On September 12th, Stratford was featured in an article with HEXO in the Ottawa Business Journal titled “Cultivating innovation: HEXO taps Stratford Managers to develop innovation lab“. Here are some highlights from the article:
Stratford assisted the Gatineau-based cannabis producer in developing its innovation lab, bringing in a cross-service team with expertise in human resources, business development, intellectual property and innovation coaching.
“For the innovation lab, it’s a matter of setting up the right culture and climate so that everybody knows that they’re welcome to innovate,” says Natalie Giroux, business lead in innovation strategy at Stratford Managers.
In a matter of months, the Stratford team developed a plan for implementing HEXO’s innovation lab, including staffing and resource recommendations as well as an in-depth process to follow as new ideas come about.
“Most companies struggle, because when they have a good idea they go full on in that direction to deliver on it, and they forget that they need another idea to work on in the meantime,” explains Giroux.
The new processes developed by the Stratford team will help guide HEXO’s innovation from start to finish. They include laser-focused details such as a single point of contact for the company’s CEO to check in on recent developments and a process for determining when an idea is no longer viable.
“We knew five years ago that if we didn’t fill the room with people smarter than us, then it wouldn’t work,” says Adam Miron, co-founder and chief brand officer at HEXO. “And we did exactly that here.”
To read the full article visit the Ottawa Business Journal Website
[UPDATE] As of Jan. 15, 2021, Ottawa’s Stratford Managers Corporation has become Stratford Group Ltd.