Virtual Brainstorming for an Innovation Advantage for Hybrid and Remote Teams (Wise Decision Maker Guide 54)

Greetings Decision maker,

“Our software engineers and product designers need to go back to the office full-time. Otherwise, we’re going to lose our competitive advantage in innovation.” That’s what Saul, the Chief Product Officer of a 1,500-employee enterprise software company, said at the start of the company’s planning meeting on the post-vaccine return to the office and the future of work.

He continued: “Doing brainstorming by videoconference doesn’t work nearly as well as in-person meetings. So letting them work virtually now that vaccines are available is a non-starter. I can guarantee that our competitors will overtake us quickly if we don’t return product people to full-time in-office work.” And then he sat back in his chair and crossed his arms, daring anyone to defy him.

Hired as the consultant to help the company figure out its return to office and permanent future of work arrangements, I was facilitating the meeting. My experience of helping over a dozen organizations transition to a post-vaccine office return provides important insights for any leaders who want an innovation advantage in the future of work. Hybrid and remote teams can outcompete in-person teams in innovation if they adopt best practices for innovation in the return to the office and the future of work.

To learn more, check out this blog.

Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to present to our Consulting team last week. The content was spot-on and provided a unique perspective into building culture, driving innovation and brainstorming across hybrid teams (among other things). I appreciate your willingness to partner leading up to the presentation to ensure the content was tailored for the audience – it made the discussion that much more impactful. I have received positive feedback from a number of team members and look forward to collaborating more in the future!

Dan Rooney

Senior Vice President and National Director, Consulting
Jones Lang LaSalle

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What's Up With Me

The first two weeks of October were unseasonably warm here in Columbus, Ohio - we’ve had temperatures reach mid-80s Fahrenheit (high-20s Celsius). That has enabled me to enjoy outdoor activities for longer than I thought. I continue to take precautions against COVID, such as avoiding indoor restaurants and bars. It’s been a nice experience to do lots of patio dining before the weather forces me indoors for the winter.

What about you? Are you doing anything to store up fun and pleasurable memories before the cold weather arrives?

Recommendations for You

My friend and colleague Peter Margaritis is an unusual combination: a CPA who is also an excellent people person, and he’s passionate about and skilled at improv. He wrote a new book about this topic, which I think many of you might enjoy. Here is the book description:

Going OFF SCRIPT doesn’t come naturally to most organizational leaders. We want to control the narrative, ensure ideal outcomes, script the conversations, manage the problems, predict the future, and win (negotiations, new business, market share, and more). But what if good leaders could become better leaders by doing the opposite — by letting go of the control, by going “off script” in their conversations and negotiations, by being present instead of rushing to the future, and by collaborating in authentic, empathetic ways? If your organization is like most, the old way of communicating and managing isn’t working for you. Status quo is coming up short. It’s time to master the art of business improvisation (“improv”)!

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