Turned Uncertainty Into Growth Through Internal Intrapreneurship Workshops for Transport for London
We designed and delivered a virtual workshop to introduce the importance of intrapreneurial talent and the significant impact it can have on a major transport network’s innovation projects, providing attendees with a few practical steps they can apply for driving innovation forcefully.
Background
Brief
As part of an internal Innovation Learning Week, TfL asked us to excite, inspire and educate their staff on innovation, and showcase its potential to drive operational efficiency, business growth and resilience.
The requirement was to empower talent to think and act more innovatively and provide them with tools and techniques they can use for it.
IMPACT
We have designed and delivered a series of workshops aimed at urging the need to innovate now and explain why it’s more pressing than ever before. We also took the opportunity to demonstrate how innovation is accessible and applicable to everyone’s work at TfL and how exciting and easy it can be.
This included two main steps:
A keynote — Introduction to Internal Innovation
The objective was to initially set the scene, highlighting how in these unprecedented times innovative approaches are needed to thrive under uncertainty, especially with innovation budget-reduction pressure. We also shared how successful innovation can be driven from within the organisation since your people know the business well.
Secondly, we brought everyone on the same page about key concepts by demonstrating how being innovative is not a consequence of good genes, but it’s a mindset and process that can be learned and applied by everyone. We have also shared the 4 Lean Principles which are the basis of developing new ideas and can be applied to all kinds of scenarios: from internal to external innovation to incremental and disruptive innovation.
Finally, we showcased how to take the first steps to be more innovative by reviewing our IMPACT framework, a step by step process that guides intrapreneurs on the early stages of exploring a new idea within an organisation.
Subsequently, we introduced our bottom-up approach, the 6-step IMPACT Framework that helps intrapreneurs to deploy innovation projects more effectively and successfully.
At the end of the keynote, attendees have been asked to work on three key reflections related to the next steps for their innovative ideas.
A practical Activity — Collective Reflection
Interactive workshops that has engaged the audience to reflect on the new concepts and their application both at a collective and individual level.
The practical part has been useful to make the talk memorable and ensure concepts are absorbed. In addition, it has unlocked the most innovative individuals and empowered them to take their first steps. Key exercises included a poll among the attendees and public sharing of thoughts and questions.
Outcomes
The virtual workshop and Q&A debate helped TFL’s employees get a valuable overview on how to embrace intrapreneurship and implement key innovation strategies to effectively deal with the time, resources and cultural challenges associated with their innovation journey.
It sparked a broader discussion that inspired TFL’s workforce to think more intrapreneurially and submit more innovative ideas while also creating a conversation around how to take new projects into market.
TFL’s employees were able to understand the value of intrapreneurship and take the first steps to start their intrapreneurial journey and innovate internally.
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