Depending on the type of fish a fisherman is trying to catch, they use smaller fish, often minnows, as bait. Before getting to the real fishing, they have to first fish for the minnows. Luckily catching minnows is an easy process if you know where to lay down a minnow trap.

 

A torpedo minnow trap is typically designed to look like a barrel made from wire that allows water to flow freely in and out but the holes are small enough to trap the fish. On either end of the metal barrel cage, the wire is shaped into a funnel that leads into the barrel, with a small hole so the fish can swim in. Because of the funnel design, once the fish are in they swim to the outside walls of the barrel searching for a way out. They continue to swim around, as fish do, perhaps hoping they will find their way out.

 

Albert Einstein is famously credited with saying, “we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Minnows would swim free if they interrupted their typical pattern. A different approach is needed to find a solution. If they changed their moves, it would be a lot more difficult to catch minnows.

Does your organisation ever feel like it’s in a minnow trap? Whilst organisations do fall into patterns and habits, unlike minnows, we always have the capacity to imagine and build differently – this is our capacity for innovation.

How can you use innovation mindsets to find your way out of the trap of your most complex challenge and move in the direction of growth?

 

According to the Accenture Pulse of Change 2024 Index report, “the rate of change affecting businesses [across technology, talent, economic, geopolitical, climate, and consumer & social factors] reached unprecedented levels in 2023, with a 183% increase over the past four years and a 33% rise in the last year alone.”

It’s clear that the world is changing and many leaders acknowledge the effects on and in their business. 97% of CEOs surveyed in the PwC’s Global CEO survey reported they are taking steps to change their business models in response to major trends and changes, but 45% aren’t sure of their company’s long-term viability. There is also a well documented competency gap among leaders – in 2010, IBM’s Global CEO study revealed a 30% gap between expected complexity and leaders’ confidence in managing it. Their 2024 study, this feeling of lacking expertise and confidence has only been compounded by the rapid advances in technology, and particularly AI.

That’s the minnow trap: leading organisations with a business-as-usual mindset in a changing world that demands more. Doing what you’ve always done, staying trapped in the same strategies and ways of working, and eventually realising your pond is drying up or that you are no longer the biggest fish.

In a world that’s ever-changing and increasingly complex, we need fresh thinking and new approaches to navigate our challenges. It’s time to embrace an innovation mindset as a way of being. Our aptitude and appetite for innovation is influenced by our attitudes, experiences and beliefs – but it is not set in stone. An innovation mindset can be cultivated with the right practices, tools, and actively seeking new ways of approaching the world at large.

Everything we do now is creating the future, but what future do you want? As we look ahead, we know that we can’t rely on what got us here to get us there. If you want a different outcome, it’s time to cultivate innovation from the inside, out. That is why we are committed to making innovation practical, and possible so that you can bring about the necessary transformation and impact. Schedule a discovery consultation with our team to learn how a partnership with us can help you, your team or your organisation meet – and navigate – the moment, boldly.

 

 

WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF INNOVATION?

InkDot’s innovation definition is this: a dynamic, non-linear and empathy-driven process and approach to staying relevant in a fast-changing, complex world.

Innovation processes enable organisations to gain a deep understanding of the needs of the people they serve (customers, clients, employees, communities), and to generate ideas that respond directly to those needs. It allows us to develop unexpected, viable solutions that create value.

Innovation is also a mindset. It is a way of approaching the world, and the posture with which we move through it. This is why innovation is like a muscle that can be uncovered, worked, strengthened, and developed. 

Let’s break down this definition further:

• Innovation always starts with a deep, empathetic understanding of a specific need, followed by the optimistic quest for solutions that respond accordingly. Think back to our minnow trap example. In that situation, the need is to find freedom from the trap.
  
  
• Innovation is also a result – a tangible solution, product, service, experience, artefact, etc. – that works. It is adopted or implemented, it is somehow unexpected, and it creates or adds new value. In the case of the minnow, the quest is to find the breakthrough that gets it out the trap (the small hole in an unusual place, swimming in a new pattern).

At InkDot, we also believe that true innovation is contextual. Innovations emerge from and respond to a context; they influence and are influenced by context. Without taking a systemic view of both the challenges we face and the solutions we bring, we often recreate or amplify unintended or harmful consequences. This type of innovation happens through the intentional pursuit of alternative futures, and impactful responses to the critical global and local challenges we face. In an ever-changing, increasingly complex world, strengthening our innovation mindset is the only way to stay relevant.

 

What is an innovative mindset?

A mindset shapes how you see the world, how you are in the world, and how you show up. It’s your outlook and is driven by your culture, experiences, and values. A mindset is the worldview through which you operate in the world. So an innovative mindset meaning a worldview where innovation is at the centre. Where everything you do, say, believe, enact, and feel is oriented towards “making new”, renewing, refreshing, finding alternatives, and transforming the “now” into the “future”.

The World Economic Forum published a list of top job skills needed for 2025, and innovation is at the top of the list. The other skills on the list are also all relevant to an innovation mindset: analytical thinking, complex problem solving, creativity. But this list is in some ways obvious… of course those are skills that we all want to cultivate! No one says “no, I don’t want to be innovative and creative!” Whilst these skills are important, honing a way to truly help us navigate complexity requires a mindset shift. It’s more than just learning new skills and increasing your technical knowledge (which will quickly become outdated). It’s about how you apply those skills, how they guide your approach in work and in life, and how you combine them to meet the specific challenges you face in your context. That’s why we say that an innovation mindset in business (and beyond) is a way of being.

Knowing what this looks like in reality can be hard to conceptualise. At InkDot, our innovation mindset shines through our core values:

• Empathy & Care |  Building trusting relationships isn’t just important to us, we consider it the core of our work. We do it through openness, deep listening and respectful attention and support – these characteristics bundled together create our deeply empathetic and caring team.
  
  
• Integrity |  At InkDot, our commitment to lifelong learning isn’t just something we say, but a practice. We embody critical thinking and curiosity, and combine it with evidence and expertise. With this foundation we can be confident in the integrity of our work, and show up with honesty and transparency.
  
  
• Multi-Multi-Multi | Our team is multicultural, multilingual, multidisciplinary, multi-tooled, multi-thinking, multi-everything. We bring our differences of experience, ways of being, skills and perspectives to light in all we do. We know that possibilities lie in the multitudes.
  
  
• Anti business-as-usual / “Inquietos” | The same old routines and habits won’t lead us to our full potential. Big picture possibilities and a fed-upness with the status quo is part of what fuels us. Instead of shying away from complexity, we lean in. Breaking into new territory to a seemingly unreachable goal is what we live and breathe.

 

Want to know more about InkDot? Meet our team.

The specific combinations of skills, tools and practices necessary for an innovation mindset are dependent on your context: the type of business you work in, the market and the customers (and their needs) that you serve, the types of challenges you see around you. The mindset you cultivate should be tailored accordingly, just as our team has done for InkDot’s core values and as we do with our clients.

 

How to build an innovation mindset? 

 

If you would like to strengthen your innovation mindset, the good news is that you can build it just like building muscles in your body. It takes focus, discipline, and practice, which isn’t always easy, but is achievable with the right support.

 

Wondering how to develop an innovative mindset?

 

The team at InkDot created an “Inno-Gym” for ABSA Bank in Mozambique. “Inno-Gym” was a self-paced e-learning course that served as a space for all ABSA employees to build “innovation muscles” through learning tools, techniques, and dedicated practice. What was supposed to be an in-person training pivoted to a virtual project because of the global pandemic in 2020. The silver lining in this pivot to digital was that the project had a much larger reach than anticipated: Over 520 ABSA employees, representing all provinces of Mozambique, registered for the e-learning program. All departments of the business took part, and the highest registrations came from the Retail Banking area, reaching customer facing employees.

Inno-gym focused on a set of unique innovation mindsets, tailored to the specific reality of the bank and co-created with the bank’s leadership team. In this four module course, employees practised these simple mindsets:

1. Have an Open Mind. Everything starts with being open to seeing things differently, looking at the world with fresh eyes, and seeking out fresh perspectives. This course put concrete tools around the overused, abstract concept of “thinking out of the box.”
   
   
2. Be empathetic. Innovation is driven by empathy – a deep understanding of the needs of the end-user, the people for which you are innovating. Without empathy, you generate ideas, but true innovation requires adoption by those you serve. This is only possible when you begin with empathy.
   
   
3. Show courage. Innovation requires that you do things differently than how you’ve done them before. Like all things new, stepping out of your comfort zone can be scary, so requires courage and commitment to see changes become a reality.
   
   
4. Fail fast, learn, and advance. Doing what hasn’t been tried before also means that success is not guaranteed – what is guaranteed is learning. With this mindset, failure isn’t a bad thing. Instead, it’s an inevitable part of the process. By failing, we learn what works. If we don’t let failures stop us in our tracks, we begin to see the possibilities of where we can go. 

 

Is your organisation searching for a way to bring innovation to life? An Inno-Gym may be the solution. Schedule a discovery consultation with our team to learn how we can help you build an innovation mindset across your teams.

 

What are the essentials of an innovation mindset?

 

Innovation is the buzz word on everyone’s mind at the moment, but what does it really mean? How can we take on a more effective role as champions of innovation in our teams, companies, and communities?

Some characteristics of an innovative mindset include:

• Encouraging and incentivizing wild ideas (and lots of them!)
• Building on the ideas of others.
• Bringing ideas to life by being visual – drawing, prototyping, acting them out.
• Taking care of the well-being of the group, together.
• Withholding judgement.
• Listening with attention, speaking with intention.
• Failing early. Failing often. Failing forward.
• Staying focused on your objective, but having fun!

 

What is an example of innovation?

 

Between point A and point B is the space where those with an innovation mindset thrive, and it happens to be our favourite place at InkDot. What got us to point A isn’t what will get us to point B, and we can guarantee that transformation won’t happen in a straight line. But, with the right support and expertise, you can bring structure to the process and as we have seen above, you can build your innovation mindset along the way. Whilst innovation inherently means finding unexpected results, you can expect to see and experience radical shifts when working within a collaborative, innovation process. 

Here are a few innovation mindset examples, brought to life through previous InkDot projects:

 

YBI Inclusivity Toolkit Co-creation Process

Youth Business International, or YBI, is a growing global network of over 60 enterprise support organisations with a passion for empowering underserved young people to start, scale and sustain their businesses. InkDot partnered with YBI to develop an Inclusivity Toolkit at the intersection of inclusivity and innovation. The toolkit has been used by over 15 network members (spanning from Botswana to Indonesia, Palestine to Paraguay, Kenya to Japan) to transform their organisations, ways of working, and the programs they deliver for entrepreneurs in their countries. Inclusivity, a sense of belonging, and psychological safety are key drivers that enable innovation for the YBI network. Upon launch, this toolkit won Most Disruptive Idea at the Angola Innovation Summit in 2022. Learn more about the Inclusivity Toolkit’s co-creation process and the launch of the Toolkit and its pilot.  

 

 

Inclusive Preparedness Design Research

Sofala Province in Mozambique is prone to natural disasters such as floods and cyclones. InkDot’s Transformative Design team (in collaboration with Light for the World, Butterfly Works and funded by Elhra) focused on Inclusive Preparedness in the Province, by putting communities of people living with disabilities and the elderly, living in precarious situations of humanitarian crisis and emergency, at the centre of designing innovative response solutions.

“In July 2021, around forty people with visual, hearing and speech impairments and physical disabilities, and elderly people were part of an Exploration Lab as active researchers of their lived experiences in a disaster-prone region. During the two weeks, they participated in activities to share their perspective; for instance, in dealing with COVID-19 and Cyclone Idai. This is part of the “We are part of the solution” project. A user-centred exploration of preparedness needs and opportunities with people with disabilities and older people in Mozambique for inclusive humanitarian emergency preparedness and response. A participatory, generative, inclusive and creative journey for the participants and for the research team.” – “We are part of the solution” Research Report 

 

 

MOZA Banco People & Culture Transformation

MOZA Banco is a proudly Mozambican bank embracing a wave of energy and excitement that is transforming into a movement inside and across the bank: MOZIFICAR. This people and culture transformation project (in collaboration with Cherry Myle) is aligned with the bank’s 2022-2026 strategic plan, which includes a focus on digital transformation, customer focus, and putting relationships at the centre of everything they do. MOZA Banco understands that people and culture are an invaluable lever in achieving their strategic goals. InkDot has partnered with the bank since 2022, to support them in building the internal culture, ways of working, mindsets and behaviours that will ensure the bank remains future-proof.

The MOZIFICAR transformation program is comprehensive and systemic with workstreams focused on leadership engagement, culture definition, internal communications, employee experience and more. But small actions matter too, and can be designed to spark a ripple effect through the bank. To recognise World Friendship Day we sent the project sponsors (the CEO, Director or HR, and Director of Marketing) a pack of friendship bracelets and a note encouraging them to share them widely with colleagues in the bank who demonstrate the MOZA values. This fuelled the momentum around MOZIFICAR. Here was the response:

While the business understands this is a long-term commitment, one year into the project they are experiencing quick wins such as improving their meeting culture and strengthening their skills around holding effective, powerful meetings. Concrete ways to put their innovation mindsets into practice, in service of a wider culture shift.

 

 

All three of these examples are anchored in innovation mindsets and showcase how different groups, organisations, and communities bring them to life to find the innovative solutions their contexts require. InkDot’s contribution and expertise is to provide the strong scaffolding and partnership necessary for you to navigate. Schedule a discovery consultation with our team to learn how we can help you build an innovative mindset across your organisation or community.

 

How do you lead an innovative team?

 

Many people don’t think of environmental factors as part of innovation, but the organisational culture and climate are like the water we swim in. It can go unnoticed, but it creates the conditions and currents that we navigate. The organisations of the future are the ones who are taking this seriously as part of their strategies, and their leadership.

For example, an important element of an innovative environment is psychological safety. People must feel able to speak up, take risks and make mistakes without fear of being judged, humiliated, or punished. Championing inclusivity is another environmental factor to consider. Evidence suggests that diverse teams are the most effective: the top 25% of ethnically diverse companies are 36% more likely to financially outperform their less diverse peers. Inclusivity is a requirement for dot-connecting across disciplines and understanding a variety of life experiences and perspectives. This is why the YBI project to produce an Inclusivity Toolkit for their global network, was such an important project for us. 

An innovation strategy isn’t just something that lives on the surface or is practised by only a few individuals. You want everyone in your organisation to get out of the minnow trap and swim freely towards a successful future. As a leader, it’s your role to create the environment conducive to this and to embed innovation mindsets and capabilities within strategy, culture, processes and systems, and for people.

A systemic view of your team and organisation is a much more successful and sustainable method of leading innovation than just focusing on individuals. Working with executive leadership, they have the power and influence to make a difference and shape the conditions of their organisation. 

“Environment is stronger than will. I would never try to reform man—that’s much too difficult. What I would do was to try to modify the environment in such a way as to get man moving in preferred directions. … I must commit myself to reforming the environment and not man, being absolutely confident that if you give man the right environment, he will behave favorably.” – Buckminster Fuller

Whilst you can work on individual innovation mindsets, it’s essential that these mindsets are seen in the context of a wider organisation and community to be impactful. For example, at InkDot we work with leadership to build their innovation mindsets, but also to equip them to lead transformation across their organisations for lasting results. The goal is to embed innovation mindsets in the fabric of the organisation as a whole.

 

How to encourage innovation and creativity in the workplace

 

One of the most impactful ways to encourage innovation and creativity in the workplace, is by asking new and different questions. Start by asking our favourite question: “what if?” Seek new possibilities by asking other profound and challenging questions that chart new paths from point A to point B – then connect the dots!

Consider these inspiring, thought-provoking questions (inspired by FastCompany):

• What could I look at or use in a new way? 
• What could I recontextualize in space or time?
• What could I connect in a new way? 
• What could we stop, start, continue?
• What does this moment require of us?
• What could we create that is truly new?

The SCAMPER model is another great way to refresh your perspective or discover innovative and creative solutions:

• Substitute – replace a part, material, or process with something else.
• Combine – Bring elements or ideas together in new ways.
• Adapt – Change something to better suit a new purpose or context.
• Modify – Alter attributes to experiment with the effects.
• Put to another use – Change the context of the element instead of the element itself.
• Eliminate – Pare down the essentials. 
• Reverse – Re-order or invert cause and effect. Turn it upside down.

 

What makes a good innovation team?

 

Besides the minnow trap, there are dozens (maybe hundreds!) of other traps that can keep your organisation and team from progressing. You will feel stuck without an innovation mindset. 

Keeping with the under water analogy, there is a scene in the Pixar movie Finding Nemo where hundreds of fish get caught in a fisherman’s net. One of the main characters, Dory, gets swept up by the large net, while the other two main characters, Marlin and Nemo, narrowly miss the net’s deadly catch. 

Nemo, Marlin’s son, who is the smallest fish and also has a deformed fin (which he calls his lucky fin!) has an unusual plan to free his friend. Against his dad’s best judgement (driven by a paternal desire to protect him), Nemo swims into the net and begins telling all the other fish to swim down, pushing against the net. Amidst panic and uncertainty, the fish band together and begin to all swim downward, eventually breaking the net. They swim away to freedom and Dory and Nemo are reunited with Marlin. 

 

 

Business as usual would have meant certain death, but an innovative idea and teamwork saved all their fishy lives. So what characteristics does an innovative team possess that can similarly save an organisation from its biggest, most complex problem?

Be willing to ask big, bold questions that challenge the norm and question the status quo. Do things really have to be the way they have always been? Can I swim in a different direction?

Avoid the comfort trap. The same old routines and habits won’t lead us to our full potential. Big picture possibilities and a fed-upness with the status quo is part of what fuels innovation. Instead of shying away from complexity, it’s time to lean in (or swim down!). 

Remember that innovation isn’t a solo process. It’s easy to think of Nemo as the hero in the dramatic fishing net scene, but it took every single fish in that net working together to embrace a new direction and save themselves. In order to move out of your comfort zone, you need to be surrounded by others who are committed to fresh thinking and fundamentally new ways of responding to these unprecedented times. This is what drives a team towards innovation.

Is your team equipped with the frameworks, tools, and mindset to breakthrough? Schedule a discovery consultation with our team to learn more about how our approach to innovation can transform your team. 

 

What are the characteristics of an innovative team?

 

Creativity is often thought of as synonymous with innovation. And as mentioned earlier, who doesn’t want to be creative!? For us, creative individuals are just one component of building innovative teams which is a much more impactful goal for organisations that want to stay relevant in complex times. 

An innovative team is open-minded, curious, collaborative, comfortable with risk, resilient, action-oriented, strategic, and creative.

But before you run away with a checklist of characteristics to work on, let’s clarify the difference between innovation and creativity:  

Creativity is about using your imagination to come up with new and original ideas, or combining ideas in new and original ways. Innovation is what takes those ideas and turns them into unexpected solutions (connecting them to real needs) that create or add value. Of course, creativity and ideas are a prerequisite for innovation, but if you don’t have practical, applied solutions at the other end, then it’s not going to help you. Creativity isn’t enough for true, needle-moving innovation.  

 

How to make a team more innovative? 

 

After reading this article, you hopefully recognize the minnow traps that are your complex challenges, and realise that swimming as usual – er, business as usual! – won’t help you find the way forward. Your team needs to embrace an innovation mindset to move forward towards the future.

As a leader of a team or in your organisation, you can begin encouraging innovation by creating a conducive environment for innovation. Leaders set the tone. If this mindset shift isn’t happening at the top, it isn’t happening.