Innovation does not necessarily mean implementing significant technological changes within your organization. It also implies cultural transformations in the company’s daily operations.
In that sense, innovation encompasses transforming the habits and mindsets of managers and all stakeholders. Above all, innovation has to do with decision-making.
For this reason, let us discuss why adopting the culture of experimentation is a good idea for your company.
This culture may be an essential tool to make your company more innovative, modern, agile, and, of course, more competitive in the market.
Throughout this article, I’ll mention topics that I believe to be relevant regarding the culture of experimentation.
Let us look at the benefits that such culture brings about and how to apply it to your company’s daily processes. And why not adopt it for your personal life?
What is the culture of experimentation?
The culture of experimentation is mainly rooted in validating hypotheses through short, measurable experiments.
Their goal is to help us boost confidence levels, thus providing more safety for decision-making.
In many conservative companies, only senior staff members who occupy important roles can voice new ideas and promote change. But the culture of experimentation imposes no limitation on who can speak out.
Everyone can suggest new ideas and propose solutions that will undergo testing — experiments on hypotheses on what we wish to validate.
However, what enables the culture of experimentation to generate efficient and positive results for a company involves some “letting go,” in the sense that the organization leaders must waive their authoritarian leadership approach.
If the company adopts a conservative culture using “untouchable” processes, if the managers are not flexible enough, and if there is little room for change, implementing the culture of experimentation will be impossible. And so will be any type of innovation.
All those willing to innovate and experience a culture of experimentation must take risks and allow themselves to get to know other possibilities.
Learning from mistakes
The idea of learning by mistakes is well known, and it actually serves as a guide for those who are afraid to take a bet on a new idea.
Putting new ideas into practice and finding a new successful strategy often requires trying things out. During testing, many attempts may fail until you reach the expected result.
The culture of experimentation allows controlled attempts to take place. In case things go wrong, you can always try again, maybe by doing things differently or testing new hypotheses.
Such flexibility is what makes the culture of experimentation stand out. This culture values change and transformation, even if it happens by learning from possible mistakes.
Never be afraid to try new things out! If anything goes wrong, analyze what contributed to that mistake and avoid repeating it in the next attempt. Then, try again!
The advantages of the culture of experimentation
Besides the force of innovation happening in the company thanks to the culture of experimentation, there are still other benefits in adopting this work model.
For instance, the culture of experimentation allows testing ideas without jeopardizing the product. It is a low-cost experiment in a controlled environment.
Another advantage of the culture of experimentation is to always follow up on new market trends and changes in customer behavior, which are key factors for business growth.
Besides, offering exclusive products and services to the clients is one of the main ways to stand out in the market. The culture of experimentation is perfect for that purpose!
Besides, the culture of experimentation enables the direct evolution of the product by setting previously validated features into production. This practice guarantees the implementation of features that make real sense for the client.
How to implement the culture of experimentation?
After understanding what the culture of experimentation is and getting to know its benefits, check out the steps required for implementing this way of working.
- The first step is the primary grounding for adopting the culture of experimentation. It takes into account the ideas of all the stakeholders in the organization. It is thus possible to take the first step within the new culture. For that purpose, the whole team has to be aware of the company’s transformation purposes. Awareness is vital for engaging all parties, who will then effectively participate in the new process.
- The second step is developing hypotheses based on ideas, opportunities, and insights. In order to know whether the experiment worked or not, it will be necessary to make assumptions. They leverage the change process and allow decision-making to start relying on facts and data.
- The third step is the observation of the test under execution. The team has to be informed about the ideas and the hypotheses and continuously observe and collect partial results. In this way, the experiment does not get derailed, and essential lessons are available at any moment throughout the process.
- The fourth step is measuring the results. This is the moment to assess whether the hypothesis was correct or not.
- Lastly, the last step is discussing the lessons learned. Based on this discussion, the company will know whether to implement changes based on the experiment or if new hypotheses must undergo testing.
Takeaway
The culture of experimentation is a great tool to leverage change, innovation, and growth for your business! How about implementing the culture of experimentation together with team performance measurements?
Read more about working with teams
- Are we actually a team?
- Silos: visualizing and dealing with the team’s dependencies
- Powerful practical management tips for teams working from home
- Upward Spiral of High Performance Teams
Are you interested in the culture of experimentation? Would you like to chat about it with one of our experts?
Contact us or leave a comment to express your thoughts about this fascinating subject!
