"Without change there is no innovation, creativity or incentive for improvement." - William Pollard
Change is difficult.
We’ve all seen it. People are told there’s a new, more efficient way to do their work, and they need to adopt it. But they like the way they’ve always done it, and they’re comfortable. So, they keep doing it their way.
That situation often contributes to a stale culture, leading executives to look to innovation and cutting-edge technology to remain competitive. But innovation for innovation’s sake is a flawed strategy, because true innovation requires change. To grow an innovative culture that repeatedly brings new ideas to life and improves inefficient processes, a company should look for a partner that understands the importance of innovation, brings diverse experiences and knows how to manage the adoption of change within the organization. The stakes are high. Failure to innovate means reduced productivity, market share, employee morale and revenue.
Companies set aggressive goals but achieving them in a coordinated, strategic manner can be difficult because most companies want a quick return on investment from a validated model that allows them to invest more. Blueprint has found that the most efficient way to accomplish this is to go through three basic steps:
- Ideate to frame a concept
- Establish success criteria
- Capture lessons learned – especially when you fail.
These steps are foundational to Blueprint’s proven methodologies for helping companies explore opportunities and technologies while building an internal culture of innovation, minimizing risk and achieving ROI quickly.
Through Blueprint’s project definition workshops, proofs of concept, rapid prototyping and facilitated innovation, we demonstrate the art of what’s possible when a company embraces an authentic culture of innovation and change. At Blueprint, we believe starting an effort with one of these activities is the best way to ensure ultimate success.
Project definition workshops
Projects succeed most often when they are properly planned and managed. They typically fail because of missing user input, lackluster management support or a vague statement of requirements. Project definition workshops build a shared understanding of the business requirements and operational parameters for delivering an identified project. This facilitates the development of a solution and manages the integration of project outcomes. Building for the future requires thinking differently, and Blueprint offers organizations the structure needed to ensure their ongoing success.
Blueprint walks organizations through a personalized curriculum designed to comprehensively plan for the development and execution of a successful project. These workshops bring all relevant stakeholders together to create and commit to a plan before beginning a lengthy project. The result is a fully optimized project plan that addresses the right business problems and has the necessary buy-in for the project to succeed.
Proof of concept
Blueprint believes in creating customized solutions to fit specific team and business needs, and we work with companies to facilitate growth and create operational efficiencies. Once a problem has been identified, Blueprint develops a solution to prove it will achieve the expected ROI. During a proof of concept, Blueprint becomes intimately knowledgeable about a company’s key business goals and processes and then uses its expertise to demonstrate scalable customized solutions that support growth and provide ROI within 90 days.
Rapid prototyping
Rapid prototyping offers a flexible, cost-efficient way to quickly explore which technologies make sense for a given project or initiative. Rapid prototyping stresses planning, designing and collecting feedback, then iterating and adapting development based on that feedback in order to deliver the optimal product or solution for the problem at hand. Utilizing rapid prototyping is a powerful way to quickly explore and validate innovative ideas and gauge their potential impact.
Facilitated innovation
Facilitated innovation is about exploring what’s possible through a phased approach to innovation. Blueprint walks organizations through a systematic, personalized curriculum designed to uncover innovative solutions to business problems identified during a series of facilitated workshops that encourage exploration and accelerate learning. Each phase involves rapid prototyping and harnesses feedback and learnings into a range of tangible deliverables. The result is a solution that addresses a company’s current problem set and provides the foundation and structure to continue a culture of innovation within the organization.
Acting on the power of possibility
Through these four pathways, Blueprint helps companies solve problems, establish fresh ideas and embrace cutting-edge technology. Building a more innovative culture can be a daunting task, filled with uncertain value and high risk. But thinking of the process as a journey with tangible steps can make that goal achievable. Let’s start a conversation about how we can help your organization set the course for a more innovative future.
