In the latest episode of Humanscope by People Matters, our CEO and co-founder Pushkar Bidwai, deep dived into the question of how innovation actually works, together with Darren Thayre, Director of Innovation and AI pursuit lead at Google.

Thayre's mandate is a tricky one: he and his team are essentially tasked to find ways of making Google's eclectic collection of businesses work better together and deliver greater value to customers, especially large customers who need support in multifaceted areas.

That is where innovation enters the room. There is people innovation involved, around how to make a high-performance team work together; there is technological innovation, around how to improve and repurpose for better outcomes.

Thayre shares the groundwork that he and his team lay together, and the processes they go through to ensure innovation doesn't get nipped in the bud or lose steam and fall off after a high-potential start.

Much of what he describes sounds deceptively simple: responsiveness to the market, doing things just a little better than your competitor, clarity about what you're doing, balancing business needs with customer needs and long-term thinking with short-term thinking.

"While Google is a great company, it's rarely been the first in its market. It wasn't the first search engine. It wasn't the first cloud company...you don't have to be the first, but you have to be a fast follower and you have to be very clear about what your focus is," he said.

He highlights the kind of obstacles that aspiring innovators and entrepreneurs may face - some of them especially difficult to overcome because they are part of a system that can't be easily escaped or part of a network that the organisation may rely on. But there are steps individuals can take, he points out: low-hanging fruit, small but profound changes that can set the tone for the future.

Want to hear more of his perspective? Watch the full conversation on People Matters Youtube channel.

The next episode of Humanscope will feature Shaswat Kumar, head of customer success and delivery at Darwinbox. Stay tuned to our podcast series to explore stories that explore the limitless potential of human talent—the creativity, innovation, and leadership that drive organisations forward.