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Innovation isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be.
Remember the DeLorean? That futuristic-looking sports car from the early ’80s turned heads — but quickly flopped because of quality issues, poor performance and a hefty price tag. (To be fair, it did get Marty McFly back to 1955.)
In 2001, it was the Segway’s turn. But the scooter’s technological innovation outstripped any practical value for the average person. More recently, Apple struggled to find a market for its Vision Pro headset.
Every company wants to innovate. The trick is to do so in a way that actually helps customers — and doesn’t put the business at risk. Ideally, that means moving fast without breaking things.
While some companies can throw stuff against the wall and see if it sticks, we’re in a different situation. I work in the data center industry, which faces huge pressure to innovate, largely thanks to AI’s voracious demand for our services.
At the same time, we can’t screw up. Data centers are the digital backbone of the economy. Our customers expect nothing less than operational excellence with zero downtime. So, take it from me: Even when there’s no room for error, innovation is possible.
There are some lessons here for any business that wants to keep things running smoothly while ensuring that good ideas see the light of day.
1. Make your customers part of your innovation journey
Want your company’s innovations to make a real impact? Get customers onboard from the outset.
When designing our facilities and developing the technology that powers them, we don’t operate in a vacuum. Instead, we collaborate with clients by making them part of the innovation journey.
That means inviting them into our test lab for cooling and other tech to ensure that the solutions we’re building will meet their needs. The fact that they’re some of the smartest, most sophisticated companies on the planet works in our favor. By innovating with us, they help improve our products and services.
Importantly, collaboration gives customers skin in the game — while deepening your relationship with them, too. It also mitigates the risk of alienating a client if something goes wrong.
For businesses, focusing on the customer pays off. Customer-obsessed companies grow revenue and profit roughly 30% faster.
Related: Four Simple Ways to Find Customers
2. Don’t reinvent the wheel
Sometimes, innovation means taking an idea that already works elsewhere — and applying it to your own business or industry.
Apple didn’t invent the smartphone, but it eclipsed rivals by making it mainstream with the iPhone. Facebook stole a page from Myspace and other sites. Nintendo specialized in playing cards before it followed Atari’s lead into the video game business.
We sometimes take a similar approach. We build our data servers with expansion slots — a design I was inspired by from IBM. Likewise, our facilities have movable walls that give customers the flexibility to change the layout. I got that idea from a data center my previous company bought from Charles Schwab, which used it to cordon off different business units. Another example is liquid cooling, a three-decade-old technology we’ve refined.
This kind of repurposing can be a game-changer for companies without a large budget for research and development.
Related: How to Spot and Deal with Resistance to Change
3. Remember, innovation can mean simplification
Innovation isn’t always about creating a shiny new product or service. Sometimes, it’s streamlining processes holding you back — and costing you money. According to one estimate, companies lose 20% to 30% of annual revenue due to inefficiencies.
I’m not talking about cutting corners in areas that could harm the business, such as talent development, security or customer service. Instead, I look for ways to expedite regulatory approvals and building permits.
That starts with a simple question: Why do we need this process? If someone tells me, “I used to do it at [insert name of the bloated company where they previously worked],” it’s time for a rethink.
For companies looking to simplify business processes, AI could help deliver a huge leap by quickly handling manual, repeatable tasks. In one survey, companies named efficiency as the top advantage of using generative AI, well above benefits like speed and cost savings. In turn, such gains can free up bandwidth to focus on high-value tasks like product innovation and connecting with customers.
4. Decide where — and where not — to take risks
For most companies, innovation should be about taking calculated risks that don’t cost them customers or put the business in danger.
In our case, anything that could lead to downtime for our data centers is a no-fly zone. That means keeping our operations buttoned down with rigorous training, checklists and inspections that minimize the chance of failure.
But that still leaves room for taking risks. For example, we can be more experimental when it comes to exploring alternative power sources for our facilities, on the understanding that nothing will be deployed until we’ve thoroughly tested it.
To avoid exposing their core business, some companies create innovation “sandboxes.” Google’s parent company, Alphabet, does that with X, its moonshot factory. If a project fails, the damage is contained — and the company learns from the misstep.
Related: Want Success? You Have to Take Risks.
5. Create a culture of empowerment and openness
Ultimately, successful innovation requires building a culture in which people feel empowered to do their jobs and can express their thoughts.
When it comes to empowerment, I’m a big fan of management by walking around (MBWA) — getting out and asking people in the field what they’re doing. What’s working? What isn’t? How can I give them the tools they need to be more effective?
We also strive to maintain a spirit of radical honesty so that everyone feels comfortable speaking freely. That openness allows us to solve problems together and turn promising ideas into great ones.
Toyota understands how openness can drive innovation. To encourage continual improvement, they painted a red square on the floor of their assembly line. After a week on the job, every new employee had to stand in that square until they’d found fault with at least three things about the line.
For us, innovation is a matter of survival — keeping up with the breakneck pace of change in the data center industry. But by embracing these principles, any business can raise its innovation game while keeping risk in check.
Another benefit? A stronger relationship with customers who are emotionally invested in the outcome and get the product or service they need.
Chances are, they’re not looking for a DeLorean.
