Building a Culture of Innovation

Christopher Hunsberger is the co-founder and chief operating officer at Appellation today, but earlier in his career, he led product and service innovation at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts as part of the company's executive leadership team. Today, he shares how stepping into this role pushed him beyond his comfort zone, how he cultivated a culture of agility and risk-taking and the key lessons he learned about collaboration across all levels of the organization.

Christopher Hunsberger

Listen now on the Hospitality Daily Podcast

The big idea: Growth happens outside your comfort zone.

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As you're innovating, you have to learn to fail to get to a better place.

Christopher Hunsberger

Why this matters: We are in a rapidly changing industry, and staying ahead of the curve is crucial to your success. By fostering a culture of innovation within your team, you can encourage creative problem-solving, adaptability, and continuous improvement. This helps you stay competitive and empowers your team members to contribute their ideas and take ownership of their work, leading to increased engagement and job satisfaction.

Put this into action:

Cultivate collaboration: Bring together team members from different departments and levels to brainstorm ideas and solve challenges collectively. Encourage open communication and value everyone's contributions.
Encourage risk-taking: Create a safe space for your team to experiment with new ideas, even if they may fail. Celebrate the lessons learned from failures as much as the successes.
Embrace agility: Be open to change and willing to pivot when necessary. Encourage your team to be flexible and adaptable in the face of new challenges or opportunities. (Lauren Phelps shared how she applied Silicon Valley best practices in this area to her work as a GM here if you’d like to hear more on this.)
Provide resources and support: Allocate time, budget, and resources for innovation. Offer training and development opportunities to help your team acquire new skills and knowledge.
Lead by example: Demonstrate your own willingness to take risks, learn from failures, and collaborate with others. Your team will be more likely to embrace a culture of innovation if they see you embodying those values yourself.

Listen now to the full conversation on this on the Hospitality Daily Podcast (Apple Podcasts, Spotify)

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What I learned leading innovation at Four Seasons