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Increase Productivity

Productivity Secrets of Jack Ma

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Growing up fairly poor during China’s Cultural Revolution in the 60s and 70s, Jack Ma likely did not think that he would eventually start one of the largest companies in the world. Considering the fact that he failed his first and second college entrance exams by a wide margin, few people in his life would have predicted such a grand future for him either. After finally passing the entrance exam and graduating with a degree in English, Jack Ma applied to dozens of companies but could only find work as an English teacher, and his business prospects appeared dim. 

Nonetheless, in 1999, Jack Ma launched Alibaba, an e-commerce giant that has grown to stand beside companies such as Amazon, eBay, Meituan, and Shopify. So, how did an English teacher with a humble upbringing and little early success come to dominate the business landscape? In short, Jack Ma firmly stuck to a handful of important values that helped him increase productivity. High productivity is integral to any entrepreneur’s success. Therefore, if you want your business to do as well as Alibaba, then you need to take a look at this quick overview of three of Jack Ma’s most useful productivity secrets.

Emphasis on Goals

Jack Ma asserts that an organization’s culture must center on goals over individuals. Building a cult of personality around a particular executive or manager likely will not increase productivity. Employees shouldn’t toil to please their manager or the CEO. Instead, everyone in the organization needs the autonomy and resources necessary to pursue clear organizational goals with little managerial interference. 

Inclusion

Women make up roughly 50% of the global population. However, in China and most other countries, men have always held the overwhelming majority of important leadership roles. Jack Ma recognized that a male-dominated culture only limited his organizations’ growth prospects, so he helped women ascend to key roles in Alibaba so that they could propel the brand forward with their useful skills, unique experience, and valuable insights. 

Considering Alibaba’s lightning-fast growth over the past two decades, Jack Ma must have been onto something. When a company’s demographics skew heavily towards one group, the organization misses out on talented individuals and useful points of view that drive productivity and innovation. Inclusive hiring practices aren’t only fair, but they’re also vital for any organization’s long-term success.

Willingness To Learn From Competitors

Many entrepreneurs enter the business world with the notion that they are somehow special. In turn, they perceive their competitors’ strategies as inherently inferior to their own, but this is a flawed way of thinking. Jack Ma always knew to emulate the strategies that worked for his competitors, and he never thought that he was too good to occasionally follow in someone else’s footsteps. A thought or idea isn’t any more meritorious just because it’s original, so if you want greater productivity, then you need to dissect your competitors’ successes and incorporate their best insights into your organization’s operational framework.

Boost Productivity With Jack Ma’s Values

Jack Ma lived through times of tumultuous change and worked tirelessly to eventually rise to monumental heights in the global e-commerce landscape. Despite his humble origins and early career struggles, Jack Ma persevered, and he has his humility, goal-centered mindset, and inclusive values to thank for his success. This man is one of the greatest examples of the ideal entrepreneur, and seeing the incredible prosperity of Alibaba, any entrepreneur who wants to increase productivity and reach greater heights would be wise to take inspiration from Jack Ma’s leadership style.

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Entrepreneurship

The Value of Entrepreneurship Skills

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Use Entrepreneurship Skills to Become a Better Manager

We know that successful entrepreneurs share certain traits. They’re driven by passion, creativity, and a growth mindset. They’re also highly adaptable. Developing these skills can make you a stronger team leader and a more productive project manager.

Can You Learn Entrepreneurship Skills?

You might think you aren’t an entrepreneur—and don’t want to be one. You’re happy with the success you’ve gained in your company, and you like the rewards you’ve earned as a successful leader and manager.

Learning entrepreneurship skills doesn’t mean you have to go out on your own, however. Developing these skills will help you become more driven, more productive, and ultimately more successful when you apply them to your work with high-performing teams.

Use the Knowledge You Already Have 

Do you have to learn a bunch of new concepts? The good news is that you don’t. 

recent study titled, “Neuroentrepreneurs: What Can Entrepreneurship Learn from Neuroscience?“ looked at whether someone can become an expert simply by learning and practicing new concepts. The author, Norris F. Kreuger, concluded that this is a misconception:

“No amount of learning knowledge content can guarantee reaching the mindset of an expert. What differentiates experts is not how much they know but how they structure that knowledge.” Other things that set entrepreneurial experts apart are their passion for a subject and their belief that they can change their mindset to an entrepreneurial one. 

Approach Every Project with an Entrepreneurial Spirit

According to Kreuger, these traits are what give entrepreneurs the “Aha!” moment of inspiration that fuels their productivity.

You have the knowledge and the experience. Developing a passion for your work and believing you can change your mindset will help you develop a strong entrepreneurial spirit. Use your passion and your new mindset to spark that “Aha!” moment when you face your next project.

Use Visualization 

One practical tip straight from neuroscience is to use visualization. Visualization has long been used by top athletes who use it to picture successfully completing a physical challenge. It also works for high achievers in the arts and in business, according to neuroscientist Mike Tranter and author of the book, A Million Things to Ask A Neuroscientist: The Brain Made Easy.

In an interview with Forbes, Tranter explained that using a process called “outcome visualization” will prepare your brain’s neurons for success. To do it, simply close your eyes and try to imagine yourself confidently achieving your next goal. It could be a small one like finally organizing that closet, or it could be a big one like winning a huge contract for your company.

It’s an active process that works best when you imagine every detail. What are you wearing, where are you, what do you see and smell? When you visualize with this much detail, your brain and body react as if the outcome has already happened, and you’ll have the confidence to make that vision a reality.

Position Yourself for Success 

At the Leonard Productivity Intelligence Institute, we use proven, science-based techniques to help high-performing managers develop the skills they need for phenomenal success. If you’d like to learn how, contact us today.

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Cultural Intelligence

Cultural Intelligence And Diversity

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To maintain diversity in the workplace, it’s important to consider cultural intelligence or EQ. What is cultural intelligence? It is when coworkers of different backgrounds are able to work together effectively. 

Workplace Diversity 

These days, companies are interested in hiring workers with different cultural backgrounds. While this is a great goal, putting it into action is challenging. You’ll want to embrace CQ to bring diverse talent into your organization and make sure that your company’s hiring steps are unbiased. 

What are the Benefits of a Diverse Workforce? 

A diverse workforce includes different races, gender identities, generations, nationalities and abilities. It’s important to be able to leverage their differences. When you have a workforce that is different and fail to focus on CQ, you’re likely to have a work environment with misaligned expectations and conflict issues. 

Your company is more likely to experience deadlock situations and decreased productivity if you don’t implement CQ. However, when a diverse team has high CQ, research shows that they outproduce a homogeneous workforce in all areas. This includes innovation, leadership, making decisions and establishing trust. 

Ensuring Equity 

To establish equity, plan to vigorously challenge and react to individual and universal biases. Continue this mindset when it comes to behavioral policies and practices. These steps will help you ensure that everyone in your company has equal access to work opportunities. 

Guaranteeing Inclusion 

Promoting a work atmosphere where employees with a variety of identities feel important to the team, valued and useful is an important part of managing diverse teams.  

Keep in mind that diversity focuses on representation while inclusion is about welcoming diversity. Inclusion will help you create a work atmosphere in which every worker thrives. 

The pandemic and economic issues have pinpointed how fast some companies are ignoring their commitments to diversity and inclusion. When a crisis occurs, it’s natural to turn to a safe management style. This often means preserving and promoting workers who you already trust and rejecting employees who you don’t think understand the country’s culture. Try to avoid returning to these old techniques and continue to embrace the diverseness of your team. 

What are the Struggles with Cultural Diversity?

Managing workers of different cultures is challenging. Western management techniques like intense brainstorming sessions, contributive management and immediate negative feedback is often uncomfortable for workers of other cultures. 

The United States work culture is task-based. This means that decision makers will quickly fly wherever needed to complete a work transaction while relationship-based cultures make decisions slowly. They take the time to get to know the person who they are doing business with.  

When managing diverse teams, consider how to lead cultures that are task-based and those that are based on relationships. You’ll need to embrace a flexible management style. 

Turning a Risk into an Asset 

According to a study of workers from 90 different countries, an estimated 89% of them worked on global virtual teams. Cultural intelligence will help you turn a risk to your business into an asset. Companies that have well-maintained diversity programs thrive and outperform the competition. If you need guidance, contact me at the Productivity Intelligence Institute. 

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Creating High-Performing Teams

Why Build High Performing Teams 

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Four Benefits of Creating High Performing Teams

A small business may begin with just an idea and an individual entrepreneur. As it grows, more employees will come on board to move the organization forward. While managing styles differ, more businesses recognize the benefits of intentionally developing high-performing teams.

What Is a High-Performing Team?

High-performance teams across industries share several characteristics. Team leaders take steps to develop trust within the group and create clear communication structures. Group members have time to learn each other’s strengths and acknowledge them as they assign tasks. Most importantly, a high-performing team has a sense of purpose and establishes clear goals to attain it.

1. Organizational Clarity

Anyone interested in creating high performing teams must encourage clarity within their organization. These groups have clear organizational structures that offer members defined roles and responsibilities. Having clear instructions lets team members accomplish their tasks without unnecessary oversight.

A high-performing team will also have a clear sense of how their project fits into the overall mission of the organization. When employees have clarity about why they are working on a task, they will carry it out with greater positivity and focus.

2. Improved Communication

High-performing teams thrive on communication and cooperation. Each member understands how their individual tasks fit into the overall project, but they also recognize the need to coordinate their efforts for a streamlined process. When you create a framework to improve communication within the team, you will develop standard practices that will benefit how your whole organization handles information.

3. Higher Productivity

Businesses that encourage high performance ensure that team members have the skills they need to flourish. They invest in their employees by supporting continuing education and development. 

This investment in personnel yields a return of increased productivity. Team members will have the resources they need to tackle difficult tasks with creativity and confidence. Not only will a high-performing team get things done, but they will do so with positive morale.

4. Greater Loyalty

The combination of clarity, communication, productivity, and purpose creates a positive work environment for everyone involved. Because the team model fosters trust, leaders can give team members more freedom as they assign tasks. People with a sense of control have lower stress levels and feel more fulfilled in their work. Businesses that support high-performing teams will see less employee turnover, fewer absences, and increased dedication.

A High-Performing Partner for Your Business

If you are interested in creating high performing teams at your business, Productivity Intelligence Institute can help. We love to help entrepreneurs improve their organizations by providing actionable ideas using the latest insights from business leaders and neuroscientists. Contact us to learn more.

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Artificial Intelligence

Which ChatGPT App Is Best?

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You’re likely familiar with ChatGPT and know that it’s a popular chatbox trial product that has caught the attention of the internet. It’s quickly turned into a great example of how AI-generated content is going to impact the future. Which ChatGPT app is best? It depends on how you intend to use it. 

CopyAI 

These days, AI platforms can be used to generate content automatically. This content may include social media posts, blogs and articles. 

CopyAI is an assistant for copywriters. It helps create incredible advertising copy fast using automatic development tools that work with communication channels like website copy, social media and product descriptions. 

It is a platform that your copywriters can use to develop ideas. They can select and curate material created by the artificial intelligence system. CopyAI comes with a variety of writing tools that are great for various occasions. It will help your copywriters develop professional emails and work out ideas. 

Magic Sales Bot 

The Magic Sales Bot app is a tool fueled by GPT-3. Product managers can use it to develop emails that are customized for every lead. Writing balanced and interesting paragraphs without having it turn into a cheesy advertisement like the ones on television in the ‘90s is a challenge. The Magic Sales Bot app can help you and your team write advertising emails that will convert leads into sales. 

Keep in mind that ChatGPT operates much the same as other AI systems, but it’s better at what it’s designed to do. Since ChatGPT was released, people have used it to help them create their own content. 

HelpHub 

HelpHub is an app that will assist you in creating a website that includes a help center, customer support and a FAQ section. Developing support documentation is a dreary and time draining job. HelpHub will save you time and energy. The app will help you create a help site that contains articles that answer customer questions. 

To use HelpHub, explain the key points that you need to include and let an artificial intelligence writer create the article. Your company’s users will appreciate the information. 

Writesonic 

Writesonic is an app that will help you produce high-performing advertisements, landing pages, descriptions for products and blogs. Writesonic includes tools like sentence expander, analogy generator and a checking system for readability. It also operates in 24 different languages.  

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Grok 

If you use Slack, consider getting the Grok app. The app will simplify Slack communication before you become overwhelmed by it. Slack can inundate users with daily messages. The Grok app can also prevent you from missing out on important information. It will help you manage Slack. 

PowerBrain 4 

PowerBrain 4 is an app that you can use to write text on your smartphone quickly and with greater efficiency. The app will give you generated text that will save you time without sacrificing quality.  

Artificial Intelligence is the Future 

With the right ChatGPT app, you can lighten your workload and that of your staff. If you need help with your management technique, contact me at the Productivity Intelligence Institute. 

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Actionable Insights

Actionable Insights The Missing Link

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Companies need data to make good decisions. However, some kinds of data are simply not helpful. You expect your managers to operate at a fast pace, so they shouldn’t waste time sorting through useless information. You want your employees to make informed decisions as efficiently as possible, so keep reading to uncover the secrets of gaining actionable insights from data.

Collect Data With Intent

First and foremost, you must know what you want to accomplish with your organization’s data. After all, a bunch of random information is useless if you cannot analyze it with specific purposes in mind. However, you might not know which types of data will actually benefit your company. In that case, you should consult key stakeholders to craft your organization’s data strategies.

Organize Data With the Right Tools

Your organization likely has a lot of data to collect and analyze. Sorting through data manually and making it presentable can be extremely time-consuming, so you should adopt the right tools to streamline these processes. For example, if you want to identify shortcomings in your company’s services, then you should use a text analyzer tool to scan reviews on common search engines and social media platforms. The text analyzer can quickly find and count the most common terms and phrases in these reviews. With the help of such a tool, the data will be more accurate and concise, and team members won’t have to spend dozens of hours scanning the web to find out what people are saying about the company.

Make Data an Important Part of Your Company

Unfortunately, managers in many companies make completely arbitrary decisions. Without a data-driven culture, people may simply base their decisions on gut feelings or anecdotal evidence. Such subjective thought processes will harm your company in the long run, so it’s important to ensure that all team members understand the importance of data, evidence, and empiricism for the organization’s success.

Hire the Right Personnel To Analyze Data

Some kinds of data can be very difficult to interpret, so you shouldn’t expect every team member to make optimal decisions with all of your company’s data. While your accountant may be able to tell you how your organization’s current financial situation compares to previous periods, they don’t have the training and experience necessary to forecast a new product’s sales numbers. Instead, you will have to consult a relevant market expert to derive any meaningful conclusions from relevant internal and external data.

Leverage Your Company’s Valuable Data Today for Actionable Insights

Data is easier to extract and analyze than ever before. However, the abundance of data in the digital age can get in your way if you don’t know how to use it. Therefore, you must make sure to keep your organization’s goals in mind as you develop your data strategies to make optimal decisions. You want your team to use data efficiently to streamline your organization’s processes, so make sure to read our other useful guides for gaining actionable insights from data.

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Digital Transformation

How Digital Transformation Is Changing The Business World

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In the past, technological transformations arrived with a flourish. Today, that is no longer the case. Despite the quiet arrival of changes in technology, the impact of recent advancements is often dramatic. With the arrival of tech like IoT, AI and Big Data, intricate industries are operating with better efficiency and higher productivity levels. This is how digital transformation is changing the business world. 

There are five components of digital transformation. They include: 

• People 
• Information 
• Insights 
• Action 
• Outcome 

People 

Digital change begins with people, which is something that you should keep in mind when you consider information. In most organizations, the people part of digital change will include the information that they have about their customers, clients and workers.  

Information 

For an organization to scale the information that they have about their customers and workers, it needs to collect data. The information component is the area where advanced technology has the biggest impact.  

Insights 

Information is often compared to oil because the value of it is based on if your organization can clean, refine and use it to power something important. If you don’t have a model, framework or system, your organization won’t be able to take advantage of the information it collects and turn it into insights. 

Action 

Keep in mind that your organization needs to do more than reach the insights phase. In fact, the best insights will be useless if the organization doesn’t have a way to transition them into actions. Even if you have the most advanced artificial intelligence, data science and analytics, it’s still up to the people of your organization to decide how to handle a prediction. 

Outcome 

The last phase is results. In this phase, you need to assess the results and decide how to use them. 

The Importance of a Digital Culture 

Figuring out why your organization needs digital change is challenging. This is especially true if your company is operating smoothly. A major misconception is that when organizations upgrade their systems with advanced technology, the transformation is complete. However, digital change is about more than software or technology. Digital change is about company adaptability. 

For your organization to stay on track after digital change, it must be flexible and agile. An organization’s culture is key to a successful digital initiative. 

How can you determine if your organization has a digital culture? Consider whether your company believes that its clients are at the center of its organization. Do you use information to predict and foresee what your customers need and want? Also, assess whether your company makes immediate decisions when you have the information available. If this is how your organization operates, then you have a digital culture. If you’re not sure, then prepare to make changes. 

Digital Transformation is Imperative 

Digital change is shifting how the world operates. Organizations that embrace making the right changes at the right time will have an advantage over the competition. If you need guidance on how to use the information collected by your organization, contact me at the Productivity Intelligence Institute. 

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Growth Strategies

Why Is Goal Setting Important

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It’s easy to feel as though you’re directionless. You work hard but aren’t getting where you want to go in life. A big reason why you might feel like this is that you haven’t taken the time to consider what you want from your life. It’s time to set formal goals. Why is goal setting important? It’s important because it’s one of the main growth strategies

What is a Goal?

A goal is an objective or a target that you want to reach using action. It seems like a basic concept, but there are a lot of goal variations. For instance, you can set a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly goal. You can make big and small goals. 

Why do people set goals? We make goals to give ourselves direction and find a purpose in life. Set goals to motivate yourself and ensure that you look forward to each day. 

Goals Prevent Distractions 

Some people suffer from shiny object syndrome, which is when you’re always hunting for the next big thing. When people have shiny object syndrome, they constantly change their goals according to what is most attractive and interesting in the moment. 

The problem with shiny object syndrome is that it never gives you enough time to reach any of these types of goals. You are unable to get anywhere because you are repeatedly switching which direction you’re going. This is a common consequence for people who live without setting goals. 

There is neuroscience behind setting goals. The human brain is constantly barraged with billions of information bits from the environment. It is the job of your brain to manage all of this information without overwhelming you. 

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How does the brain select where you turn your attention to and what to overlook? The human brain has a network referred to as the reticular activating system. This system filters out information as it comes into your brain. It automatically moves your attention to the things that are important. 

The reticular activating system is why you can block out the humming of your home’s furnace but react immediately when someone says your name. 

Goal Setting at Work 

Goal setting will help you reach your career goals. If you need to motivate your team, set clear goals. For instance, if you have a project due by the end of the year, then break down the tasks and assign them to different team members. Make sure that you’re available to help your team with the project. Give them feedback as you work through the many tasks. 

When work goals are clear and your team understands their importance, you’ll motivate your team and complete projects on time. Set goals that are challenging but reachable. 

Key Growth Strategies 

Goal setting is a key growth strategy, one that will help you get where you want to go and accomplish what you want to accomplish at your company. If you need help creating goals, contact me at the Productivity Intelligence Institute. 

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Digital Transformation

What Does Digital Transformation Really Mean For Your Company?

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In a company environment, digital transformation refers to embracing digital advancements. Embrace them to develop new, or change current, business operations. Digital change can also be used to modify a company’s culture or update customer experiences. Transformation is needed to meet changing business and market conditions. 

What You Need to Know About Digital Change 

Digital change has a different appearance for every business. Digital change is the integration of digital advancements within a company. When companies make this type of shift, it results in essential changes to how a company operates. It also provides value to its customers. 

Cultural changes require companies to continuously challenge the current situation. To implement digital changes, businesses must experiment with different advancements. They must also become comfortable failing. This may mean retiring long-standing processes that helped build your business in favor of implementing new digital practices. 

Why Digital Change is Important 

There are several reasons why companies bring in digital change. The most common reason is to stay in business. At the start of the pandemic, it became critical for a company to adjust to supply chain issues. Market pressures and sudden changes to customer expectations became equally important. 

Making digital changes will ensure that your company is ready for the next disruption. 

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About Digital Framework 

While digital change is unique to each organization, there are a few common factors. Common digital alterations include: 

• Company culture 
• Leadership 
• Customer experience 
• Operational dexterity 
• Workforce empowerment 
• Digital technology assimilation 

Each business has its own path to travel down. However, it may help to consider shared themes when you begin developing your company’s digital change strategy. 

The Role of Culture in Digital Change 

When company leaders start introducing digital change, the process may wind up shifting around workgroups and changing job titles. This is likely to make workers fear that their value at the company and jobs are at risk. 

Starting a transformation begins with empathy. When you feel genuine empathy, you’ll be able to form trust with your workforce. If your entire organization is not onboard with the transformation, it will be tough to succeed. 

What Inspires Digital Change 

A vital element of digital change is technology. However, it’s usually more about getting rid of outdated processes and antiquated technology than about bringing in new advancements.

Key Trends in Digital Change 

Digital change will help your company prepare for major market shifts and customer demands. A key trend will be to bring in processes that allow your company to pivot effectively. These processes should also help you manage change without impacting any of your customers. 

Key trends in digital change may include: 

• Embracing the cloud 
• Focusing on resiliency 
• Bringing in advancements that support sustainability 
• Technology supported automation of your company’s processes 
• A new focus on managing data 
• Continuing with remote work  

Digital Transformation will Help You Stay Competitive 

Digital change will help your company operate more efficiently. It will also help your organization remain competitive. If you need help, contact me at the Productivity Intelligence Institute. 

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Creating High-Performing Teams

Creating High-Performance Innovation Teams At Scale

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The modern world is changing at a super-fast rate. Sectors like technology, communications, finance, engineering and entertainment are all seeing shifts on a massive scale. These days, creativity is transforming into the currency of success. This includes creatively putting together teams. Here are a few tips on how to create high-performance innovation teams at scale. 

Creating, Assembling and Scaling Teams 

A major component of creating high performing teams is innovation at scale. Leaders must foster the ability to create new value schemes and establish incremental value that will help their organization. 

You’ll need to create value repeatedly to create it at a scale that’s significant enough to provide support for your organization. 

Consider who you’ll be adding to your organization’s teams, what kind of teams you’ll need to assemble and how to scale them. 

About Developing the Culture of High Performing Teams that Innovate 

To develop high performing teams that innovate, take steps to support a positive culture. Focus on areas like: 

• Dependability 
• Dedication 
• Learning 
• Engagement 

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Dependability 

In business, dependability is often overlooked. Companies that don’t have a strong performance management emphasis find it challenging to create consistently at scale.

Dependability means delivering quality work by the deadline, earmarking pledged resources and supporting your workforce when needed. Trust is an essential element. When it isn’t present, employees lack a shared desire to complete each project’s commitments. 

Dedication 

Dedication is another challenge. Innovation teams often struggle to keep team members. This can happen when you’re first developing a team since people may not want to leave their existing role. 

Learning 

Learning is vital to achieving innovation success. New products and services depend on market feedback to produce improvements. Be sure to challenge and support your innovation teams to perfect their operating practices and bring them together effectively. 

Create a safe environment that allows your team members to challenge and support each other. This is a vital part of learning. 

Engagement 

It’s easy to take engagement as a given, but it’s important for managers to focus on its importance. Make sure that your teams have what they need to engage their clients and your full organization. Innovative teams communicate proactively, and they form a narrative around each project. 

Forming an Innovative Culture 

Your workforce is your most important asset, and they communicate with your second most important assets, which are your clients and partners. Your teams are already on the payroll, so use them effectively. With innovative teams, your company will discover new inspirations, create fresh solutions and increase your profits. 

The best way to do this is to make your team feel empowered. Forming an innovative culture is easier than it might seem. To bring in an innovative culture, welcome change. This will ripple down through your innovative teams. It might take time but be patient. 

Creating High Performing Teams 

Creating high performing teams requires you to support your workforce and establish a safe environment where your people can learn. If you need guidance, contact me at the Productivity Intelligence Institute.