Work Culture Feijoada

9 keys to innovation
Andrew Kaufteil
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Lets get warmed up!

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 Directions

1) Remain silent - thumbs up if you agree

2) Stand (if you can)
3) Find one partner - high five them
4) Im going to yell out two words - pairs of things
5) WITHOUT talking
6) One in the pair should act as one of the words
7) The other should act as the other word.

Ready?

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GREAT JOB!!!!

Back to business.
Or was that business?
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 My career story

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 Cooper is a design and strategy
consulting firm and training center.

We are the North American arm of

Designit, a strategic design firm with 15
offices on 4 continents.

We transform organizations to make

them more innovative and impactful.

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\

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 This talk is about creating a culture conducive
to innovation.

= significant positive change.

Why is it important?

> 70% of senior executives say that innovation will be one of

the top drivers of business growth in the next 3-5 years.

Sources:
http://scottberkun.com/2013/the-best-definition-of-innovation/
http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insight
s/leadership-and-innovation

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Innovative companies in Silicon Valley make culture look easy.

(In reality, its hard.)

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 Before we get started...

Every feijoada is unique and special

...Im showing you a behind-the-scenes peek at Coopers

feijoada recipe

Food for thought

...So you can create your own recipe for innovation

GOAL: To inspire you to create a culture of innovation at

your company - through borrowing, or adapting, or
creating new approaches.

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 9 steps to feijoada and innovation...

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 Key element:
Meat

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 Meat:

Adds depth + richness

Sets the tone for the whole dish

If prepared incorrectly, it doesnt taste very good

Kinda like LEADERSHIP

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 94% of senior executives say that
people and corporate culture are the
most important drivers of innovation.

------> Its imperative that these executives

(and you!) embody innovation, and encourage,
protect, manage and drive it!

Source:
http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/leade
rship-and-innovation

@akaufteil Leadership Meat

@akaufteil Leadership Meat
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 Key element:
Beans

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 Beans:

Are the base of the feijoada

Complement, support, and balance the

meat and other elements.

Beans represent THE TEAM

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@akaufteil Team Beans
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 Traits of innovative employees:

Emotionally intelligent

Improve from failure

Their merits speak for themselves

Underpromise and overdeliver

Know what they dont know, and learn it

If they get stuck,, they know when to ask for

help

Source:
https://blog.hubspot.com/agency/innovative-employee-qualities#sm.0000ej80tlb37djbz
fh1p40bgt6vg

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 Recruitment Technique: Day of
Immersion
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Beans + meat alone are *not* Feijoada

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 Key element:
Recipe

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 Why is a recipe important?

Serves as a guide

Prevents wasted resources - ingredients/time/money

Instills confidence

Recipes represent DATA-DRIVEN DECISIONS

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 Why make data-driven
decisions?
Data is the kind of ubiquitous resource that we can
shape to provide new innovations and new insights, and
its all around us, and it can be mined very easily.
David McCandless, Data journalist

The more companies characterized themselves as

data-driven, the better they performed on objective
measures of financial and operational results.
Andrew McAfee, MIT Sloan School of Management

Source: https://hbr.org/2012/10/big-data-the-management-revolution

@akaufteil Data-Driven Recipe

 Rosse the intern

@akaufteil Data-Driven Recipe

@akaufteil Data-Driven Recipe
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 What were the results?

7X average engagement rate on Twitter

50% reduction on cost of each click

Discovered new, relevant, high-value audiences

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 Rosse the employee
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 Key element:
Black Pepper

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 Black Pepper is:

Intense

Spicy

Full of character

Black Pepper represents

RISK (or trying something that may not work)

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 Chinese Proverb:

Pearls dont lie on the seashore. If you want one, you

must dive for it.

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@akaufteil Risk Black Pepper
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 How did we decide to take the
risk?

Team convened for a gut check

New skills and capabilities - video and storytelling

New data point to drive future decisions

New revenue stream

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 Key element:
Garlic

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 Garlic is:

Sharp,

Pungent,

and

In Your Face!

Kinda like. RADICAL CANDOR

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 Radical Candor means
challenging directly AND caring
personally about your colleagues.

Source: www.radicalcandor.com

@akaufteil Radical Candor Garlic

 Nick
(my boss)

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 My first marketing plan at Cooper

@akaufteil Radical Candor Garlic

@akaufteil Radical Candor Garlic
@akaufteil Radical Candor Garlic
@akaufteil Radical Candor Garlic
 HHIIPP

Humble

Helpful

Immediate

In person

Private criticism / Public praise

Not about Personality

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 Radical Candor =
Results

A 2010 study by the Corporate

Executive Board found that
companies that encouraged
honest feedback among its staff,
and that rated highly in the area of
open communication, delivered a
10-year total shareholder return
that was 270% more than other
companies.

Source:
http://new-talent-times.softwareadvice.com/why-ho
nesty-is-the-secret-ingredient-of-successful-organiza
tions-0613/

@akaufteil Radical Candor Garlic

 Radical Candor must flow in every direction.

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 Key element:
Bay Leaves

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 Bay leaves are:

Mysterious
Complex
Multifaceted

And represent. LEARNING

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 According to Pew, learning at
work is critical:
People crave it. 73% of adults consider themselves lifelong
learners.
It boosts confidence. 87% of personal learners say their
learning activities helped them feel more capable and
well-rounded.
It feeds innovation. 69% say their learning opened up new
perspectives.

Source:http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/03/22/lifelong-learning-and-technology/

@akaufteil Learning Bay Leaves

 Case Study: The Cooper Exchange

Every Friday we offer an opportunity for Cooperistas to learn

something new.

Format: one hour, optional, lunch, live + webinar

Who presents? Sometimes Cooperistas teach a skill or lead a

game. Sometimes theyll bring friends or family members to
present. Sometimes well bring clients, partners, or people
we meet in the world.

Here are some examples...

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 How does learning @ work spark innovation?

It keeps people engaged

It exposes team to fresh new perspectives

AND

It inspires work product...

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 Key element:
Orange Slices

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 F U N !

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 Fun is key to innovation!

Fun must be a big element in your

business strategy.

Business is ideas and fun and

excitement and celebrations, all
those things.

-Jack Welch, Former Chairman and CEO of GE

Source: http://innovarsity.com/coach/quotes_fun.html

Orange
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Slices
 Orange
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Slices
 Orange
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Slices
 Orange
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Slices
 Orange
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Slices
 Orange
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Slices
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Slices
 What you serve the feijoada
in matters

Key element:
The Pot

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From a 2015 Stanford study on workplace design and
innovation, 3 tips:
1 - Close proximity increases creativity + collaboration An
organization looking to increase its innovation should design its
architecture with the intent of attempting to maximize encounters
between employees.

2 - Everybody works differently, so the best office spaces are flexible

and allow for encounters, secluded workspaces, larger meetings, team
meeting rooms.

3 - To increase the desire to contribute to the group...The

organization should encourage employees to display artifacts, physical
features that add aesthetic details meant to embellish and personalize.

Source: Physical Space Drives Innovation: How the Environment Can Increase an Organizations Productivity,
Creativity, and Innovation, Intersect, Vol 8, No 2 (2015)

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 What makes Silicon Valley environments
innovative?
Dialogue + participation

Lack of hierarchy - few, if any, dedicated offices

Visibility - people generally see their colleagues

Art - inspires creativity

- Planet Labs: Artist-in-Residence!

Diverse and dynamic activity

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 Key element:
The Cook

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 I watching cooks because...

1. They take pride in their work

2. Own the process from beginning to end
3. Add their unique flair

Cooks represent OWNERSHIP

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 In Drive, author Daniel Pink defines
autonomy as the desire to direct our own
lives.

A study conducted at the Liverpool Hope University School

of Business in 2014 showed that 78% of employees perceived
work autonomy as important to them. The study showed that
autonomy had a positive effect on creativity and productivity.

Source:
http://innovationexcellence.com/blog/2015/07/27/autonomy-is-important-for-creativity-but-it
s-not-for-everyone/

@akaufteil Ownership The Cook

 The ultimate Cooper Cook - Nate

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 Conversational Interfaces

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 What did ownership look like?

Became an expert: read, made friends with experts + wrote

about Conversational UI

Drafted a strategy

Subscribed leaders and colleagues

Created a partnership with a development firm

Set up Alexa Skills + Google Homes around the office

Spoke: internally, SF, Chicago, Bangalore, Warsaw

Consulting projects A new practice

...and Cooper encouraged this!

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 Ownership Innovation

Ownership is a motivator

Ownership = customization

Ownership turns work into passion

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 9 keys to great feijoada + innovative work
culture

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 Obrigado!
(What are your feijoada secrets?)

andrew@cooper.com

@akaufteil