask your team leads (and their teams!) what is lacking, and invest accordingly. 
3. Realise that teams will only push for the big ideas if they are supported in doing so. There’s no point advocating for a radically new product or service if there’s a “no” at every turn. Encouraging teams to dive headfirst into deep waters is scary, but this is the only way to break old mindsets. 

The quote: “I’m as proud of many of the things we haven’t done as the things we have done. Innovation is saying no to a thousand things.”

The approach: Take a hard look at your decision-making processes

Making decisions can be very difficult, especially when there’s a lot at stake. Large organisations often take months to sign off new projects, by which point the moment (and the enthusiasm!) has passed. There are many ways to advocate for better decision-making, both by teams and leadership. One of the key aspects of Google’s Design Sprint framework is to have a “decider”, who is the tie-breaker at the end of each exercise. 

Having this clear leader speeds up the decision-making process, and helps the team to find their direction. However, the decision-maker doesn’t act alone: they are meticulously informed by the Sprint team at every opportunity. It’s a democratic process that allows everyone to have their say in a structured way. 

Sadly, not every day is a Design Sprint! And not every project is suitable for such quick decision-making. At Amazon, teams use the working backwards model for project approval. This allows sponsors, stakeholders and leadership to iterate on an idea to ensure that it aligns with business goals and customer needs before going ahead. The nature of working backwards is it’s high-touch feedback loop, involving customer needs at every step of the journey. 

The quote: “My favorite things in life don’t cost any money. It’s really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time.”

The approach: Timebox everything to make stronger progress 

Time is crucial to a strong culture of innovation. Too much time spent in meetings, or on a failing initiative can have a destructive impact on the momentum of teams. 

That means we must look at how teams are spending their time, and try to find more time to do better work. By timeboxing - allocating a fixed period of time to each task - companies can push forward without letting tasks drag on for weeks or months. 

Every team leader should be looking at the calendars of their team on a regular basis, finding meetings that no longer serve a purpose, obstacles to faster movement, and other time-wasting activities. 

Of course, good things take time! But often, there are too many interruptions in the momentum of a project. Clear the way for your team to let them focus solely on experimenting, innovating, and building new products and services. 

Some of the low-hanging fruit with regards to creating more time include:

• Be aware of time wastage: 10% of workers waste 3 hours or more each day. This is often due to miscommunication and a lack of clear direction. Ask your colleagues and teams where they think they could save time, and experiment with following their suggestions for a few weeks. 
• Ensuring every meeting has an agenda that is shared with participants in advance, and a list of desired outcomes. This will help organisers decide whether this topic warrants a meeting, or if it could be a simple email. 
• Try the 25 minute meeting. Many organisations default to one hour meetings, but this is not always necessary. In fact, according to Parkinson’s Law, the amount of work stretches to the time allocated. You might be surprised at what you can achieve in a shorter time frame!

Finally, foster an attitude of abundance in your work! Ideas and passion are limitless if you allow them to be, and your teams will feed off your belief in them. What better way to innovate than with passion and excitement?

I’d love to hear your favourite Steve jobs quote in the comments. If you like our content, please share this article with a friend, or sign up for our newsletter here.