Innovate Wisely: Pioneering Trust and Momentum in Business Innovation | Ep 140 | DevReady Podcast

In this episode of the DevReady Podcast, join host Andrew Romeo as he explores the art and science of innovation with  Lee Foster, Founder & CE0, Innovate Wisely, and Joeri (Yuri) Timmermans, Director of Innovate Wisely, delving into their groundbreaking framework and strategies for fostering trust, momentum, and collaboration in organizational innovation.

 

Joeri, with a 20-year engineering background, shares his journey of integrating business strategies with technology and innovation, highlighting how he met Lee at Queensland University of Technology. Lee, with over 30 years of experience in chemical engineering, discusses her passion for environmental sustainability and her research into the missing link between innovation and knowledge. Together, they founded Innovate Wisely to validate and share their innovative framework with other organizations.

 

Lee explains their comprehensive framework for innovation, which supports teams from idea inception to implementation, focusing on continuous improvement and knowledge management. The methodology includes phases for initiation, knowledge creation, solution testing, and customer adoption, culminating in a critique phase similar to a retrospective in Scrum. By emphasizing new knowledge and its application, the framework integrates seamlessly with existing systems like design thinking and Agile, enhancing them with a focus on knowledge and trust.

 

Lee and Joeri discuss the significance of trust and momentum in Innovate Wisely's innovation framework. Trust is essential at all stages of the innovation process, impacting team dynamics, stakeholder relationships, and leadership engagement. They introduce the "Trust 360" model, which identifies key areas where trust is crucial for innovation. They also highlight the importance of measuring trust and momentum as lead indicators to foresee and address potential issues. Additionally, they emphasize using agile frameworks over traditional waterfall approaches to manage the uncertainties inherent in innovation effectively.

 

Andrew, Lee, and Joeri emphasize the critical importance of maintaining continuous momentum and fostering open conversations to build trust, which are essential to preventing innovation efforts from failing. Lee highlights a methodology developed by Innovate Wisely that includes a series of questions to assess trust at various phases of a project, providing valuable insights for making informed decisions. Joeri adds that identifying potential trust issues early can prevent wasted resources and ensure the success of innovation initiatives. They discuss the role of AI in business, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on accelerating innovation, and the necessity of strong drivers for change, using examples like Apple to illustrate how creating a desire for change can propel progress.