Novarica recently completed its fourth semiannual Silicon Valley Innovation Tour, an immersive series of on-site visits to accelerators, venture capital firms, as well as startups and later-stage and mature companies central to the Bay Area’s hotbed of business and technology innovation.
Things are quick to change in Silicon Valley. Our discussions with AWS, Kespry, Hippo, and Salesforce, among many others, served as a snapshot of the latest themes, trends, and insights to emerge from the scene.
One critical insight remains unchanged: the driving force of innovation must come from above. CIOs and other tech leaders do enable innovation in meaningful ways, but it falls on senior leaders to create an environment where the pursuit of innovation is a given and its success is a priority.
In Silicon Valley, no picture of innovation is complete without passion. Novarica encountered many who, once they have groomed their skill sets at ‘regular jobs’, go on to stake their energy and reputation on something greater. These people become the individuals whom others want to follow; they become the charismatic leaders at small startups. Even large companies rely on the joy of working toward “big hairy audacious goals.” There is no shortage of investors who look for passion as a key indicator of innovative potential, either.
Innovation isn’t for technology alone. Silicon Valley companies examine all businesses processes and operations under innovation’s lens. Across the Valley, getting culture “right” is of primary concern. Businesses often use Technology as a metaphor to guide cultural improvement and maintenance. As Salesforce put it, a company’s culture is its operating system—it defines normal processes and how an organization will respond to opportunities, day-to-day changes, and emerging threats.
For more on Novarica’s latest tour—including insights on talent hot spots, acquisition, and collaboration—check out our latest report, Enabling Innovation, Vol. 4: More Lessons from Silicon Valley.
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