A few days ago, we initiated our new Round of innovation analyses with an open question which was discussed by experts on our networks: “how can we build human values for innovation?” I have taken the challenge to answer this question by using the tools developed in our management report “Diversity as a success story“, and presented on this blog over the last few weeks.

I’ve had the opportunity to work with a semantic expert as part of a strategy placement for a French telecom company. Her role was to analyze the wording of e-mails, mails and phone calls customer services exchanged with end-users. I remember a specific meeting where she took us through the variations of angry users, explaining how she could then find inspiration from disagreement to better shape services and marketing activities. Somewhere between analytics, emotional reading and pure semantic, her presentation triggered innovative ideas and helped improve our own approach of customer relationship. It proved critical for me as a strategic marketing manager to better investigate market potentials and outline those approaches that would keep users happy. In the same way, technological developments carry a number of emotional drivers and barriers that affect customer relationships and brand positioning. Why?

Because we are not robots

And because we have the opportunity to create human links through innovations we share. A first attempt to answer above question is to investigate from our blog what are the key human values driving innovation. I would have personally quoted: because we share, because we are real, because we have fun. But you readers have decided otherwise: in your view, we are innovation because we are agile, because we are not robots, and because we rethink creatively. It is an interesting and inspiring selection. Below video outlines your most read “Why We Are Innovation“.

How can you build human values for innovation?

This “top-down” approach provides a number of insights which can be complemented by a “bottom-up” view of how customers, finance stakeholders and business experts would define human values for innovation. You could see it as a “thinkathon” collating different segments view and processing them through methodologies defined as the discussion goes along. We created a tool to capture requirements, a thinking framework to compile user stories into user solutions, and a management tool to monitor costs and results. Finally, we have consolidated results into an end-to-end plan which you can use to tell your own story and build human values for innovation.

And yes, you can do it over a coffee break

One of the benefits of creating human values for innovation is to get to learn and share insights with colleagues, specialists and sales managers so you can build a common story for success. Those insights have very little to do with numbers, technologies and plans. It is about understanding why people work and what they seek to personally achieve through your projects and plans. It is about listening and caring. An idea I’ve shared as part of this plan is to move out of meeting rooms so you can meet people and ideas behind the business cards.

Technology, finance, marketing and sales experts have recently outlined the need to define values beyond business and commercial objectives for innovation. Human-centricity will gain traction with the rise of Artificial Intelligence and Big Data. Make sure you know how you humanly serve your customers: tell you own story and start building human values for innovation.

Don’t miss the upcoming issue of “Human centricity and systemic innovation”. Follow us on Gumroad to receive the link to the report as soon as it is published.

weareinnovation.org writes the innovation story that thousands of innovation experts around the world constantly develop and share on WAI social networks. Browse our knowledge library and read our management reports to learn more.

Photograph: Nirina Photography