How do you adopt a startup mindset in a corporate world?

Annie Corriveau, Delivery Leader - CNN Digital

There is one thing we know for sure is that today’s pace of change is greater than ever before and we are not going back. The new normal is about having the ability to continuously adapt and fast.

What does that mean for larger organisations that are following long and heavy processes? How can they adapt to a more disruptive and innovative way of working? By adopting a startup mindset.

A startup mindset is about:

Grow smart

Building great products does not happen because you had set of tools and processes in place. It happens because a team of talented people come together to problem-solve and sometimes they don’t know what they don’t know. They are open-minded, they challenge at all times and learn. They have a growth mindset.

People with a growth mindset tend to take a more collaborative approach and they are committed to continuously learn. They take it upon themselves to develop, they put the work in and energy into learning and seeking input from others.

Another reason why startups are better at disrupting is that they don’t have the luxury to make hiring mistakes. They need to react fast when something is not working.

Test, fail fast, learn. Rinse and repeat.

In startups, moving fast and breaking things is inherent to discovering the right product to build. They put the user at the centre of the development process. They build prototypes fast and constantly seek feedback to gather data, and most importantly, learn from it. Sometimes the hypothesis gets confirmed but most often, it’s when it fails that the learnings are greater. Why? Because it tells what it shouldn’t be. Repeat the process until there is enough evidence to bet further (invest money) or change direction (avoid waste).

In larger organisations, teams have to be ok to fail and leadership also needs to embrace failure. When teams are not empowered to fail, they will continue to put the safe bets on the table instead of the bigger ones leading to innovation. When the reason why it failed is understood, failure is just another step closer to the win.

Asking questions, teamwork, commitment

Smaller teams enable closer collaboration and agility. The team builds stronger relationships helping them to navigate difficult situations when things are not going to plan. At CNN, we approach each team as its own startup that partners with other startups to build their product. You will often hear us say:

“As the COO or CPO of your startup, is this something you would invest in?”

“Would you pivot based on your findings?”

“Would you make the same decision?”

“What did you learn?”

The teams need to be comfortable in challenging the status quo, asking questions and not be afraid to take bigger risks. They need to feel that their decisions have an impact when building products and be passionate about delivering on the vision.

The right leadership

It starts at the top. It is important to have the right leadership that sets a clear vision, challenges the teams to define their path forward, while guiding them to stay on course and not get distracted by the small stuff. Leadership has to embrace change, empower teams, give them a voice and room for mistakes. Like teams, for adopting a startup mindset in a larger organisation, having the right leaders with a growth mindset is key.

Adopting a start-up mindset in a corporate world takes dedication and conviction. The best startups are experimental and adaptable. They obsess about finding the right thing to build. They have founders that hold an inspiring vision and teams that believe in the vision. They are relentlessly trying, testing and learning.

Empowering teams, trusting teams, expecting startup-level innovation and delivery; this is our culture at CNN Digital.

Are you looking to join a forward thinking team?

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