Energising the day after tomorrow: One year of accelerating a new energy future

So much can happen in a year. And for Energised Futures - Centrica's new in-house research and innovation incubator launched to accelerate a new energy future - it's been more exciting than a perfectly balanced grid. To reflect on the past year-and-a-bit, Head of Energised Futures Ben Krikler, PhD, shares his learnings on what's helped the team keep its foot firmly on the accelerator.  

Share, repeat, engage:

We all care about energy and where it’s going, but sometimes it’s hard to break out of our day jobs and mindsets and think through the bigger picture. We’ve needed to find concise and meaningful ways to state what future-facing R&D we’re doing, then say it loudly, widely, consistently, and repeatedly to make and raise awareness.

Ask, do, apologise

We don’t want to step on toes, but we also need to be able to move quickly. We’ve learned that often the best way is to just be proactive. We make sure we connect with key players across the team and the business and ask for input on our plans. And as our whole mission is to accelerate, if we don’t hear back we don’t have time to wait. So we move forwards, asking for forgiveness rather than permission. That comes with risk which not every part of the business can accept, so the point is to build in the protections to allow this speed-optimised approach.

Diversity attracts diversity

For a team of 20, we have more than 12 nationalities and we have PhDs and experiences across a huge range of backgrounds. Diversity gives us strength in problem-solving and also helps to challenge assumptions for how energy works and will work, and for who. We’ve been able to grow from strength-to-strength, recruiting top-talent who were driven to apply because they could see our inclusive and diverse team in action and thriving.

Partnerships are hard

This might seem obvious with hindsight but, consistently, the biggest cause of delays to our work has been partnerships. Other organisations have different objectives, different ways of working, different technology platforms. And they’re not static, they change as the project advances, often with little notice. How to accommodate this? Getting the right senior-level buy-in at the beginning is vital. Transparency is vital and, unlike between individuals, transactional partnerships, where both sides derive clear value from the other, are the easiest to move quickly on.

Ask don’t assume

We all hate those long, never-ending meetings. But at the same time, asking a quick question to validate something you’re assuming can save so much time and energy later if you fail to ask it. Of course, it doesn’t need to be a call, an email or Teams message is often enough (bearing in mind https://nohello.net). That said, that’s only possible if you know what your assumptions are and perhaps the hardest part is exactly that!

Confidence in honesty

My own personal motto. Most people have good reasons for doing something that looks superficially bad. If I’m late to a meeting because my child was sick, no one can complain. Don’t shy away from uncomfortable truths. Being honest and confident in that full truth with the team can only enable better and quicker decisions. Of course, be considerate and respectful, but there’s no value in being knowingly inaccurate.

No crumbs

Apparently that’s a phrase now! While some things can be valuable, and others just entertaining, you really do learn something new every day.

To hear more from Ben, follow him on LinkedIn