Celebrating the Australian Public Service innovation month: Risk. Resolve. Results. Visit the official website
Risk is exciting!
Wait, what? You can’t say that in government!
Risk represents uncertainty and the possibility of unexpected outcomes, exactly the world where innovation thrives. It’s precisely where innovators want to be. This is where the magic happens, allowing us to uncover novel solutions.
The more we push boundaries, the scarier innovation seems. Yet, the secret to innovation, particularly in government, is balancing the excitement of the unknown with smart risk management. A guiding principle I value in product development is limit the blast radius. Imagine eager scientists detonating experimental materials, all safely enclosed in concrete and ballistic perspex. The inspiration is two-fold:
- Fearlessly experiment, testing ideas in real-world scenarios.
- Ensure experiments are safely contained to prevent unintended harm.
Unfortunately, too many would-be innovators settle for describing hypothetical explosions using Word documents, PowerPoint slides and Visio charts. However, there’s simply no substitute for actually blowing something up to discover authentic results.
Resolve to have resolve
Resolve is about determination—particularly in solving complex problems. It combines skill, experience, and resources, but above all, it demands patience and persistence.
Too often, genuinely promising initiatives are prematurely constrained under the guise of prudence or maturity. But many constraints are revealed to be arbitrary when examined closely. While some tasks should indeed be timeboxed and budgeted, meaningful innovation regularly requires genuine resolve, staying committed until the best possible solution emerges.
Results: What does success really look like?
Everyone wants results, but do we truly understand what a good result is?
Let’s face it, all activities produce results: good, bad, or unexpected. In product management, each is valuable as a learning experience, but we naturally seek something more meaningful: successful outcomes. The challenge lies in identifying success clearly. Early Product Initiation Documents (PIDs) or Product Requirement Documents (PRDs) can offer initial targets, but until real-world testing occurs, these remain educated guesses.
To define success effectively, focus on outcomes and impact rather than mere outputs:
- Output: What you created.
- Outcome: What happens when people use what you created.
You can’t truly measure success until your product interacts with real users. This is why iterative product approaches outperform rigid project deliveries; iteration thrives on measuring and reacting to real outcomes, not just outputs.
Innovating as a product manager
Recently, I’ve helped develop several canvas-based tools, simple visual aids designed to enhance product thinking. For instance, the ‘Value proposition canvas’ has proven valuable for distinguishing clearly between outputs and desired outcomes.
Conversely, I’m finding roadmap canvases often provide limited innovation value. While they are beneficial for budgeting and executive oversight, they can prematurely define and restrict the boundaries of success, reducing innovation to a checklist of features and dates.
As a compromise, I’m testing a flexible ‘Now, next, later’ framework:
- Now: Immediate priorities and experiments.
- Next: Upcoming opportunities to explore.
- Later: Longer-term goals or concepts.
This approach acts as a directional arrow pointing forward, adjustable based on real-world feedback and outcomes. Ultimately, the best innovation strategy remains honest, humble, and open engagement with the real people you’re trying to help. After all, it is their experiences and outcomes that define true success.
So if you’re chasing transformative results—and I’m confident you are—Embrace risk, demonstrate resolve and innovate honestly and courageously!