Delegate the mechanical "science" of innovation—data synthesis, pattern recognition, quantitative analysis—to AI. This frees up human innovators to focus on the irreplaceable "art" of innovation: providing the judgment, nuance, cultural context, and heart that machines lack.
Building an innovation culture is like making a snowball. Pushing it too hard in one direction will cause it to crumble. Instead, you must let it roll and adapt to the organizational climate, context, and people, allowing it to grow organically.
When facing internal resistance to a big idea, the tendency is to make the idea smaller and safer. The better approach is to protect the ambitious vision but shrink the steps to validate it, using small, targeted experiments to build evidence and momentum.
While customer empathy is common, the real breakthrough in solving complex problems comes from fostering empathy between internal business units, such as sales and operations. This transforms internal friction and blame into a shared, collaborative mission.
Formal slide decks for sprint readouts invite a "judgment culture." Instead, use an "open house" format with work-in-progress on whiteboards. This frames the session as a collaborative build, inviting stakeholders to contribute rather than just critique.
Move beyond simple prompts by designing detailed interactions with specific AI personas, like a "critic" or a "big thinker." This allows teams to debate concepts back and forth, transforming AI from a task automator into a true thought partner that amplifies rigor.
To prevent post-sprint momentum loss, create structural "bookends" of support. An executive sponsor provides strategic alignment and resources from the top, while embedded innovation champions on the team provide the day-to-day passion and skills to navigate obstacles from below.
When teams get bogged down in technical or financial challenges, they can lose sight of the customer. AI-powered personas offer an immediate way to "chat with the user," serving as a quick empathy check to re-ground the team in the original problem they are solving.