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A deep curiosity for technology drives innovation

Some of the fastest-growing industries today are building capabilities that transform the way we work. The availability of commercial 3D printers, a subset of additive manufacturing, is allowing various industries to rapidly prototype and get ideas to fruition sooner.

Some of the fastest-growing industries today are building capabilities that transform the way we work. The availability of commercial 3D printers, a subset of additive manufacturing, is allowing various industries to rapidly prototype and get ideas to fruition sooner.

Yet, innovation is rarely about adopting the latest and greatest technology, but more about establishing a culture that leans towards change. For that, we have much to learn from start-ups that are building fast-growing technology companies.

Start-ups are highly collaborative by nature. The Productivity Innovation Credit (PIC) announced by the Government last year now gets an added boost and extension in Budget 2014. Local technology start-ups, such as Zopim and TackThis, offer technology solutions that can be claimed under the PIC. These web-based products enable a plug-and-play approach, under which firms can implement or test technical solutions quickly, minimising risk of costly development.

PROTOTYPE AND LEARN

The process of rapid prototyping and testing to form a constant feedback loop will help companies test new ideas by failing fast. First, select the brightest and most open minds in a firm to form a small task force of five or six people to look into and solve your most pressing business problem. For best results, pick a group with diverse skill sets and experience.

Then, select the promising ideas and role-play them with some members acting as customers. Refine the ideas until they become solutions that can be implemented in a part of your business as a field test. The idea is to take baby steps and learn from each mistake in a safe environment before moving on with a more refined solution or prototype in the actual business.

Earlier last month, Maxus involved British supermarket retailer TESCO in a day’s worth of presentations and workshops to stimulate business problems and brainstorm solutions.

Any business insights gained by the Malaysian management team were a result of creating multiple experiments to test assumptions. Even taking a small step in allowing a key executive to embrace technology could lead the organisation to lean towards change.

LEAN Towards THE FUTURE

Here is an idea: Set up a next-generation budget for your staff to tinker on breakthrough ideas and imagine the future of your business. At Budget 2014, the Government announced that it would give up to S$1 million to firms that pilot ground-breaking technology, subsidising up to 80 per cent of the qualifying cost. This could be an excellent chance to adopt or research emerging technologies such as data analytics and robotics.

For us, a next-generation budget we set years earlier helped developMaxus Insights, a data analytics platform for businesses and advertisers to evaluate which part of their advertising budget is working and make changes to extract better value from their advertising dollar.

Steps towards improving productivity or innovation do not necessarilyrequire radical changes. Allowing your staff to work in co-working spaces, such as Silicon Straits, or implementing a collaborative seating arrangement to foster self-creating work groups, instead of having a strict permanent desk policy, can help encourage productive conversations across departments and with new business partners. The model of an agency that fosters creativity is designed by its ability to work like an open structure, which can “invite” diverse skill sets to co-work, rather than “hog” talent. Integrating this approach as part of our culture has served us well at Maxus.

Encouraging your staff to attend events that showcase applications of technology could help keep you abreast of the latest research and industry developments in emerging fields of technology. Recently, Stratasys,the world’s leading manufacturer in 3D production systems, held a public event in which it launched the world’s first multi-colour 3D printer. Such a new technology opens up multiple possibilities across industries, including fashion and healthcare.

Signing your employees up for capability development to face an increasingly technology-centric economy also helps. Swedish institute, Hyper Island, runs week-long lab sessions, with subsidies from the Workforce Development Agency, on topics such as user experience and creative data.

Throughout my career, I have always believed it is easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission. This has allowed my team and me to adapt and grow quickly to changing market demands. We have found success in allowing our staff to be accountable for their ideas and empowering them to be autonomous.

A culture that rewards curiosity is the name of the game in innovation. When you encourage people to move out of their comfort zones and be inherently curious about technology and the world, innovation will blossom from within.

About the author:

Nico Abbruzzese is Worldwide Director of Creative Technology at Maxus, a global media agency. He also heads Metalworks, a technology R&D division of Maxus.

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