Sep 11, 2018
So, what do you do when the world moves faster than your company’s processes? Aren’t a lot of us facing that? Innovators dealing with systems that feel like they are working against us? That’s why I had Lewis Lin, CEO of People Maven, on Inside LaunchStreet. He took an outdated, legacy process, in this case, HR, found the broken parts and fixed it. And with People Maven, he found a way to leverage our hyper-connected world to your benefit. We dig into their company values which are a big part of their success — “40% innovative” and “possibility seekers.” He shares how living those values help them compete, and win, against the big dogs and drive innovation that helps you do more with less. He shared his favorite ideation exercise, the reversal method and why we should be focusing on progress, not strategy if we want to see innovation happen.
Key Takeaways:
[3:10] You might be surprised to know that Lewis chose his college major due to the open book test policy.
[4:48] Listen in to find out what prompted Lewis to start People Maven.
[7:33] Why does the traditional recruitment process take upwards of three months to hire? Is this advantageous to the hiring company? How does People Maven help solve the hiring problem?
[9:45] Tamara and Lewis discuss some of People Maven’s daily principles. The first principle they talk about is 40% innovators. The way that People Maven will win against the people with deep pockets is to think about the problems differently and attempt game-changing innovation. 40% is a symbolic reminder to us that we have to be swinging for the fences. We have to change the game by at least 40%.
[11:59] How do you look at problems differently? Lews is a huge fan of design and brainstorming. Get introduced to the brainstorming technique the “reversal method.” Lewis shares an example of a car company, Tred, that takes cars to the customer’s house instead of the customers going to the car showroom.
[15:14] The second principle discussed is 10x drivers. Strategy seems like the sexy thing. But, it doesn’t get things done. We need to strive for progress. Tamara asks Lewis how he tests and validates ideas.
[19:06] Lewis feels that the learning journey can be just as important as the positive result.
[20:52] The third daily principle they discuss is the principle of possibility seekers. It’s easy for individuals on a team to get scared. When you’re shooting for a 40% goal, there are often a lot of risks.
[21:48] It’s most important to stay positive and believe that we are the ones that could be successful. Tamara tells listeners that the thing that kills innovation is by not tapping into everyone to innovate.
[23:14] What kind of customers are using People Maven? How has using this tool changed the recruiting process? Find out why People Maven isn’t just for business recruitment.
[28:54] Tamara talks about her husband’s recent job search and the frustration that comes with the submitting the resume into the “black hole.”
[30:00] Lewis worked for Google and Microsoft in the past. The main thing he took away from his Google experience was to think big and believe that anything is achievable. From Microsoft, he learned how to build consensus and influence others.
[33:25] How can talking about a space elevator to energize your team? Tamara believes that talking about something huge warms up your innovation muscles to then apply that big thinking to other things.
[34:12] Connect with Lewis at Peoplemaven.com.
[36:09] Lewis’s parting advice is to not get
fixated on the first solution that you come up with. Good inventors
know that it’s not always the first idea that’s the answer to your
problem. And, he challenges listeners to think about solving
problems all the time.
[38:01] Tamara talks about an exercise where you shout out the
first color that comes to mind. Often times, the first ideas are
too close in. You need to give people time to get into the great
ideas.
[39:11] Tamara challenges listeners to check out Innovation on-demand tools.
If you are ready to:
get buy-in from key decision makers on your next big idea
be a high-impact, high-value member that ignites change
foster a culture of innovation where everyone on your team is bringing innovative ideas that tackle challenges and seize opportunities...
Join us on LaunchStreet — gotolaunchstreet.com
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