Enterprise Agility at Work Empowering people on the edges of your business to see and experiment with new concepts has been a key ingredient to the rise of some of the most successful digital companies: Facebook, Amazon, and others. Take Facebook. “You’d be surprised by how much of the product roadmap over time is set, not by us talking about what we think we should do and deciding, but 11 by engineers coming with ideas,” said co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Facebook stages regular hackathons in which its engineers develop initial prototypes of new products and product features. These have led to some of its best offerings—Chat, Live, and the platform on which developers make games. 12 Hackathons have also led to its first video player. Amazon also promotes a culture of experimentation at the front lines. Says Lean Startup author Eric Ries: “I know examples where a random Amazon engineer mentions, ‘Hey, I read about an idea in a blog post. We should do that.’ The next thing he knows, the engineer is being asked to pitch it to the executive committee. 13 [CEO] Jeff Bezos decides on the spot.” When Sun Life Financial opened its fourth innovation lab near its Toronto headquarters in 2017, the 153-year-old financial services company cited its ability to bring agile teams together to meet, not just with each other, but also with area startups to exchange ideas. The innovation labs have elevated Sun Life’s ability to connect with customers, something which Alice Thomas, chief digital technology ocer, said is emblematic of the company’s digital transformation. “It’s adapting to 14 how clients want to engage with us,” she said. 11 Business Insider, Mark Zuckerberg Reviewed the Coolest Stuff Facebook’s Engineers are Working on, December 6, 2016, accessed March 13, 2018, http://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-reviewed-coolest-facebook- hackathon-projects-2016-12 12 Inc., Facebook’s Engineers Are Working on 5 Pretty Cool Innovations, December 12, 2016, accessed March 12, 2018, https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/5-of-the-coolest-innovations-currently-being-built-by-facebook- engineers.html 13 Vox, How Amazon Innovates in Ways that Google and Apple Can’t, December 28, 2016, accessed March 13, 2018, https://www.vox.com/new-money/2016/12/28/13889840/amazon-innovation-google-apple 14 IT World Canada, Sun Life’s Chief Digital Technology Ocer Readies for Silicon Valley - Inspired HQ Launch, February 27, 2017, accessed March 13, 2018, https://www.itworldcanada.com/article/sun-lifes-chief-digital- technology-ocer-readies-for-silicon-valley-inspired-hq-launch/390998