Driving Innovation Moonshots the Google Way

On Tuesday, June 14th I attended a talk given by Chris Morgan and Samir Janjeva of Google at the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce in New York City during its Marketing Week series of events entitled: “The Evolution of the Customer Journey.”

Chris and Samir shared their insights into how Google constantly and with singular focus strives to find innovative solutions that deliver transformational solutions to the challenges facing its users.
 
The moonshot approach Google employs is frankly one that EVERY organization should undertake, if they truly care about creating a world-class culture AND being servant masters that seek out brave new worlds.
 
Here’s how this innovation-driven company-wide initiative works:
Google strongly encourages each of its employees to take ONE day EVERY week (that’s 20% of ALL their time at Google) in the pursuit of innovative solutions that challenge/resolve the issues we face in today’s chaotic times.
 
Google founded its Project X initiative in order to  formally allocate resources and business vision, mission and strategy towards that lofty goal.
 

 
AstroTeller_GoogleX
Check out this amazing TED talk by Astro Teller, the Head of “X” (formerly theGoogle X Project).  Moonshots address consumer huge problems and apply breakthrough technologies to deliver radical solutions such as: Google Glasses, self driving cars, Project Loon, etc.  For additional insights on how such an employee-driven innovation program actually works, go to www.SolveForX.com.
 

The driving principle or ideology behind this approach is to always focus first on the user, and then secondarily profit as an outcome (desired solution), NOT your primary/singular goal.  Can YOUR organization make such a claim?  The true challenge from an organizational perspective is to attempt in everything you do to find a solution that has a 10 TIMES multiplier positive impact on humanity, not some relatively insignificant 10% incremental and temporary rise in (sales) performance.
 
So, how is YOUR organization going to change the world?  Do you REALLY want to build a “world-class” culture?  Are you REALLY focused with a singular mission on unleashing your people’s untapped potential to solve the world’s problems? To start, begin with a passion for leading innovation by applying creative solutions to the challenges we face.
Here’s to your continued success in 2016!

– Ethan
The Chazin Group, LLC