1. #intracnf The Story of Lab351 The Globe and Mail
Presented by Sean Stanleigh
Co-chair, Lab351
Managing Editor, Globe Edge Content Studio

2. 01
How do we create a culture of innovation at The Globe and Mail?
The business problem 02
How do we make it repeatable? 03
Is our 'legacy' status helping or hurting?

3. LAB351 IMAGINED Internal and external teams
Improve current lines of business
LAB351 OR
IMAGINED
Create new lines of business OR
Advisory board of entrepreneurs and VCs
Create new businesses

4. LAB351 REALITY A work in progress No new businesses. Yet
No advisory board. Yet
LAB351
REALITY
A strong foundation? Yes
No external teams. Yet

5. Origins of Lab351 2015 New chief digital officer
Extra space in old building 'The basement‘
Why not put something there?
The election tool
Origins of Lab351
2015

6. Lab 2.0 2017 New building, fresh start
Redesigned physical space, layout and furniture
Launch of Redbox program for training and culture
Installation of permanent residents
Lab 2.0
2017

7. The lab rules 01 02 03 The word ‘no’ is banned
‘That’s not how we do things’ is never an answer 03
There are no rules

8. Permanent Residents UX LAB TEAM DATA SCIENCE TEAM
Improve usability, engagement and pleasure for audience
Focus on digital, mobile and desktop websites, apps
Learn more about customer behaviour
User journey

9. REDBOX PROGRAM An employee has an idea but no outlet
Entrepreneurship and innovation training
Facilitated by Communitech
Runs through the year 01
REDBOX PROGRAM

10. REDBOX SELECTION Multiple ideas submitted Co-chairs strip out names
Lab351 committee chooses 20 ideas
20 invites to top applicants 02
REDBOX SELECTION

11. HOW REDBOX WORKS Two days with trainers and fellow applicants
A literal red box with training materials
$1,000 pre-loaded credit card
Post-training support for four weeks
Can lead to Lab351 but not necessarily 03
HOW REDBOX WORKS

12. REDBOX GOALS Train the entire company More about people than ideas
Improve culture and process
Cross-departmental collisions 04
REDBOX GOALS

13. LAB351 PROGRAM Employees submit formal pitches
Responsible for putting teams together
Apply for three-month stints
Two teams chosen per cohort 01
LAB351 PROGRAM

14. LAB351 SELECTION Committee of executives
CFO, CRO, CTO, HR, Lab co-chair
In-person presentations and decks
Open discussion and vote 02
LAB351 SELECTION

15. LAB351 MENTORS Drawn from across the organization for specific teams
Communitech provides regular support
Venture capitalists for occasional talks 03
LAB351 MENTORS

16. Role of the co-chairs Communicate and educate
Help participants build teams
Manage up
Mentoring and budgeting
Role of the co-chairs

17. Leadership Buy-in as high as board level Executives acts as mentors
Executives on selection committee
Critical success factor
Leadership

18. Taste graph LAB EXAMPLE NO. 1
Analytical tool kit capable of profiling groups of users
Use their interests to predict a variety of ‘tastes’
New approach to data collection and deployment
Taste graph
Based on navigational and content consumption habits
LAB EXAMPLE
NO. 1

19. Employee recommended workplace award
Partnership with HR company Morneau Shepell
Developed and sold a survey product to determine the ‘health’ of a business and its work force
Live event, content development and distribution, new line of business
LAB EXAMPLE
NO. 2

20. Globe audio LAB EXAMPLE NO. 3
Sustainable, scalable business model for audio products
Globe audio
Globe now an authority on digital audio in Canada
Addressed needs of the company, from Advertising to Marketing to editorial
Extensive, exclusive Canadian industry research and interviews
LAB EXAMPLE
NO. 3

21. Hurdles 01 02 03 04 Internal marketing External marketing
Post-lab funding mechanism 04
Time

22. Where we’re headed 1 2 3 4 10,000 Coffees platform
Solving post-lab funding issues
Client partnerships to build technology
Startups from outside the building

23. SEAN STANLEIGH LAB351 CO-CHAIR TWITTER: @SeanStanleigh
LINKEDIN: SeanStanleigh