From Big Ideas to Lasting Success: How to Build Innovation Teams that Thrive

In this inspiring episode, John Hetherington joins Mike Procee to uncover the secrets to sustaining innovation within organizations. John introduces a transformative framework featuring four essential innovation roles:

The Visionary - The idea creator who designs the future. The Navigator - The leader who removes roadblocks and keeps projects on track. The Collaborator - The connector who bridges teams and ideas. The Completer - The technician who ensures delivery. John explains how these roles adapt as projects evolve, shares insights into overcoming common innovation challenges, and highlights the importance of delivering "first value" early in projects to sustain momentum.

Listeners will gain actionable advice on implementing these roles in their teams, fostering clarity, motivation, and purpose to achieve measurable impact.

Whether you're in a large organization or an entrepreneurial startup, this episode will leave you equipped and energized to build innovation teams that thrive.

Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta. Host: Mike Procee is an entrepreneur, facilitator, innovator and problem solver. Working in the Calgary Energy Sector, Mike strives to build the innovation ecosystem and community. From his volunteer position on the Strategic Capability Network, where he founded the Calgary Innovation Peer Forum, to pursuing his DBA in Winter 2024, focused on innovation, Mike is pushing the thinking on what it means to be a corporate innovation practitioner.

Guest: John Hetherington is a Technology Strategist, International Speaker and founder of We Deliver Your Vision. Over the last 25 years, he's helped 100's of companies use technology to save time and grow revenue in the UK and North America. His team is currently delivering projects that automate business processes for on-time product delivery. John's big vision is to enable every CEO to run their business on autopilot.

Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out. We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.

Show Links:

• We Deliver Your Vision

Show Quotes:

"Innovation thrives when all four roles—visionary, navigator, collaborator, and completer—are present. It doesn’t matter if one person wears multiple hats or if a team divides them; what matters is that every piece of the puzzle is there to drive success."

"First value is the secret to sustaining innovation. Instead of waiting years to see results, focus on delivering something tangible and meaningful right away—it’s what keeps teams motivated and stakeholders engaged."

Credits... This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine Episode Music: Tony Del Degan Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan