What should we stop to free up innovation time?

Innovation capacity starts to disappear when creative thinking is treated as an optional extra after analysis, sales work and operational delivery. The first activity to stop is the assumption that exploration can happen in leftover minutes. That approach leaves no headspace for teams to spot possibilities, connect ideas or develop an early thought into something useful.

Stop loading repetitive, rote work onto the same people expected to generate breakthrough ideas wherever practical. Generative AI and other tools can help with routine tasks, but they do not replace human curiosity, empathy or judgement about what matters to customers. Stop treating data as the source of every answer, too. Data can test, refine and rationalise a creative possibility, but new possibilities need imagination before they can be measured.

Protected innovation time works best when it brings together people with different knowledge around a clear challenge. Stop relying on the lone expert, one department or an open-ended invitation to "be more creative". Scheduled workshops, scenario planning and cross-functional ideation give exploration time a purpose without turning it into innovation theatre.

A useful innovation operating model separates generating possibilities from choosing between them. Teams first explore customer needs, tensions and ideas without immediate judgement. They then use commercial evidence, research and practical constraints to test which possibilities deserve more investment. This creates room for fresh thinking while keeping the work connected to real business decisions. Cross-functional teams also make ideas more resilient, because the people closest to customers, delivery and the wider business can challenge and improve them together.

Managers protect team creative time by removing or deferring named operational commitments, then making exploration time visible in plans and calendars. A protected session has little value if people remain expected to answer every request, hit every existing deadline and deliver new ideas at the same time. Stop rewarding only individual output and immediate certainty when the work requires collaboration, experimentation and a tolerance for early-stage uncertainty.

Leadership presence matters. Managers should set the challenge, give teams permission to look beyond immediate responsibilities and stay involved enough to unblock decisions. They should also define decision rights before the session begins: who can develop an idea, who can test it and who decides whether it moves into delivery. Constraints still have a role, but they should focus effort rather than simply create overload.

We believe organisations should stop asking people to innovate in the cracks between their day jobs. Creative capacity needs deliberate time, leadership backing and a mix of voices from across the business. That does not mean removing every constraint or abandoning commercial discipline. It means creating enough room to explore possibilities before data, budgets and delivery demands narrow the field.

We have put that belief into practice through cross-functional workshops that bring strategists, account teams, writers and designers into the same room. For Wates, we brought more than 20 people together to rethink brand purpose, with leadership support and freedom to look beyond immediate responsibilities. When choosing a partner, look for one that can create clarity from complexity, involve the people closest to the challenge and turn ideas into decisions people can act on.