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𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 I had an interesting discussion last week with a large organisation about something that keeps coming up: We say we want innovation — but then we let boards, audit committees, and other oversight functions slow it down or block it entirely. Here’s the thing: innovation only happens in uncertainty. That’s the nature of it. It’s not neat. It’s not predictable. And it sure as hell isn’t about ticking boxes. Innovation is about testing, learning, and improving. Over and over again. And if we keep trying to squeeze that into traditional governance frameworks that weren’t built for it, we’ll kill it before it even has a chance. We need oversight, yes. But not the kind that treats uncertainty as a risk to avoid. We need the kind that knows how to work with the messiness — not against it. Innovation doesn’t need permission. It needs support. Let’s stop standing in the way. Most companies are doing this wrong or have done it wrong. Some are doing it right. During the research for my keynote, 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗣𝗜𝗖 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗧𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘀, I found examples of Google and Microsoft that were doing it wrong but changed course. Essentially, they all create safe spaces that allow people to speak up and articulate ideas without the fear of being judged and give people the mandate to develop these ideas. A company doing this really well is Barco, where they have developed programs to support teams and give guidance up until the moment an idea is validated and funded. Google has a different approach with its 2O% time rule. 20 % of their time, during which people can work on projects they are passionate about. Without governance of boards. It is that approach that gave us Gmail and Google Maps. #innovation #safespaces #mandates I am Jan Van Caneghem, Design researcher at WAAI Design. I help organizations build better innovations by applying the 𝗘𝗣𝗜𝗖 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 and organising a Community of Practice Innovated by Design and a Community of Practice Strategic Innovation. Feel free to schedule a first meeting through my profile page.