In technology, innovation means advancement. How do organizations working to advance technology innovate internally to better pursue their goals? Episode #39 of That Digital Show, a Google Cloud business podcast about growing value in the digital space, is a masterclass in Organizational Transformation with hosts Chris Hood and Natalie Piucco and guest Tanushree Gupta, Head of Digital Transformation for EMEA at Google Cloud. The episode is the first in a Digital Master Class series designed to open-source Google's innovation processes. In advance of our C2C Talks event featuring Chris Hood, we're sharing the episode with a summary of some of the key points we'll break down in the discussion.
In the episode, Gupta and the hosts explore six tenets of change:
- Talent: How do you build your team?
- Strategy: How do you build your organization for action, testing, and rapid iteration?
- Structure: How do you design structures that embrace change?
- Environment: How do you create an environment that encourages ideas and creativity?
- Empowerment: How do you create an environment to empower employees?
- Innovation: How do you design your organization to build continuously?
After Gupta provides some background on each, Hood brings up the point that although innovation often refers to technology, these tenets are designed to innovate company culture. With this in mind, he asks how Google finds a balance between technological and cultural change. Gupta allows that there is no direct answer to this question, but insists that the two are equally important. A key question in her mind is: How do you help the people you serve understand technology?
Next, Hood and Piucco work with Gupta to drill down deeper into some of the six tenets, starting with talent. For Gupta, nurturing talent requires creating the opportunity to celebrate meaningful projects. Hood adds that at Google, hiring starts before the prospective employee is contacted, with building the appropriate cultural foundation before the hiring process begins. On empowerment, Gupta notes that "Innovation is not an exclusive realm of a few naturally talented people," and asks, "What would happen if you gave every employee the license to innovate?" Piucco offers the research finding that meaning is critical to high-performing teams. Employees work better and feel better about their work when they know and believe in what their organization is doing.
To wrap up, Hood asks Gupta to list three recommendations leaders can use to transform their company culture. She is to quick to respond with the following:
- Encourage a collaborative and open work environment.
- Pay very close attention to what your talent process looks like.
- Foster an environment that will create innovation.
Do these tenets reflect your organization's culture? Do you want to do more to make sure they do? Join us at 2 PM on Thursday, October 21 to continue this conversation with Chris Hood. Bring your questions!
