The latest ELFA Innovation Roundtable, hosted by Deborah Reuben, CEO and founder of TomorrowZone, tackled one of the most pressing challenges faced by organizations today: balancing innovation with business as usual. Held on Aug. 8, 2024, this discussion brought together industry leaders and experts to explore strategies for fostering continuous innovation without compromising day-to-day operations.

Panelists Jillian Munson, QuickFi; John Cooper, CNH Industrial Capital; Darpan Saini, App0; Kaheres Hahn, Finova Capital; and special guest Nate Gibbons, QuickFi, who kicked off the program, shared insights on the challenges of maintaining an innovative edge while still delivering on the promises of today’s business.

The discussion analyzed how neglecting business as usual in the pursuit of innovation can lead to operational risks, while on the other hand, failing to innovate can result in stagnation and eventual irrelevance — pinpointing that innovation is key and balance is crucial.

TomorrowZone compiled the following takeaways from the session:

Tips for Balance:

• Dedicated Innovation Teams: Allocate specific teams to focus solely on innovation initiatives, separate from daily operations

• Governance and Prioritization: Implement governance structures to evaluate and prioritize innovation ideas effectively

• Cultivating a Culture of Innovation: Celebrate innovation wins and communicate the vision throughout the organization to foster a culture of continuous improvement

• Stakeholder Input: Gather input from customers, partners and employees to identify and prioritize innovation opportunities

Tips for Overcoming Common Barriers:

• Think long-term innovation over short-term gain

• Set measurable innovation goals that align with the overall strategy

• Collaborate early with legal and compliance teams

Tips for Driving Innovation Forward:

• Regularly Scan Industry Trends: Stay informed about industry and technology trends to identify new opportunities

• Start Small: Begin with small experiments and build up to larger innovation projects

• Holistic ROI Measurement: Evaluate ROI not just in terms of financial returns, but also in terms of efficiency, user experience and risk reduction

• Embed Innovation in Processes: Integrate innovation into company processes and culture from the start to ensure sustainability

Advice from Nate Gibbons: Think Boldly and Challenge the Status Quo

• Resist the temptation to do the minimal and instead think boldly and slightly radically

• Challenge the status quo and exercise your creativity to bridge the gap between customer needs and technological possibilities

• Periodically ignore the boundaries to allow for innovative thinking

Advice from Jillian Munson: Build a Compliant and Adaptable Tech Stack

• Build a compliant tech stack for digital data security

• Assemble teams with cross-departmental expertise to stay on top of compliance updates

• Design processes to be adaptable and flexible to accommodate regulatory changes

Advice from John Cooper: Embed Innovation into Company Culture

• Innovation must be part of the company culture, communicated from the grassroots to leadership

• Build strong relationships and trust with IT, legal and compliance teams to collaborate on innovative solutions

• Leverage the expertise of vendor partners and customers to understand their needs and perspectives

Advice from Darpan Saini: Take Small, Iterative Steps with New Technologies

• Take smaller, iterative bites when experimenting with new technologies like AI

• Remain objective when evaluating the ROI of innovation initiatives

• Be willing to iterate and try again if something doesn’t work the first time

Advice from Kaheres Hahn: Prioritize and Act on Promising Ideas

• Prioritize opportunities based on the right timing, the right people and the right sizing

• Don’t let promising ideas get stuck in UAT — get them into production

• Provide a vehicle for employees to share ideas, even if not all are implemented