Some companies seem to innovate all the time, while others just plod along, doing what they always have. What's the difference? A lot of it comes down to culture, according to Erik Gustafson, president and chief technology officer of Xamin.
The Enterprisers Project (TEP): How does Xamin's culture help foster innovation?
Gustafson: We spend a lot of time together in groups thinking about our current services or clients, or even discussing lessons learned from any troublesome spots. But mostly I echo the words and sentiment of our CEO, who when he hired me told me, "I know you will make mistakes from time to time but don't worry, we got your back." This put me at ease and allowed me to have confidence in trying new things or looking at things from a different angle. It's a philosophy that I make sure to disseminate to the rest of the team, especially new members.
TEP: Innovation generally means risk-taking. How do you encourage risk-taking at Xamin? Because your company serves highly-regulated industries, risk might not seem like a good thing. How do you find that balance?
Gustafson: Good question. We generally refer to it as 'controlled risk.' Because of the primary vertical we are in, highly-regulated industries, we make sure that our innovation and risk-taking is fully vetted out first in the research and development process and beta testing.
A good example of this is our recently launched vulnerability management service. Thousands of hours were spent refining the service before the product was ever launched. Technology is always a risk and can never be 100 percent risk-free, but the process that we have allows us to sleep well at night knowing we've done everything that we possibly could to mitigate risk.
TEP: Any advice you'd pass along to other CTOs or CIOs about building a great culture for a technology team?
Gustafson: First, have a clear vision of what you want the culture to look like. Draw inspiration from companies that you admire. One of the biggest things that helped me was to think of all the different companies I've worked for in the past, things that I liked and things that I disliked. If you disliked or liked something then most likely your employees feel the same way, so make sure to weed out any of the things you disliked and look for ways to accentuate the things you liked.
Second, culture is about people. Realize that if people aren't willing to adjust to your culture, that doesn't make them bad person, but it also doesn't make them an ideal fit, so don't be afraid to let someone like that move on to the next opportunity. A culture change will only be successful if you get full buy-in from the top down, so make sure your leadership is a part of the decision-making process and fully agrees with the direction. If they don't, this doesn't mean that you have to change your direction, but may mean certain leaders are no longer a fit.
Lastly, protect your culture at all costs. Quickly make any adjustments if someone becomes disgruntled as that negative attitude can become cancer.
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Erik Gustafson is Chief Technology Officer of Xamin, Inc. In his role, he is responsible for providing a long-term technology vision that supports and is aligned with the company’s strategies and goals, business plans, operating requirements and overall efficiencies.
