Ronnie Tan’s Post

Innovation doesn’t just come from serendipity. The leaders we researched rely on concrete mechanisms to ensure that they see the right ideas, give them breathing room to develop, and look for intersections within the company where innovation can thrive throughout their organizations. These four pillars can help transform innovation from one-off achievements into consistent capabilities.

Innovation doesn’t just come from serendipity. Leaders who nurture great ideas rely on concrete mechanisms to ensure that they see the right ideas, give them breathing room to development, and connect dots throughout their organizations. In any company, the challenge with innovation is seldom the volume of ideas. The challenge lies with having ideas that are related to emerging trends, involve more than the company can do on its own, require nurturing, and are cross-functional in nature. Through interviews with 50 leaders across industries, the author observed patterns of successful innovation repeat across highly distinct settings. Those patterns are what he calls the four pillars of innovation. If you’re struggling to nurture the right ideas, creating these four pillars for innovation can improve the odds that you’ll have high-quality ideas in your pipeline. Read more:

Innovation doesn’t just come from serendipity. Leaders who nurture great ideas rely on concrete mechanisms to ensure that they see the right ideas, give them breathing room to development, and connect dots throughout their organizations. In any company, the challenge with innovation is seldom the volume of ideas. The challenge lies with having ideas that are related to emerging trends, involve more than the company can do on its own, require nurturing, and are cross-functional in nature. Through interviews with 50 leaders across industries, the author observed patterns of successful innovation repeat across highly distinct settings. Those patterns are what he calls the four pillars of innovation. If you’re struggling to nurture the right ideas, creating these four pillars for innovation can improve the odds that you’ll have high-quality ideas in your pipeline. https://lnkd.in/gWrkKCMv

Innovation doesn’t happen by chance. Leaders fostering great ideas rely on concrete mechanisms to identify the right ideas, allow them space to grow, and foster connections across their organizations. The challenge in innovation is not the quantity of ideas but having ideas linked to emerging trends, requiring nurturing, and being cross-functional. After conducting interviews with 50 leaders, the author identified four pillars of innovation that successful companies share. Establishing these pillars can enhance the quality of ideas in your innovation pipeline. This could impact your business in such a positive way. In a recent survey, only 6% of corporate innovators reported a lack of ideas as their main challenge. The key is to ensure that the right ideas, particularly those related to emerging trends and requiring collaboration, are prioritized. Read more about the four pillars of innovation and how they can benefit your organization: [Link to the article](https://lnkd.in/gJbqdsZs)

Innovation is the driving force behind progress and growth in any organization. Albert Einstein once said, 'Innovation is not the product of logical thought, although the result is tied to logical structure.' Building a foundation for innovation is critical in today's rapidly evolving landscape. This insightful article from Harvard Business Review explores the 4 Pillars of Innovation Every Organization Needs to stay ahead of the curve. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/gWrkKCMv."

Innovation typically involves a change in corporate structure, or big revamping of priorities & personnel. Here lies an answer whereby innovation can be nurtured within an organization.

How can organizations consistently foster innovation? Innovation isn’t just about lucky breaks—it’s about creating the right environment for ideas to thrive. Check out this insightful article to dive deeper:

"A company’s big challenge with innovation is seldom the volume of ideas. Indeed, in a survey conducted this year by my company, only 6% of corporate innovators said that their biggest problem was having too few ideas. But not all ideas are equal, and poor or highly derivative ideas might consume far too much attention. Frequently those ideas are related to emerging trends, involve more than the company can do on its own, require nurturing, and are cross-functional in nature. The real need is to ensure that the right ideas get ahead and get considered."

Interesting read on Harvard Business Review discusses how can corporates foster innovation effectively. During my 4 years at Workiva, I've seen firsthand how we use these strategies to grow and adapt to the ever-changing business landscape. Here are a few examples of how we made it happen: 🔍 Trend Sensing - By understanding the future regulatory changes that challenge public corporations we spearhead large markets in SEC, ESEF, and ESG reporting opportunities. We don't stop with the MVP; we continue to expand through acquisitions and continuous solution developments. 🤝 Strategic Partnerships - In my early years, I was implementing projects directly for the end customers. With the rise in demand and our growing market share, this approach was becoming unsustainable. We invested heavily in partnerships with global consulting firms, allowing us to focus on improving our solutions without sacrificing sales. 💡 Intrapreneur Programs/Innovation Communities - At Workiva, innovation is highly valued and celebrated. I've seen many positive changes from employee, customer, and partner suggestions. Our annual Innovate Everywhere Award recognizes groundbreaking ideas, and our Feature Expert groups connect product engineers with end users to continuously improve our features.