Ever marvel why your groups battle to innovate past their roadmap? They’re probably too busy maintaining the lights on to step again and rethink what’s doable.
I get it — I’ve spent 20 years in software program, consistently balancing the pull of delivering recognized outcomes in opposition to 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 gained’t occur.
At G2, we’ve advanced our strategy over time, beginning with one thing easy — giving folks the respiratory 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 advanced.
On this article, I’ll stroll you thru that journey — not as a prescriptive playbook, however as an invite to experiment in your individual manner. As a result of innovation isn’t about having the right technique — it’s about making area for what’s doable.
G2’s journey to innovation: chore week to hackathons
Each experiment begins with a speculation. However in software program supply, there’s one other vital issue: the urge for food for that experiment. How a lot time are we keen to put money into exploring the unknown?
The reply to that’s normally dictated by the corporate’s stage and tradition. Some organizations have by no means seen innovation finished properly, 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 final result can really feel dangerous. However does that imply innovation is out of attain? Under no circumstances. 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 acquired it proper. Our journey, from chore week to the ultimate hackathon, has been filled with classes, iterations, and sudden turns, every shaping how we foster innovation in the present day.
Chore week: the respiratory 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 had 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. Once you transfer quick however don’t repeatedly form the code into one thing maintainable and extensible, you create friction for each future thought.
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 improvement somewhat simpler. In some methods, it even despatched the flawed message: it was okay to ship subpar code so long as we had a “chore week” to scrub it up later. It was a mandatory first step, however we shortly realized that if we wished to push actual innovation ahead, we would have liked a distinct 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 power that drives actual innovation. We began listening to a constant theme from our groups: they wished area to discover concepts exterior the roadmap.
On the identical time, we didn’t wish to totally abandon the advantages of our authentic “chore week” mentality — some engineers nonetheless valued time to enhance the codebase. So, we advanced.
The end result was what we first known as “Dev Week”, which ultimately grew to become 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 immediately, we noticed wins. One of many largest early successes? An integration that introduced G2 actions instantly into Slack. This was one thing that wasn’t on the roadmap however delivered speedy 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 pale into the background.
The inspiration was there. The educational was there. However we weren’t realizing the complete influence of those improvements. We would have liked to discover a method to bridge the hole between inventive exploration and actual, lasting outcomes. That’s after we launched hackathons to convey these concepts to life.
Hackathons: bridging innovation and influence
As power 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 influence. 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 components to reconcile open-ended creativity with a deal with outcomes. The important thing shift? C-level buy-in. We introduced our executives in as judges, guaranteeing alignment between the boldest concepts and the outcomes that may drive the enterprise ahead. We discovered main success in the way in which 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 right steadiness between inventive freedom and enterprise influence. 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 boost the shopper expertise whereas maintaining the result aligned with enterprise targets.
Group formation with function
As soon as we collect members, each in-person and distant, we deal with forming groups that blend views and expertise ranges. This isn’t nearly getting folks collectively; it’s about fostering new collaborations and guaranteeing every staff has the appropriate mix of expertise to convey an thought to life.
Quick-paced ideation and execution
Because the hackathon begins, groups shortly register their concepts to decide to a route. 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 top.
Government-level judging of actual influence
On the finish of the hackathon, groups current their tasks to a panel of cross-functional executives. The successful concepts aren’t nearly technical ingenuity; they’re judged closely on how confidently they will influence enterprise targets.
Recognition, rewards, and subsequent steps
The highest three groups win financial prizes and ongoing help to show their concepts into actuality. But it surely 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 facet 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 influence of hackathons
This strategy labored. By hanging the appropriate steadiness between pleasure and focus, we began seeing actual, tangible product enhancements emerge from our hackathons.
A few of the largest successes embody:
- Nudges in my.G2: This helps prospects shortly floor what’s most vital and streamline overview assortment.
- G2 built-in influence: Seeing the affect of G2’s knowledge in a advertising and gross sales circulation grew to become a actuality via getting the complete circle view from some companion integrations.
- AI-powered automation: AI-powered automation, akin to producing touchdown pages and AI-assisted overview responses, have turn into central to our product expertise.
However, as at all times, there have been challenges. Not each nice thought made it to prospects. Competing priorities meant that some extremely promising tasks stalled out, and we needed to rethink learn how to maintain momentum past the hackathon. We additionally realized that whereas structured themes helped align innovation with enterprise targets, they generally constrained the form of far-out, moonshot concepts that would redefine our future.
To steadiness this, we break 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 in the present day — a consistently evolving tradition of innovation. We now know that actual influence doesn’t come from a single occasion or course of however from frequently making area for daring considering. And as we transfer ahead, we’ll continue learning, iterating, and discovering new methods to push the boundaries of what’s doable.
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 on daily basis. 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 constantly high-impact outcomes.
Undecided the place to start out with launching your individual hackathon? Begin the place you’ll be able to. Establish the funding you might 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 influence. Have fun the wins to construct momentum and develop that funding over time. And most significantly, by no means cease experimenting.
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Edited by Supanna Das
