"Innovation" has become a buzzword in a number of fields, including agriculture, technology, engineering, and business; it implies something newly-created, and it is assumed that the most successful practitioners in their respective fields engage in innovation.
But it is helpful to understand the word according to a particular context – an operational definition, if you will, specific (for our purposes) to the business world.
According to businessdictionary.com, Innovation is
"The process of translating an idea or invention into a good or service that creates value for which customers will pay."
Given the above, how do we go about driving innovation?
Fundamental to innovation is people. Identifying and fostering talented, creative people among the work force is the starting point. Implied is the ability, not to simply make things better, but to make something fundamentally different. Conversely, choosing the wrong people can be the single biggest impediment to innovation.
In order to support these individuals, the proper corporate culture needs to be cultivated. The culture needs to be a milieu in which engaged employees have opportunities to freely and creatively use their specific talents. Moreover, managers of these associates need, themselves, to be top-level individuals in order to give the proper understanding and support to their associates. It has been reported that inferior management of superior employees can cause attrition of the individuals that an "innovative corporation most dearly needs.
Relationships – between managers, manager-to-associate, associate-to-associate, and business-to-customer – need to be honest, open, and trusting. Bold new ideas flow most easily into settings where there are receptive, trusting relationships. By contrast, according to Barry Conchie, the principle leadership consultant at Gallup, "…bad relationship[s are] a sure-fire way to kill innovation".
The identification of enabling tools is likewise crucial to the process of innovation. Two general classes of these enabling tools we can call "technological" and "social".
For an example of the former, digital technology places affordable computer power into the hands of many companies, both large and small, which can be used on- or off-site. Computers and cell phones (themselves essentially tiny, powerful computers) can communicate in real-time over the entire globe via telephony, video, social media, email, text; email attachments can contain presentation materials, papers, and relational databases. In essence, time and distance have been removed as communication barriers – and therefore as barriers to innovation.
Likewise, social tools that shift one's usual perspective can also be leveraged in order to create ideas which in turn lead to innovations: For example, varying one's sources of news; hosting group discussions about ideas or methods used in other industries, to discover how they might apply to one's own; talking to friends and acquaintances about their industries; attending meetings and conferences outside one's own specialty; all these "paradigm shifts" can shed new light on challenges within one's own business segment.
Finally, understanding the various levels of internal and external climate is essential to riding the wave of innovation. Examples of this include:
Creating a psychological climate that encourages challenging, questioning attitudes.
Creating a physical space that encourages the free exchange of ideas (including asking people their idea of what that space should be like).
Understanding current economic and market environments. Conditions where fear and confidence about one's market are in balance against each other seem to offer organizations a creative "sweet spot". Interestingly, it also seems that "most organizations only get radically innovative when they are in 'distress situations'".
Are you ready to truly engage the spirit of innovation? Are you ready to create a business paradigm that utilizes appropriate people, mindsets, climates, and technologies? Ektelligen can help you develop the tools and techniques necessary to be truly innovative. Contact Ektelligen today to discuss how we can help you transform your organization into an innovation powerhouse.
