culled from:bizjournal.com
Northeastern University recently invited three women to talk about how they incorporate innovation in their respective companies — a bank, a hospital and a robotics company. The panel discussion was part of a series called “Women Who Inspire.”
Here are some of their thoughts on creative an innovative workplace culture:
Take (calculated) risks.
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Deborah Theobald is the co-founder and CEO of Vecna Technologies, a health care IT company known for its self-service products and delivery robots.
Theobald co-founded Vecna with her husband and said that while her husband is quick to try a new idea, she would rather explore the scenario and have a plan.
“I don’t necessarily think that women are risk averse,” Theobald said. “We need to find tools to make us feel like we have the information so we have the confidence in our decisions to move forward.”
Empower your employees.
Naomi Fried is the first chief innovation officer for Boston’s Children’s Hospital, ranked as the best children’s hospital in the country in 10 categories by U.S. News & World Report.
Part of that success comes from giving hospital employees the power to problem solve and innovate. For example, they can apply for grants to create new products such as hats that warm up a baby’s body temperature.
To create an atmosphere in which that can happen, Fried says staffers must feel comfortable taking risks and have the resources available to them.
Hire a diverse team.
Theobald said hiring is a challenge, but she looks for people willing to “jump in and get their hands dirty.”
Self-determination is important to Theobald. She says when she’s hiring a large group of 30 entry-level engineers, she tries to find diverse people with foundational skill sets.
But for upper-level positions, she is only hiring one or two people at a time, so the stakes are higher. She says creativity in previous positions is key.
“I ask them, ‘When was a time when you had no idea what to do, and what did you do?’ Did you have an administrative assistant or right-hand man helping you that you won’t have here?'”
But Theobald says at the end of the day it’s most important to hire smart people who work differently than you do.
“We want to create a team that will be long lasting with a diverse way of doing things, rather than everyone singing the same song,” Theobald says.
