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Transformation
The three teams held firm and were able to move their project forward with conviction despite the distance and confinement.
We present you the latest points and results of this colorful year!
It is Hélène Amoussou, mainly in charge of the project, who answers our questions and describes this year's results.
Intrapreneurship and containment, how does that rhyme?
It was not an easy moment for the teams but, at the same time, considering the context, it went rather well. Everyone was constantly adapting.
There was even a plus because we were in contact and in connection with the teams much more than in unconfined mode. I took the time to have the project leaders of the three teams virtually every week to make sure that everything was going well, that the team remained well connected within each project, that everyone remained motivated and that the situation was not too complicated for them. It was important that they were able to move their prototype(s) forward and that their morale was good.
The human factor was at the center of my concerns in a situation that was very anxious at the time, and making sure that there were no relatives affected or that they themselves had not been contaminated was important. In fact, this was the case in one team when a project leader caught covid-19. So yes, many more links to make sure that everything was going well.
In another team, it wasn't easy because their prototypes are physical and concrete, not digital at all: their installations had to be done in situ, so it was impossible for them to go ahead and test their prototypes and this generated real frustration for some.
But overall, they all showed imagination, creativity, flexibility and above all ... patience.
What are the ambitions and forecasts for the next Idea Accelerator season?
Nothing is official yet but it is planned to continue the collaboration with the three structures as it has worked well. We are complementary and it is in the interest of all three companies to continue because it generates ideas, commitment and desire, and this is beneficial for each company. Intrapreneurship is also an opportunity to give birth to a new form of culture, that of innovation, and this is beneficial and enriching for our companies.
We will continue the Idea Accelerator with a new partner, France Média Monde, which joins the adventure this year. We are currently looking for a common theme that would be carried by the four companies, a theme with high stakes. We will have chosen by the end of the weekend and the theme will be written and shared at the beginning of October with all the employees, because beyond the Celebration Trip, we would like to present the whole thing in a somewhat official communication time that would announce this new season for the four of us with a shared theme.
We are not yet on mixed inter-company teams (perhaps the next season) but already the fact of working all together on a common issue seems really interesting to us.
We are also going to work within the framework of a new kind of support, since we will probably opt for direct virtual support, which was not the case last year.
In summary, for the next season, it is: a new partner, a common theme and a virtual fool accompaniment. I don't know yet how we're going to do it but we're thinking along those lines.
Given the ever-present covid-19, how to get around possible difficulties?
At France Télévisions, we are fortunate to have a matrix organization, at least territorially, with regions and stations. So we have already experimented in the past, for a whole bunch of projects, with the concept of remote connection. So both technically and culturally, the collaborators know how to do it. We have a strong predisposition and we know how to make it work.
" What can be complicated is if we are over a full year in total distance. As much as the first part concerning the remote call for ideas could be feasible without major problems or difficulties via the platform where people will potentially connect, expose their ideas and connect to build their teams (in any case it seems playable to us). We can also do creative workshops remotely, it's not as easy but it can be done. As much as it seems more complicated to us, it's the coaching part. It is made of collective time, individual time per team, but it is mostly there because we need to anchor at least the first meeting time in a space-time and a space-place that is common and that is not necessarily Zoom or Teams. It is necessary to create the link to generate the conditions that will favor efficient cooperation and effective collaboration.
Creating a virtual collective is done (see the international companies that do it and work without difficulty) and maybe in our case it will be less simple, but it is also our challenge, our challenge on this support part because it is a nascent relationship but probably virtual. We will have to adapt this.
Concerning the Demo Day type times or the pitching times in front of the jury, we experimented it on the Demo Day of the current season and it went really well. It's maybe less stressful than having a Comex jury in front of you. In any case, we had extremely positive feedback. So the difficulty for me remains the coaching support completely at a distance, but we're going to get there!"
