How should we build protected time into our innovation programme?

Protected time for innovation is dedicated space in the working week or programme where people can focus on a shared challenge without day-to-day delivery pressure. It is more than permission to be creative when time allows. Scheduled workshops, a room designed for collaboration and a single task with no distractions give teams a clear place to surface ideas.

A useful model is Kaizen, a practice of bringing people together to focus on one task without distraction. The format can be simple, but the commitment needs to be real: time, attention, energy and budget all signal that experimentation matters. Protected time works best when it is treated as part of how innovation happens, rather than an optional extra squeezed in after operational work.

Idea sessions can support faster decisions when the session is tightly focused on one challenge and separates possibility-making from evaluation. Bring together people who know the business and will live with the outcome, give them room to challenge assumptions, and capture the possibilities that emerge before analysis narrows the field.

Creativity should come before calculation, not instead of it. Data, financial analysis and supporting research still have an important role in testing and rationalising a creative possibility, then identifying the route most likely to succeed. This order helps avoid analysis paralysis: teams first generate options they may not have found through historical data alone, then apply disciplined judgement to make a decision. The result is a clearer hand-off from exploration to action.

Protected time only delivers value when leaders make experimentation safe, visible and worthwhile. Creative leaders need to share the vision, set the tone for collaboration and reward the behaviours that make collective innovation possible. Celebrating team contribution, rather than only individual performance, shows that cross-team work is not a detour from the real job.

The environment matters too. People are more likely to think boldly when they are freed from immediate pressures and encouraged to explore ideas without judgement. A few protected hours can create room for fresh problem-solving, while half-day or full-day workshops can help a larger group work through a more substantial strategic challenge. The aim is not endless discussion. It is a clear space to explore, followed by a decision process that gives the strongest possibilities a fair hearing.

We believe protected time should be designed into innovation programmes because the strongest possibilities rarely emerge from targets, precedent and analysis alone. Teams need a clear challenge, a safe space to contend with it honestly, and leaders willing to reward collective thinking. We have used workshops to help people closest to a business draw together their experience, imagination and insight before moving to strategic choices. For Wates, a session involving more than 20 people created dedicated time to rethink brand purpose, with leadership present to support the work. In workshops with Level stakeholders, we saw shared passion and honest collaboration uncover possibilities that had not been visible at the start. The right provider should bring structure without closing down the room too early.