A Letter from Chris suarez
DON’T “SLACK” OFF NOW!
I have been thinking about change quite a bit of late.
Stewart Butterfield has become a household name, or perhaps an office-hold name, since he founded Slack - the team communication platform. Small businesses and massive companies have adopted it for their internal communication, remote project collaboration, file and system sharing, or overall culture.
It seems appropriate then, that I have felt he has been one of the better communicators in Silicon Valley. Both in written and spoken word he has shown up as an organizational and thought leader. Slack was acquired in late 2020 by Saleforce for just over $27 billion. It wasn’t the first company he started or even the first company he sold. More of note though is the fact that he has started multiple companies that never got off the ground or have outright failed. Regardless of the outcome of his company or idea, he has always been willing to change and innovate.
He has written many blog posts and essays that I have found valuable while scaling a company. In a recent interview he was asked to define “innovation”. He responded with a simple expression - “innovation is just behavior challenged.” Innovative companies have created a way to change human behavior. They are able to cause someone to do something differently or to do something they have not done in the past. In fact, Butterfield refers to the purpose of his product, Slack, not as an efficiency tool, but rather as a tool for “organizational transformation.” He is incredibly clear that his business and company is for the purpose of driving change. That is what makes it innovative. It changes what or how people have done things previous to using it.
Every one of us needs to innovate. We need innovation in our business, in our personal life, in our relationships. Change is healthy in each of those areas.
Based on overuse, the word “innovate” may have lost some of its true meaning, but all of us are looking for change. If we aren’t looking for change somewhere in our life, it means we have settled. We have grown complacent. We have accepted. And that’s just beginning to look at internal innovation. When reflecting on our business or company, if our customers didn’t want or need to change, then the company itself would not exist. No one would be looking to accomplish anything. No one would be looking to improve efficiency, streamline process, increase productivity, or deliver a better experience. No one would be looking to grow. And yet, if any of those desires exist, then innovation is necessary.
So where are you innovating this year?
Decide today where you need a bit of innovation in each area of your life. Where in your business do you need to innovate? Where in your health or financial life do you need to innovate? Where in your relationships do you need to innovate?
Remember, change happens slowly so innovation need not happen immediately. Don’t set improper expectations. As we look back, it often seems like it happened very quickly - a quick or dramatic change. But change involves one step in front of another. Innovation involves small changes in your behavior. Yes, having a goal and a big plan mapped out is important. But big businesses are not built with every step mapped out. Don’t get hung up on starting because you don’t have every step planned in advance. Be willing to make the first change, then the next change, and then take on additional changes as you move forward. That makes you an innovator.
Live an innovative life. Build innovative businesses. Seek out innovative partnerships. Or simply, be willing to change.
Chris