GUeRILLAINNOVATIONAPRACTICALGUIDEBYERIKLYDECKER2015

We started of by running on our bare feet, no matter the terrain. Then we found the horse back. Then someone though of a car. But could the feet people really imagine the horse back? Or the horse back people imagine the car? Can the car people imagine the next thing? At each and every stage humans think they got it all figured out. But did they? When is the right time for the next thing? Is there really a right time? Was the car introduced at the right time? The simple answer is ’no’.

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Why did we start to ride on the horse back and later on drive the car? The motive is obvious. We wanted to move faster from A to B. It was not a need! We where doing just fine walking on our feet. But what about the reason for innovation? Why didn’t Ford work on developing faster horses if the motive was to go faster from A to B? The simple answer is that he was not following the main stream reasoning of transport. He broke the laws and guides for transportation at that time.

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WHY

Innovation differs from improvement in that innovation refers to the notion of doing something different rather than doing the same thing better. We started of by using tapes, then CDs then MP3 files. It’s all about music, but in different ways. Companies need to confront fear with the courage of radical guerilla innovation. That is to make something different by non-linear means. The nutrients of simple improvement are not the same for innovation.

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So when is the time right for innovation at your company? The answer is ’yesterday’. Because no one knows what is to come. TomTom was doing really good. But what happend when GMaps came on stage? Should you spend money on innovation when you are loosing ground? This is a destructive approach. When newspapers realized that they are going under, a million years after digital media, they started to setup ’innovation teams’. Really? Is digital news and apps like Flipboard or Omni innovation? No its not.

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Guerilla warfare is defined as non-conventional warfare. War that brake the rules of war. The main characteristics are small groups, irregular approach, ambush, raid, hit-and-run, mobility. So there you have it. If you really want to win the war of innovation you need to brake the current rules today. There are no rules in guerilla tactics. You have an objective. Do anything in your power to reach it. Disrupting the market requires radical thinking and brutal change.

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GUERILLA

Improving your product or service is not innovation. Changing the design and adding features is not innovation. Making your product or service ubiquitous is not innovation. Innovation is a radical new approach to something old. Rethink your whole business and be bold. Fear is the enemy of everything new. The foundation of all disruptive ideas is non-conventional reasoning.

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INNOVATION

Introduce the concept of guerilla innovation at your company now. Educate everyone at your company about the concept of creativity, innovation and lean/agile working methods. Start from the top and move your way down the ladder. Tell all your departments to brake the rules for a specific period of time.

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Set your creative focus and innovation platform. Hire people you would never hire before. Let go of your baby, she is not the best in town. Understand that there is someone out there coming towards you with a mission to destroy and rebuild. Be that first mover before its to late. Holding on to what you have today is like holding a rock while drowning.

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INSTALL

If you don’t have a column in your budget that says ’innovation team’, then add it now. Build small groups of people with divergent backgrounds. Change their way of work and space every 90 days. Never tell them how to do their work. Leave them with the basic understanding of lean/agile development then let go. Tell them to improve lean/agile methods before the next cycle. Make their work visible for everyone to play with. Involve your customers on site and treat them as your own.

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SETUP

Always remember what Mark Twain said about civilizations and their death. Aknowledge the fact that change must come from within and from the top down. Your feet cannot brake-dance without your brain learning how to dance. Let go of your fear of failing since you are travelling towards your end anyway. Try to live as long as possible by disrupting your way of doing business everyday. Spotify is not the beginning nor the end. Somone is coming to kill Facebook. Google search is just the beginning.

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THE END