Ignite Innovation

We’re usually not as lucky as Newton. Most of us sit around waiting for an idea to hit us when we’re stuck on a difficult problem. But in reality, a really good idea usually doesn’t occur that way at all. People tend to wait for inspiration to come along and light the path towards a solution.

On top of this demand, the pace of today’s workplace puts added pressures on us to perform and produce impressive results quickly. We can no longer wait for the inspiration we need to find answers. We must learn to ignite our own innovation.

Many firms are finally waking up to the importance of innovation as a key factor for their future success. Though innovation has classically associated new products, a number of Fortune 50 firms have implemented corporate-wide initiatives that view innovation as going far beyond products and into all of the processes and activities through which economic value is created.

In this view, something is innovation if it is “new” for you, even if it is not new for someone else. For example, one division’s adoption of a new process or solution from a sister division would qualify. Innovation then becomes the day-in, day-out attempt to improve performance not only by doing new things, but also by consistently attempting to do existing things better - by doing them differently in an intelligent way.

Igniting innovation in your organisation
Does your organisation have an open-door policy for open-mindedness? How are fledging ideas fostered? How are creative risk takers rewarded? If your organisation or team isn’t currently utilising its own creative potential how can you ignite innovation?

Just as constant creative practice is necessary for individuals to become higher quality thinkers, a working environment that supports and encourages innovation every day is necessary for realising your organisation’s creative potential. Here are several ideas you can use to begin.

Brain Bulletin Board:
Create a bulletin board in an area where people tend to congregate. Ask each person to add their thoughts to the bulletin board. These could be anything from interesting articles they’ve read and clips about what the competition is doing to photos from a recent trip they took and favorite quotes they’ve gathered. The result will not only be a public forum for self-expression, it will be a catalyst for conversation and new ideas.

Real Life Example:Electronic Bulletin Board - Whirlpool built an IT intranet infrastructure called Innovation E-Space, which directs employee innovation through the following processes:

• Random insights are systematically generated and shared to spark ideas.
• The home page links prospective innovators to useful tools and resources, from insight libraries and innovation templates to I-Mentors.
• Managers convene cross-sections of employees for formal innovation sessions. Led by an I-Mentor, the teams reflect on customer needs, industry trends, and their own experiences to create insights.
• The I-Pipe provides a dashboard view of the innovation pipeline. It tracks ideas from concept to scale-up and provides project details as well as the big picture, enabling management to focus on areas in need of attention.

Invite Innovators:
Invite alternative thinkers into your organisation to help incite a creative riot. These people are sometimes those who choose not to conform to society’s norm, but they can also be people “not like you”, individuals who can shake your group free from group think and challenge people to look at life from a different perspective. They can help uncover dormant ideas, opinions, and desires and by doing so agitate innovation.

Reward creative risk:
Success is often reached after many unsuccessful attempts. As a result, many people elect to give up early in the process. Both creativity and innovation take time. Reward and praise those who make change happen. Promote those who challenge the established norm and take creative risks. They will help you and your organisation to chart a bright new pathway to the future.

Real Life Example:Failure tolerant leadership - Former Monsanto CEO, Richard Shapiro, sought to change the perception that failure was unacceptable, knowing that it hindered the creative thinking that helped fuel the business. Shapiro explained to his employees that every product and project was an experiment, which can fail only if it was a halfhearted, careless effort with poor results. However, a deliberate and well thought out effort that did not succeed was excusable and even desirable.

A day for creative play:
Set aside a time for focused fun. Allow individuals to explore new areas of interest, connect with each other and test theories. So much of discovery is linked to the spirit of fun. If people enjoy what they are doing they are more likely to commit their entire selves to their work. Only when people are utilising their entire human portfolio of abilities can they begin to reach their creative potential.

Real Life Example:Creativity sessions and networks - DuPont holds creativity sessions that target specific challenges within the organisation and maintains the Oz Creative Thinking Network, which involves a group of employees trained in “creative thinking techniques,” who assist DuPont employees in finding creative solutions to difficult problems.

Remember, the path toward creative expression requires both patience and practice. Believe in yourself and the creativity of others. Learn how to ignite innovation in yourself and your organisation and you’ll soon be able to harness the power of creative potential to make it work for you.

Bottom Line Example:Shell Oil established an internal venture fund, called “Game Changer.” It actively solicits business ideas from employees. Employees submit ideas to a dedicated panel group. The panel group then provides funding to approved ideas through a stage-gated approach that continually tracks and reviews the idea. In 1999 alone, four out of five of Shell’s major new business initiatives originated through “Game Changer.”

 

Source:  Great Lakes HR Now