The Rebel Leader's Guide to Innovation

Send us a text Ever wonder why large companies struggle to innovate despite having vast resources at their disposal? According to Andy Binns, co-founder of ChangeLogic and co-author of "Corporate Explorer," we"ve been looking at innovation all wrong. The secret to corporate innovation isn"t hiring outside entrepreneurs or creating flashy innovation labs. It"s identifying and empowering the "corporate explorers" already within your organization. These individuals aren"t necessarily the loudest or most charismatic people in the room. Often they"re humble, introspective problem-solvers with deep institutional knowledge and the social capital to navigate complex organizational systems. Binns challenges our assumptions about innovation, revealing that ideas aren"t the problem—most organizations have plenty. The real challenge lies in properly incubating and scaling those ideas. He outlines a three-discipline approach: ideation (understanding customer problems), incubation (experimenting with data-driven learning), and scaling (converting experiments into revenue). While most companies obsess over ideation, the latter two disciplines determine success. Creating separate systems for exploration is crucial. Corporate explorers need protection from the optimization-focused core business, which naturally squashes innovation for efficiency. This doesn"t mean relocating to different buildings, but it does require distinct metrics, cultural norms, and management approaches. Surprisingly, special financial incentives aren"t necessary to motivate these internal innovators—they"re driven by impact, autonomy, and the opportunity to create meaningful change within organizations they care about. For HR leaders, this means rethinking talent identification and development. The approach works for organizations of all sizes, not just corporate giants. By recognizing and empowering your internal explorers, you might discover that large companies actually have advantages over startups in the innovation game. Ready to unleash the innovation potential of your organization? Start by looking within—your next breakthrough innovator is probably already on your payroll. Support the show Rebel HR is a podcast for HR professionals and leaders of people who are ready to make some disruption in the world of work. Please connect to continue the conversation! https://twitter.com/rebelhrguy https://www.facebook.com/rebelhrpodcast http://www.kyleroed.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-roed/