Episode 48 - An Idea Knocked on the Door of My Heart: Fueling the Spirit, Practice and Process of Innovation | Michelle Royal

Are you confused about what it means to innovate? Are you curious about what it means to have a culture of innovation? Are you looking for ways to innovate in your business? Would you like to get past your innovation obstacles? Our special guest Michelle Royal answers these questions and more about innovation.

Michelle Royal is an innovation speaker, entrepreneur and consultant, and the Founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Royal Innovation Design Group (RIDG). Michelle has a Masters in Business Innovation from the Deusto Business School in Bilbao, Spain and a Master of Arts from the University of Chicago, and she’s was the first innovation coach to the European Union.

Listen in as Michelle talks about innovation, people and problem solving.

The Impact Leadership Podcast is brought to you by Cardivera, the leadership development eco-system that helps your grow your people, grow your business and grow your life.

Show Notes

In this episode you’ll learn…

“Innovation is people making money by turning failure into ideas that work”
Innovation is a deep journey where you face how much you don’t know, acknowledge your personal limitations and together overcome obstacles and solve problems
Business innovation and leadership development must be integrated
One challenge to innovation is the internal culture of rejection (more than the failure rate) – leaders must be aware of the many ways they reject and stifle ideas and innovation
One entrepreneurial challenge is diving into ideas and a business without testing it – fall in love with your customers, not your ideas (products)
Big innovation often starts with small steps and failures
Embracing failure in the innovation journey
Change management maxim – people don’t want to be changed unless it’s them that want to be changed
Designing the employee experience is just as important (or even more important) than the customer experience
Innovation is about, by and for people
Beware the religiosity of the entrepreneur doer (innovation requires inspiring and engaging entire teams of people)
Innovation readiness for an organization, team or leader is vital to assess before you embark on an innovation journey
Every company is being disrupted by COVID
Innovation is a process more than an event
Innovation prioritization is an important factor in innovation readiness
Your innovation priorities are framed by your north star and mission / vision
Innovation is more about testing than picking winners including integration in the business and across the business
Don’t pay for ideas
Feedback doesn’t require testing with hundreds (test and asses with your ideal six)
Innovation won’t work without an environment of trust and respect
Innovation during COVID is essential including designing virtual experiences
The role of adaptation and evolution in innovation
“Innovation is not rocket science” – by understanding your unique value you already have all the ingredients for innovation (you just might need a different formula to be successful)
Innovation is an internal desire for people to be the best they can be
“Anyvation” – Innovation anywhere, anytime with anyone any day of the week