How to Run An Innovation Sprint on Your Farm

Create a process to brainstorm, prioritize and implement ideas 

The best ideas for your farm can come from anyone on your team. How can you foster an environment of innovation and strategic focus? Use a process Mark Faust calls an “innovation sprint.”

“The exercise usually focuses on individual development, but you could apply it to items you want to innovate within your area of an organization,” says Faust, president of Echelon Management. “It will prove instantly to you the value of an abundance of ideas and relationships, as well as the benefits of the rules for  productive strategy sessions.”

This process can be used as a meeting opener or brainstorming tool. Gather your team and follow this format provided by Faust. 

Phase I

1. Pick something you want to improve.
2. State it in the positive, Faust says. So, if you picked “get more effective at saying no” or “slow the loss of long-term employees,” change those to “get myself to not overcommit” or “create ways I can help retain our longer-term employees.”
3. Put your team into groups of four.
4. Have each person in the group state what they want to improve, in this sentence format:

•  “When I improve __________, a benefit will be _______.” or “When I get better at __________, a benefit will be _______.”
• Repeat four or more times! That way, each person will have stated four or more benefits of this improvement.
   

Phase II

1. Have everyone grab a notebook and pen and pair up with one other person to ask them, “What is one idea I could do to ______” in regard to the new behavior or habit.
2. Write down the idea. Be sure to listen without judgment and thank each person for their contribution.
3. Allow the other person to ask for an idea and they do the same. 

Phase III 

1. Reconvene the whole group.
2. Ask participants to share one word to describe the process. Limiting it to one word speeds the exercise! Capture those words on papers.
3. Then, optionally, individuals could share with their small group circles what they learned. This helps to an-chor a positive energy as well as get new ideas for making your first area of change. 

The intel you gather during the last phase can be used to drive your farm’s strategy, Faust says. Plus, the process is a great teambuilding exercise.

“This tool helps anyone to both connect a more powerful and positive association with changing a behavior as well as get ideas on how to accomplish the change,” he says.

Rules for a Productive Strategy Session

1. Set aside titles and status.
2. Require everyone in the room to declare their point of view
3. Postpone judgment. There are no bad ideas.
4. Say yes and eliminate the “buts.”

Listen to Mark Faust discuss growing your business on The Farm CPA Podcast: