At a time when the world is in flux and uncertainty prevails, it can be difficult for businesses to embrace change and try new ways of working, to innovate or even keep innovating. Annemie Ress, Founder at PurpleBeach believes we can overcome these difficulties, she says “Innovation, whether it’s business model innovation or product innovation, can only work if we are innovative and innovate in how we treat and engage with the people who we expect to make innovation happen. In other words, we need people innovation as much as we need business innovation.”
There are key shifts that companies can make to do this, resulting in much more growth, longer-term success, and innovation all-around. These include:
- giving people the autonomy to freely explore solutions to a collectively held purpose – which relies on shifting from a closed leadership mindset to a more open one that is geared towards experimentation; and
- not being afraid to admit that failure is a possibility and always seeing the incredible value in learning.
Furthermore, to be more successful at unlocking “People Innovation” is to be looking at unexpected and unusual sources of inspiration – other sectors, industries, competitors for insight on how to grow your business and lead your people.
This leads to another fundamental shift that allows companies to more successfully innovate, that is the move from hierarchical structures towards utilizing crowds, communities, and networks. This transition not only embraces collaboration but invites fresh perspectives, encouraging people to ask the question: ‘how do we find sources of innovation and inspiration outside of the normal corporate world?’
Unlocking deep sources of innovation is transformative. In the spirit of fostering a fresh and imaginative approach towards People Innovation, PurpleBeach strives to encourage businesses to find new ways to increase their employees’ capacity to be innovative. And this can even mean addressing the very basics of life.
A truly untapped source of innovation, something that doesn’t cost anything but time and a little bit of practice to get it right, is sleep. Universal and necessary, sleep has perhaps the most fundamental power to alter your next day. Your mood, your health, and your focus are all dependent upon how well you have slept and can deteriorate after prolonged experiences of bad sleep and unrest.
In 2020, research carried out by King’s College London and Ipsos MORI found and exposed the drastic consequences the pandemic has had on people’s quality of sleep – with a shocking 63% of people revealing their quality of sleep has gotten worse.
This reveals a real problem that a large majority of people have been experiencing and therefore also presents a real opportunity for businesses to unlock innovation within their workforce, by focusing on a topic, perhaps not traditionally regarded at the core of what should be discussed and explored in the work context.
To start a new conversation about the value of sleep in the context of work, and more (life), PurpleBeach is collaborating with Kanan Thakerar of Kanan Yoga Bliss to deliver The Sleep Clinic to enable businesses to help their employees be their best selves.
The Sleep Clinic is an example of people innovation in practice and has been specially created in response to our rapidly changing world and answers the universal call and desire to experience deeper, more restorative and rejuvenating sleep in this anxiety-inducing day and age of information overload, a pandemic, and deeply worrying international affairs. It utilises the philosophy of slow living and the power of Yoga Nidra to help achieve deeper rest, more nourishing sleep, and access a rich source of inner creativity. The results are not only brighter and more innovative ideas but the energy to turn them into a reality. A well-rested workforce will ultimately deliver more value to a business.
As we deal with the ‘new’ increasingly blurred lines between our work and personal lives, Businesses feel the impact of the Great Resignation and the increased desire by employees for a work-life balance and appreciation for mental health issues. Organisations must adapt and transform their approaches to people and practice people innovation, and what better way to do this than by starting a conversation around the often forgotten and unspoken topic of sleep in the context of work and life.
