Innovate, Deviate, Disrupt | A Workshop Day for Store Ops Professionals

Innovate, Deviate, Disrupt

A workshop day for Store Ops leaders to apply startup agility to daily business practices.

At Square Root, innovation grows from two baseline components: Strategic processes and an empowering culture. By critically studying the impact of these two factors, companies can incorporate new tactics and approach old problems through a fresh paradigm. During our innovation day, Store Ops leaders are invited to mesh their culture and experiences with our techniques in a collaborative learn-from-everybody environment.

Square Root is uniquely positioned to demonstrate and share these tactics. Since our founding in 2006, we have gained a reputation for company culture. For four consecutive years, Square Root has been honored by Fortune Magazine as one of the best small workplaces in the U.S.. This award-winning culture is built on the belief in our Radical processes such as fail-fast, agile development, and incremental improvements as well as people-driven processes like “learn anything” budgets, generous work flexibility, and CEO 1-on-1s, to name a few.

We want to offer Store Ops Leaders and their teams the opportunity to get out of their routine. After participating, we hope you will leave refreshed and excited to apply the disruptive, startup processes that have driven our success. We’ve hosted companies such as Walgreens and Nissan. Here’s what they had to say:

“Our innovation day with Square Root was like a palate cleanser between meal courses. It gave my team that rare opportunity to clear our minds so we could think more strategically about the year ahead.”

Kent O’Hara, Nissan Global Vice President

SAMPLE AGENDA

7:30 – 8:45: Breakfast

Meet at a local eatery to see what makes Austin Weird and fuel up for the day.

9:00 – 10:00: 10-minute Startup pitches

Warm-up by listening to leaders from Austin’s most innovative startups share 10 minutes of how they make magic in this rapid-fire session. Past companies have included YouEarnedIt, Data.World, Workify and more.

10:00 – 10:30: Capital Factory tour

Tour the incubation tank that housed many of Austin’s most successful startups.

10:30 – 11:00: Travel to SR

11:00 – 11:30: Square Root Tour

Explore our quaint campus of craftsman homes nestled in a small neighborhood just off of Austin’s famous 6th Street. You’ll get a taste of what it’s like working in our collaborative and creative culture.

SAMPLE AGENDA

11:30 – 12:30: Team Presentations

Part 1: Learn from our very own Radical innovators as they share development strategies tailored to your company’s interests and needs.

12:30 – 1:30: Lunch

We’ll cater another famous Austin eatery. Rumor has it that Franklin’s BBQ might (literally) be on the table.

1:30 – 3:00: Team Presentations

Part 2: Learn from our very own Radical innovators as they share development strategies tailored to your company’s interests and needs.

3:00 – 4:00: Happy hour

We’ll break to hang out, debrief, and brainstorm ideas in a less structured environment.

FAQ

What is an innovation day?

The day begins by warming up with idea pitches from some of Austin’s premier startups. It then jumps into roundtable discussions with us and other Austin business leaders. Afterwards, we tour our unorthodox campus in downtown Austin (and cater Austin’s famous BBQ). Finally, we’ll walk you through strategic development methods tailored to your business. These range from coding practices, such as agile development, to company culture tactics, like 360-company feedback. We’ll work with you ahead of time to ensure our discussion is as fruitful for you as possible.

Who’s it for?

Company executives, Head of Stores, or VP of Operations. The only requirement: You need to be searching for inspiration. We create an environment that lends itself to creativity and incites the development of tangible ideas and plans for your company.

Is it a sales pitch?

Not at all! The purpose is ideation that takes you out of your daily routine.

How are other Austin startups involved?

The companies we partner with are not looking for funding, but rather to be a part of the conversation. We recognize we don’t have all the answers so we want to provide a platform for other voices, as well.

Why do it?

The day is meant to “get you out of your head” by sparking conversations around disruptive ideas. Through filling a room with innovators, we hope to encourage you to approach problems in new and fresh ways. Hopefully, by the end, you may even figure out the solution to that problem you didn’t even realize you had.

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