Its not I-nnovation. Its We-nnovation. We are all stuck into our habits. In our private lives we go to the same hairdresser -, read the same (digital) newspaper - and are insured at the same company for years in a row. Like us, our organizations are also stuck into their habits. We serve the same customer groups in the same markets in the same way for years in a row. This is fine of course, until the rate of change outside is more than the rate of change inside. Then you will get a problem sooner or later. It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change. This wonderful quote of Leon C. Megginson is still so relevant.Now when you want to get your organization to be more innovate you can struggle with a lot of issues like:The majority in our company is not aware yet of the need for innovation.Your colleagues dont think beyond what made our company successful thus far.Your colleagues fear failure.A short-term mindset rules. The company focuses on getting results next quarter.There is no sponsorship for innovation at the top.There is no process and structure for innovation: its unorganized and ad-hoc.The wise lesson I learned is you can invent on your own, but in an organization you can never innovate alone! You need an awful lot of colleagues and bosses to get your vision transformed into a new product or service and get it out there on the market. You need R&D engineers, production managers, IT staff, financial controllers, marketers, service people and salesmen to develop the product, produce it, get it on the market and service it. Any you need top management to say yes to your initiative at the different gates of the innovation process your organization might have in place.Innovation is transforming ideas into invoices .A lot of people are involved to transform ideas into invoices Thats why its rather We-nnovation instead of I-nnovation.A lot of the obstacles mentioned earlier have everything to do with getting a large group of people into motion. Now dont make the mistake to surround you with only the so-called innovators in your organization. Your organization is like a herd of animals. The herd goes as fast as the slowest animals. If the non-innovators lean back nothing moves. They do determine actually the pace of the company. From the old English proverb necessity is the mother of Invention we learn that change starts with urgency. So the way to get people more innovative is to respect them, to understand them, to connect with them and to let them experience innovation is necessary. They will only change their attitude if they get new insights themselves. So, you have to create a situation where they discover themselves whats happening out there: how markets, customers, competitors and technology are changing. Talking to customers with changing needs, discovering new upcoming competitors, exploring new technologies will open them up. They will realize our company will have to innovate. Thats how you create momentum for We-nnovation.Wishing you lots of success with your innovation efforts.--- by Ferious Tiger
Posted on: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 06:37:12 +0000
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