The concept of routines, repetitive patterns of action, have been adopted in a wide range of academic disciplines including economics, psychology and sociology. Nelson and Winter (Nelson, R.R., Winter, S.G. (1982) An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change. Belknap Press of Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts and London), used the concept of routines to build on evolutionary economics in their attempt to explain the way in which organisations innovate. However, there have been few attempts to identify the day-to-day social activity which contributes towards maintaining existing routines or, more importantly, the creation of new routines. In this paper we report on a Teaching Company Scheme (TCS) established between Aston Business School and Rotadex Systems Ltd. The programme was designed to improve the capacity for innovation within Rotadex. The data are based on the experience of the Teaching Company Associate, Martin Craven, in his role as the initiator of change within Rotadex. Hence, this research represents an attempt to “peel back the layers” of organisational activity by describing the processes by which new routines become institutionalised.