Inno8 "Innovation - A Mindset"

In the current context, Innovation is the most used Buzz word in many organizations. It is less complex in understanding the purpose and need for Innovation than it is perceived. The real challenge is in embracing Innovation and bring life to Innovation in organizations.

Innovation can be simply put as novel & useful. Usefulness can be looked at for either today’s need or tomorrow’s need.

"Innovation happens seamlessly if it’s part of the culture "

 In an attempt to demystify Innovation here are 6 basics of Innovation:

1.    It is not an initiative - it is a mindset.

2.    Innovation can happen anywhere and everywhere in the organization.

3.    Everyone in an organization can innovate and every day.

4.    Innovation stems out of one’s attitude. - There is nothing like Innovation strengths which only a few people have it but the truth is that “everyone can innovate with their own natural strengths “

5.    Innovation seamlessly happens if it’s part of the culture in any organization

6.    Curiosity fuels Innovation

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them” - Albert Einstein

Over the years the focus of innovation has shifted from being engineering-driven to design-driven, from product-centric to human-centric, and from marketing-focused to user-experience-focused.

Innovation depends on a company's ability to get better, more novel, useful & profitable ideas into its pipeline.

Inno8 - 8 things Organisations can do to embrace Innovation:

1.    Design thinking for Innovation - When design principles are applied to innovation, the success rate for innovation dramatically improves. Organizations need to strive for greater levels of customer intimacy to be successful. Innovation teams should understand customer needs by co-creating with customers to achieve their desired outcome. An empathetic mindset towards customers has never been more critical. It needs to be in the culture.

2.    Link Innovation with your culture & Operating model - Innovation is at its best when it's enabled through culture. On the other hand “Operating Model” should enable the culture to flourish! Those organizations which have kept Innovation in isolation have not been as successful as those organizations and Innovation leaders who have linked it with culture and operating model.

3.    Innovation Leadership: One of the keys to innovation leadership is the art of problem-solving by asking the right questions to choose the right problem to solve. Once identified, developing the right design challenge with clearly articulated right problem statements. The key here is "Right". The role of Innovation leaders is to provide the right platform & phycological safety for people to innovate.

4.    Phycological Safety:  Innovation should not be giving pressure. Instead, it should be giving pleasure. The pressure or pleasure depends on whether the failure is considered a warning or learning. Organizations should provide Phycological safety for employees to take the pressure off and enable learning.

5.    Innovation Learning: Giving importance to learning in an organization will allow curiosity to flourish! Curiosity will fuel Innovation.

6.    Stay Curious: Staying curious every day, by everyone is very important to drive innovation. Nurture everyone’s curiosity.

7.    Everyone - Every day in Innovation: Innovation need not be always Transformational. There is a huge scope for Incremental innovation in Organisations. Incremental innovation can benefit the organization in 3 ways a) to bring "everyone - everyday" mindset of Innovation b) to increase efficiency & revenue and c) It helps to embed innovation into the culture

8.    Reward Innovation: Innovation needs to be recognized constantly. Rewards enable innovation to advance.

"Innovation is not an initiative - it is a mindset".

Innovative organizations strive towards moving Innovation from "mindset to way of life !" Those who have learned the art of how to do this have been very successful! 

Disclaimer: This article expresses my personal views.