How tech teams go analog to solve business problems

One of the unexpected changes brought about by the pandemic has been a dramatic shift in the way businesses serve lunch. Gone are the days when the company cafeteria was a place to socialize with colleagues, have a working lunch with your team, or pop in for a coffee between meetings.

In the new world of hybrid and remote work, companies no longer consider it economical to feed employees three large meals a day. As company cafeterias are being phased out, companies are faced with the challenge of how to provide the meals that employees expect without wasting any time.

Enter ezCater, an online catering platform that provides meals to customers ranging from Rice University to the San Francisco Giants baseball franchise. Innovations include not only custom meals for groups of all sizes, but also the ability to order from local restaurants that support the local economy, as well as the ability for individuals to order from their favorite restaurants for customization not available in the cafeteria era. It also includes apps that can help you achieve this.

As companies look to become the go-to source for ordering lunch for their employees post-COVID-19, one technology leader adopted an analog methodology to drive innovative thinking. Curious about how innovators stay innovative, she spoke to Erin DeCesare, Chief Technology Officer at ezCater.

To keep the team's thinking fresh, DeCesare introduced a decidedly non-technical approach to problem-solving: improvisation.

Once the bastion of comedy clubs and acting classes, improv has migrated into the business world to exercise creativity in a fun and engaging way. In a workplace where most employees are glued to their laptops for much of the day, embracing improvisation is training for creative thinking and innovative problem-solving.

Erin DeCesare, chief technology officer at ezCater, took this process a step beyond traditional team-building exercises by introducing weekly huddles to address challenges and bring fresh thinking to the group.

“The engineers were very skeptical at first, but then they seemed to be having a lot of fun and the energy level went up,” DeCesare said. “The idea of ​​publishing a half-baked idea was uncomfortable at first. They want to come up with the perfect answer.”

Getting comfortable with discomfort and embracing a sense of play are two keys to a successful session. If you want to bring more innovative thinking to your team, here are some things to consider.

Set the right tone

“The most important element is creating a safe environment for half-baked ideas,” DeCesare says. “Leave me to judgment and make it clear that this is an infallible experiment.”

Technicians want to be absolutely accurate and are uncomfortable making mistakes in front of each other. DeCesare reframed this process as a “learning sprint” aimed at exploring new ideas without getting an immediate answer.

Expand your thinking about resources

Sometimes people limit their thinking due to lack of proper information and resources. DeCesare tells his team that they are either in a “magic room” with a leader who will give them what they need to move their idea forward, or a “magic room” with external industry experts to help them. I encourage you to imagine. This will help you see what new questions may lead to solutions.

make the problem personal

“If you can relate a problem to a real-life situation or experience, people will naturally be more engaged,” DeCesare says. By having the person presenting the problem share their human situation and struggle, others can empathize and come up with ideas more freely. Rather than presenting a data dump, ask team members to share their individual experiences working on the problem.

ends with a promise

While divergent thinking is beneficial for idea generation, DeCesare emphasizes the importance of “close the scene” to resolve a particular session.

“Don't end an improv session without determining concrete next steps. Someone should restate the possible solutions and spontaneously apply them to the next sprint.” This creates closure and accountability. people believe their time is well spent.

DeCesare notes that her team's process required some experimentation before arriving at a constant practice to develop the skills to deliver compelling solutions.

“Improvisation forces people to break out of their normal thinking patterns,” DeCesare said. “But bringing that creativity back into real-world execution requires intentionality. The magic lies in making it reproducible in your team's workflow.”