2010
Seven inexpensive ways to foster innovation
As the economy continues to show early signs of recovery, innovation has become the mantra of many CEOs. And rightfully so – it is abundantly clear that the future will not be a linear extrapolation of the past. A convergence of powerful forces has created a fundamental turning point in the economy. Smart innovation is the key to our future prosperity, both as individuals and as organizations.
But where does innovation come from? And how do you create the circumstances that foster it, increasing the odds it will occur? Innovation can’t be decreed. Although sometimes it happens by chance, more often it occurs because the conditions are right.
In our analysis of hundreds of organizations, and hundreds of millions of bits of data over the past two decades, we have identified seven simple, inexpensive actions that foster innovation (and drive business results as well):
- Seek and use input from employees, including when you’re making hiring decisions
- Improve communications to reduce unnecessary worry about job security
- Foster open, explicit, and frequent discussion about how to improve the value you create for your customers
- Creatively seek to make jobs fit employees’ needs when possible
- Focus on improving broken processes, especially when they can be addressed inexpensively
- Help employees get access to inexpensive online resources that will enable them to learn new skills
- Support low-tech methods (e.g., brown bag lunches – you buy the cookies!) for fostering the flow of information between departments
None of this is rocket science. While it doesn’t require much money, it does require focus and intentionality. This, in turn, requires that leaders muster a commitment to look beyond the urgent issue of the day (or the quarter) and focus on what’s important for the long run. Maybe that’s why these common sense approaches are so rare.
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