Ever surprise why your groups wrestle to innovate past their roadmap? They’re probably too busy holding the lights on to step again and rethink what’s attainable.
I get it — I’ve spent 20 years in software program, continuously balancing the pull of delivering identified outcomes towards the necessity to discover what’s subsequent. It’s a troublesome tradeoff, however one I’ve wrestled with lengthy sufficient to know this: in case you don’t create area for innovation, it received’t occur.
At G2, we’ve developed our strategy over time, beginning with one thing easy — giving folks the respiration room to deal with concepts they wished that they had time for. That small shift grew into one thing a lot greater: a two-week hackathon experiment that has repeatedly developed.
On this article, I’ll stroll you thru that journey — not as a prescriptive playbook, however as an invite to experiment in your individual approach. As a result of innovation isn’t about having the proper technique — it’s about making area for what’s attainable.
G2’s journey to innovation: chore week to hackathons
Each experiment begins with a speculation. However in software program supply, there’s one other crucial issue: the urge for food for that experiment. How a lot time are we prepared to put money into exploring the unknown?
The reply to that’s often dictated by the corporate’s stage and tradition. Some organizations have by no means seen innovation carried out effectively, making the thought of groups spending every week or extra in unstructured work a tough no.
And truthfully, I get it. Betting on an undefined end result can really feel dangerous. However does that imply innovation is out of attain? By no means. Begin smaller. Are you able to carve out a day? A day? Show the worth in increments, and over time, that urge for food will develop.
At G2, I used to be lucky to work with founders who already noticed the worth of innovation, which meant we began with a bigger urge for food. However that didn’t imply we at all times received it proper. Our journey, from chore week to the ultimate hackathon, has been stuffed with classes, iterations, and surprising turns, every shaping how we foster innovation at present.
Chore week: the respiration pause
Within the early days, our strategy to innovation wasn’t about constructing the subsequent huge factor — it was about catching our breath. Our groups have been pushing arduous to ship options, however in that relentless drive, we weren’t at all times leaving the codebase in a state that inspired long-term innovation. So, we carved out time to return, refactor, and clear up patterns: a chore week. We mainly applied a reset button for the code.
Nevertheless, this effort revealed that one of many largest limitations to innovation isn’t only a lack of time — it’s the technical debt that makes future innovation more durable. Whenever you transfer quick however don’t repeatedly form the code into one thing maintainable and extensible, you create friction for each future concept.
Whereas this strategy helped us enhance our code high quality, it didn’t spark a lot inspiration. Nothing groundbreaking got here out of it, simply small quality-of-life enhancements that made growth a bit of simpler. In some methods, it even despatched the mistaken message: it was okay to ship subpar code so long as we had a “chore week” to scrub it up later. It was a crucial first step, however we rapidly realized that if we wished to push actual innovation ahead, we wanted a special strategy. Dev week was created to fill that function.
Dev week: the innovation summit
As G2 grew, so did the necessity for alignment. Scaling an organization introduces extra processes, and whereas construction is important, it will possibly additionally mess with the inventive vitality that drives actual innovation. We began listening to a constant theme from our groups: they wished area to discover concepts outdoors the roadmap.
On the similar time, we didn’t wish to totally abandon the advantages of our unique “chore week” mentality — some engineers nonetheless valued time to enhance the codebase. So, we developed.
The outcome was what we first known as “Dev Week”, which ultimately turned the “Innovation Summit.” It was an unstructured, two-week occasion the place self-selected groups might discover new concepts, experiment with rising applied sciences, and construct one thing actual.
On the finish of the 2 weeks, groups showcased their work, and instantly, we noticed wins. One of many largest early successes? An integration that introduced G2 actions straight into Slack. This was one thing that wasn’t on the roadmap however delivered instant worth.
However whereas this strategy unlocked creativity, it had its personal challenges. Many nice concepts by no means noticed the sunshine of day. Even after we beloved what groups constructed, we struggled to shut the loop and produce these improvements into manufacturing. As quickly because the Innovation Summit ended, we went again to “common” work, and plenty of tasks merely light into the background.
The inspiration was there. The training was there. However we weren’t realizing the total affect of those improvements. We wanted to discover a technique to bridge the hole between inventive exploration and actual, lasting outcomes. That’s after we launched hackathons to deliver these concepts to life.
Hackathons: bridging innovation and affect
As vitality and urge for food for innovation grew, so did our ambition. We had seen the spark that unstructured exploration might generate, however we wished to take it a step additional — to not solely encourage our groups but additionally drive actual enterprise affect. This led us to our subsequent evolution: the G2 hackathon.
Hackathons aren’t new; the tech trade has lengthy used them to drive breakthrough concepts. Nevertheless, at G2, we wished to refine the formulation to reconcile open-ended creativity with a concentrate on outcomes. The important thing shift? C-level buy-in. We introduced our executives in as judges, making certain alignment between the boldest concepts and the outcomes that might drive the enterprise ahead. We discovered main success in the best way we selected to run our hackathons, and as at all times, sharing is caring.
How G2 runs a hackathon
At G2, our hackathons are designed to strike the proper steadiness between inventive freedom and enterprise affect. Right here’s how we construction them to maximise each engagement and outcomes:
A transparent however open-ended theme
Every hackathon kicks off with a guiding theme — broad sufficient to spark creativity however targeted sufficient to drive significant outcomes. For instance, our “Encourage Buyer Love” theme inspired groups to discover methods to reinforce the shopper expertise whereas holding the end result aligned with enterprise targets.
Workforce formation with objective
As soon as we collect individuals, each in-person and distant, we concentrate on forming groups that blend views and expertise ranges. This isn’t nearly getting folks collectively; it’s about fostering new collaborations and making certain every group has the correct mix of abilities to deliver an concept to life.
Quick-paced ideation and execution
Because the hackathon begins, groups rapidly register their concepts to decide to a course. From there, they’ve two weeks to experiment, construct, and refine their ideas. The purpose isn’t simply to brainstorm; it’s to ship one thing tangible by the tip.
Govt-level judging of actual affect
On the finish of the hackathon, groups current their tasks to a panel of cross-functional executives. The profitable concepts aren’t nearly technical ingenuity; they’re judged closely on how confidently they’ll affect enterprise targets.
Recognition, rewards, and subsequent steps
The highest three groups win financial prizes and ongoing assist to show their concepts into actuality. Nevertheless it doesn’t cease there. We amplify their work throughout the corporate and on social media, making it clear that these improvements matter and have the potential to form the way forward for G2.
This construction ensures that hackathons aren’t simply enjoyable aspect tasks however a core driver of innovation at G2. By combining inspiration, execution, and recognition, we make area for groundbreaking concepts to take root and thrive.
The true affect of hackathons
This strategy labored. By putting the correct steadiness between pleasure and focus, we began seeing actual, tangible product enhancements emerge from our hackathons.
Among the largest successes embrace:
- Nudges in my.G2: This helps prospects rapidly floor what’s most necessary and streamline assessment assortment.
- G2 built-in affect: Seeing the affect of G2’s information in a advertising and marketing and gross sales circulation turned a actuality by means of getting the total circle view from some accomplice integrations.
- AI-powered automation: AI-powered automation, comparable to producing touchdown pages and AI-assisted assessment responses, have turn out to be central to our product expertise.
However, as at all times, there have been challenges. Not each nice concept made it to prospects. Competing priorities meant that some extremely promising tasks stalled out, and we needed to rethink tips on how to maintain momentum past the hackathon. We additionally discovered that whereas structured themes helped align innovation with enterprise targets, they generally constrained the form of far-out, moonshot concepts that might redefine our future.
To steadiness this, we cut up time between the hackathon and Innovation Summit. Hackathons stay targeted on delivering tangible outcomes, whereas Innovation Summit offers area for open-ended exploration.
And that’s the place we’re at present — a continuously evolving tradition of innovation. We now know that actual affect doesn’t come from a single occasion or course of however from regularly making area for daring pondering. And as we transfer ahead, we’ll continue to learn, iterating, and discovering new methods to push the boundaries of what’s attainable.
Life hack
G2’s journey exhibits that innovation isn’t a one-time initiative; it’s a mindset. It requires fixed experimentation, not simply in devoted occasions however in how groups strategy their work each day. We’ve seen this shift firsthand, with groups naturally carving out moments of innovation inside their common cycles. The result’s extra engaged groups and a extra sustainable path to persistently high-impact outcomes.
Undecided the place to start out with launching your individual hackathon? Begin the place you may. Determine the funding you may have management over and launch an innovation occasion — regardless of how small. Give groups the liberty to discover, however set a transparent purpose for measuring affect. Have a good time the wins to construct momentum and develop that funding over time. And most significantly, by no means cease experimenting.
Able to dive into extra G2 tech information? Study extra about The Grand Delusion and why cybersecurity retains failing.
Edited by Supanna Das
