Need Teams To Collaborate More Often? This Will Convince The Skeptics

Compare the team’s original challenge along with people’s ideas and enhancements. Then, in a civilized manner, take four minutes to identify on sticky notes all the reasons their ideas won’t work. Productive phrasing for your feedback might include “There are budget concerns about using X. Which less expensive options could be explored?” Or: “We anticipate some challenges to manufacturing Y. How could we get ahead of that?”

Constructive feedback is an uncomfortable yet vital step because collaboration isn’t just about more ideas, it’s about sharper ideas. In many cases, the path to a stronger idea requires us to point out concerns so we can come up with an ironclad concept.

Now head back to your original flip chart with the mattress and transportation partnership. On your flip, you’ll see further developments to your disruptive idea, as well as candid concerns. Taking all of it into consideration, what improvements can you make to your disruptive idea that also addresses people’s concerns? Take five minutes as a team to come up with a newly enhanced solution that you’ll present to the group.

Keep in mind that your solution should take consumers and competitors by surprise with its originality. A sample concept that’s come out of this exercise is Purple GelFlex Grid mattress technology incorporated into refurbished plane seats on United Airlines.

Most of us try to perfect concepts or prototypes before reaching out to others for input, but this exercise demonstrates the value of working together, especially during the early stages of idea development. Inventor myths aside, innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum; it happens when we’re leveraging each other’s collective experience and expertise. Sharing works-in-progress gets us comfortable with collaboration, which leads to better, stronger and faster innovations.