- Nestlé Project Cointreau: The Innovation-less Team
THE CHALLENGE:
How do you repair an innovation team that lacks innovation?
That was the challenge facing Nestlé, the world’s leading nutrition, health and wellness company with 480 factories; 276,000 employees; and, $97 billion in revenue.
Not only was their dispirited UK innovation team lacking inspiration, but the team had lost its capacity for long-term new product development. It was an untenable situation that cried out for a bold and timely solution.
THE PROCESS:
That solution was provided by Synecticsworld’s creative catalysts who identified five essential tasks:
- Help the Nestlé Team regain their capacity for innovative thinking
- Repair their team collaboration skills
- Facilitate creative problem-solving within the team
- Develop materials to support the new product development process, including the team’s idea generation sessions
- Inspire
The last task, apparently simplistic, was nevertheless the most critical if change was going to be effective and sustainable.
Synecticsworld’s next step was to train the Nestlé team in group creativity and innovative teamwork. The successful session allowed the Nestlé Innovation Team to feed off the energy and optimism that Synecticsworld brought to the room. In the words of one of the Innovation Team members the session resulted in, “A really sound yet exciting journey into the unknown. Synecticsworld have real confidence in their approach.”
The next phase, which was vitally important because it laid the foundation for the creation of new products, was to conduct ‘blue sky’ research to gain insight into the future.
THE RESULTS:
Another of Nestlé’s Innovation Team members commented at the end of the project,
“It was a good experience. You more than delivered what we asked for; therefore I would recommend you to others. You are pleasant people to work with, with a nice style. Very professional.”
