Innovation for the Next Generation with btrax’s Brandon Hill

This post is based on presentations given at Rakuten’s annual SOY (“Shop of the Year”) Trip. The event celebrates the top 100 online shops (representing 0.3% of all shops) on Rakuten, which is the dominant ecommerce platform in Japan.

In this three part series, we’ll share the insights from these three tech superstars on how to create innovation worthy of the next generation, starting with Brandon Hill, CEO of btrax, a branding and digital marketing agency that works with companies between US and Asia.

Miss the first part? Check out the talk by George Kellerman from 500Startup.

Innovation Is Born Out of a Company’s Culture

In order for Japanese companies to make their mark on the global market, it is essential that they develop products using existing ideas as well as ideas that are completely new. Focusing mainly on design and user experience, Brandon Hill, talks about supporting the global development of companies and his experiences innovating in American corporate cultures.

The media has focused a lot on the necessity of innovation, don’t you think? But if you take the management’s perspective, you’re still left with the question of how to make innovation happen. It isn’t quite as simple as telling your employees “Start innovating!”

Just by looking at the map, you can see that San Francisco is packed with famous startups like Twitter, USTREAM and Airbnb that have created popular services worldwide. But the 7×7 mile city only has a population of about 800,000, so how does such a small place create so much innovation?

Companies that deliver the kind of innovation we see in San Francisco all have one thing in common: a unique corporate culture. The bulk of San Francisco and Silicon Valley operations don’t bother with existing products or platforms, but rather, create products that change the world through new concepts. They achieve this by creating a corporate culture that exceeds expectations.

Here is one example: “Creating a great product starts with creating a great culture, that’s because great products develop naturally out of great culture.” These are the words of GitHub CEO Tom Preston Werner. GitHub became popular as a web sharing service for developers, and the company itself is innovative buy not enlisting traditional bosses, deadlines, a set location, schedule, and, as a result, has almost no turnover.

Self-Definition is Key

Individualism in America is just as important for companies as for people. By implementing these new systems and styles of work, every GitHub employee has been able to, on a daily basis, contribute to a framework that supports innovation. I’d like to provide a few more examples of organizations who are creating new value in their organizations and producing innovative products:

Facebook: Move fast and break > Stop fearing failure, be continuously adapting and evolving.

Zappos: A culture where every employee is “happy” > Focus on how happy employees make for happy customers.

Amazon: Use wooden office doors as table tops > By saving even just a little bit, the products can be offered at a better price.

Automattic (Operators of WordPress): There is no HQ > Attract the best staff from around the world.

Our own btrax company motto is ”Work hard, play even harder” and while we may be very serious about work we are just as committed to having fun. I think that we are able to come up with fresher ideas because of our relaxed work environment. This is a photo of last Halloween’s costume competition.

A revolutionary product from a revolutionary culture

One of the things I often think about while running an American company is how difficult it can be to develop and provide excellent products and services as one cohesive company, when everyone comes from such diverse backgrounds. However, if you have a good culture, the need for management and rules can be minimized substantially.

Without even realizing it, each employee experiences the company’s culture and everyone moves forward together. If you want such a culture to take root in your organization, lead by example. Here are a few qualities most silicon valley organizations have in common:

• Open Communication
• A flat structure and strong reporting system
• Relaxed office spaces
• Flexible hours
• A delicate balance between rights and responsibilities
• Strict evaluation criteria and merit based rewards
• Collaboration across the industry

At the end of the day, when you reflect on all you’ve built and achieved, make sure there’s something related to boosting your company culture on the list. Only a culture that is aligned with your mission and can adapt to change will help you succeed in the long run.