The Lanio Playbook

This is how we innovate.

Introduction

Hello

We are Lanio.  Lanio is a global innovation agency with the mission to unleash innovation and creativity in every organization and community around the world.  We partner with visionaries to strategically innovate in a rapidly changing world.  We help start and scale startups within organizations.  We help foster a culture of innovation so that organizations and communities can unleash creativity in a repeatable way.

This is our playbook.  Modeled after Thoughtbot’s playbook, it describes how we help our clients unleash innovation and also how we run our company.  It is filled with our own experiences and our observations of other organizations.

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Company

Mission & Vision

Mantra

“Unleash Innovation”

Positioning

Lanio is a global innovation agency.

Mission

To unleash innovation and creativity in every community & organization around the world

Vision

Imagine…

Companies that repeat creativity year after year with innovative product launches, integrated experiences that turn customers into evangelists.

Imagine…

Cross-functional, Multi-disciplined, Diverse Teams that collaborate and celebrate their differences.  Teams that understand that diversity of ideas is a competitive advantage.

Imagine…

A shared language and well understand innovation process which guides your teams.

Imagine…

An infrastructure that encourages teams to fail fast and people are not afraid to fail.  An environment where failure is viewed as validated learning of our assumptions and hypothesis.  Where incentives are aligned with innovation accounting.

Imagine…

Teams that are supported by adequate resources and, more importantly, leadership from the highest levels of your organization.

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Our Values

Curiosity

We value people who are quick learners, are hungry to learn, and has the ability to learn broadly.  We call them a “T-shaped” person: individuals who not only have a deep understanding of one area but also have a broad knowledge of many things.  A Lanio team member is expected to be able to contribute effectively outside of their specialty.  Your career and personal development is your responsibility not the company’s responsibility.

Impact

Impact is the ability to accomplish a ton of important work. We look for individuals who able to deliver a ton of quality work on a consistent basis. We look for someone who is more focused on results rather than the effort it takes to achieve results. We are looking for individuals who pragmatically gets things done. They have a bias on action and less talking.

Courage

Courage is the ability to do what is right despite of being controversial. We want individuals who are smart risk takers, and who are unafraid to question the actions of the company.  People without courage cannot take the necessary risks to do the right thing.

Communication Skills

We highly value individuals who listen well and are good at being present. We are looking for individuals who are concise and articulate.  These individuals treat other people with respect regardless of their status. Additionally, we are looking for people who can maintain composure during stressful situations.

Judgment

Ability to make good decisions. You not only treat symptoms but also are able to get to the root cause of a problem. Judgment is important to understand who we are and what we do. We are looking for people who are able to assess what needs to be done today and what can be deferred to a later date.  

Honesty

Being very direct and enjoys engaging in candid conversations. We are looking for nonpolitical individuals who exhibit honesty and transparency. A direct individual does not say things behind someone else’s back but instead tells them straight to their face. Additionally, we are looking for people who are honest about their weaknesses as well as their strengths. You are quick pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses.

Selflessness

A loyal individual who is seeking to do what is best for the company. They are egoless when searching for the right solution. They must have a willing to help other people and share information willingly and proactively.

Empathy

Empathy is the ability to imagine yourself in another person’s shoes. We need people to who strive to understand people and context.

Ownership

Ownership is the ability to take ownership of your own work. We need people to take ownership of their work and of the problems and solutions of a task or project. Importantly, everybody is in a shared ownership of each project and its processes.

Optimism

Optimists are tenacious and do not give up at the first sight of obstacles.  Optimism encourages new ideas to flow freely. Debbie downers and devil’s advocates kill ideas and do not lead to innovation. Optimism affords the benefit of the doubt and encourages us to build on each other’s ideas.

Grit

The greatest strength of an entrepreneur is grit.  Usually, the only reason someone succeeds is because they refused to give up.  We will be faced with failure time and time again.  Our ability to succeed hinges on embracing failure as validated learning and always getting backup when we’re knocked down.

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Our Process

Lanio's Innovation Process

When you work with us, we’ll talk about the need to Identify, Ideate, Incubate, Iterate, and Integrate. This is our 5I Innovation Process which forms the backbone of all our work. The process defines the actions needed at various phases of innovation. When innovation seems to stall, it’s time to return to the process and see what’s next.

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Identify

Identify focuses on a project’s foundation of “why” and connects with the various “who’s” impacted by the project. Many projects skip this to start with implementation but get stuck without a clear vision or purpose. Identify establishes goals, metrics for success, and empathy with the customer.

Ideate

Break out the sticky notes, sketch pads, and easel charts – it’s time to dream. Ideate explores big picture approaches to our project. During Ideate the best ideas are cultivated and formed into project strategy.

Incubate

Innovation relies on experimentation, and Incubate is where experiments are born, tested, and grown into full-fledged projects. Incubate creates a product but is not an end in itself: we must evaluate and plan for constant improvement. That’s where Iterate comes in.

Iterate

If Incubate is about the birth of a product, Iterate focuses on nurture. Iterate creates a constant improvement process for the project so that the innovative spirit that originated the product will not fester.

Integrate

Integrate embeds the project into the life of the client environment. Once the process is fully owned by the client, our team are hungry for the next innovation, and the cycle begins anew.

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