{"id":1442,"date":"2017-04-05T09:00:11","date_gmt":"2017-04-05T13:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovators.org\/?p=1442"},"modified":"2018-10-05T05:58:04","modified_gmt":"2018-10-05T09:58:04","slug":"hackathon-can-encourage-employees-innovate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovators.org\/stage\/blog\/hackathon-can-encourage-employees-innovate\/","title":{"rendered":"How a hackathon can encourage your employees to innovate"},"content":{"rendered":"

*Originally published as a Guest Column in The Globe and Mail on March 16, 2017: <\/em>click here to access.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Everyone in business has heard the expression that if you\u2019re not disrupting your market, someone else will soon be disrupting you<\/a>. But this raw challenge doesn\u2019t help most leaders understand how they\u2019re supposed to get started in the creative-destruction business.<\/p>\n

But Steven Stein has figured it out. The chief executive officer of Toronto-based Multi-Health Systems Inc.<\/a> has created an in-house \u201chackathon\u201d to encourage innovative thinking and transform ideas into new products.<\/p>\n

Stein is a true believer in creative destruction. He founded MHS 33 years ago to disrupt the psychological-testing industry by automating conventional paper-based tests for the personal computer. Today, MHS is a global industry leader, with 160 employees and clients in more than 75 countries. But Stein knows his company remains vulnerable to new entrepreneurs with better ideas \u2013 so he\u2019s shaking up his team to ensure they develop those bold new products first.<\/p>\n

It was an off-site strategy session for senior leaders that launched MHS\u2019s innovation project. \u201cTwo years back, we had a presentation on disruption,\u201d<\/em><\/strong> Stein said. \u201cWe went home and had nightmares about how new people could kick us out of the market.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Stein and his team knew hackathons were popular, if sometimes messy, events that help small teams turn new ideas into working prototypes fast. Even when they don\u2019t produce new products, hackathons can be powerful problem-solving exercises that can build positive attributes such as agility, risk tolerance and trust. So Stein appointed a team, led by president Hazel Wheldon, in the summer of 2015 to put MHS on the hackathon circuit \u2013 and make it fun and engaging.<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Since then, MHS has held two hackathons at its Toronto headquarters, and created a five-person \u201cinnovation hub\u201d to select the best ideas and turn them into customer-ready products. Innovation is a long game, and the first market tests are still in the field. But Stein believes the process has already been successful. \u201cThe biggest benefit is the excitement it created,\u201d<\/em><\/strong> he said. \u201cPeople loved working with new people. It\u2019s been worth it just for the engagement, not just the products we got out of it.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Could your company pull off a similar innovation coup?<\/a> Here\u2019s how MHS did it.<\/p>\n