Innovative people have been around since the beginning of time. Without creative and innovative ideas, we would not be where we are today in terms of product development, technology and service delivery. Successful organizations have figured out that in order to provide cutting edge products and services, innovation needs to be incorporated into the way the organization is managed.
So what do organizations do to manage innovation?
Incorporate innovation and creativity into the business strategy.
Business goals should be written specifically to target innovation. Customer feedback is one way to identify new and innovative ideas. Customers have all kinds of ideas that can be utilized to develop systems and processes to create innovative customer experiences. As an example, I was sitting in a hospital room with a friend when she was being discharged. A pharmacy tech came to the room, told her he had a prescription for her and explained that he could either give her the written prescription to take with her and get filled, or he could fill the prescription from the hospital pharmacy. Her co-pay was the same so of course she chose to have the prescription filled at the hospital. The tech went and got the prescription and delivered it to her room. It saved a trip to the drug store. What a great idea!
Develop specific plans for innovation.
Customer feedback should always be analyzed and turned into improvement plans. I have very strong feelings that if you are not going to do something with what you learn from asking customers the question, then don’t even bother asking. Even with customer complaints, lots of ideas can be birthed and developed into new innovative products or services. For example, are you familiar with Redbox? It solved all issues associated with video rentals. That idea had to come from someone who identified the issues associated with video rentals and was creative with using technology to help solve the problem.
Hire creative people.
There are several social style testing models that can be given to potential job candidates that help identify people with strengths in creativity. One that I am familiar with is DISC assessments. These assessments can help organizations and employees get a better understanding of natural strengths. When employees are matched with tasks that compliment their natural abilities, organization can progress at a much quicker pace.
Create an environment that fosters innovation.
In order to foster innovation, there needs to be a physical environment that helps trigger creative energy. As an example, someone who enjoys doing accounting work may be perfectly comfortable and find the environment appropriate to be in a cubicle with florescent lights and minimal noise. However, someone who is creative by nature may find a more relaxed atmosphere with bold colored walls, soft lighting and music important to generating innovative ideas. Finding the right mix can be done by asking the employees the right questions in employee surveys. Organizations should deliberately create environments that foster creativity and innovation.
Manage creative people.
Managing creative people is very different than managing other social styles. Creative people need more flexibility and don’t perform as well in rigid structured environments. Managers need to be sensitive to the special needs of this group and develop systems to support the innovative process.
Reward innovation.
Organizations should have reward systems in place for employees who complete their goals. Rewarding goal completion is a fundamental principle in a good performance management system.
Finally, innovation and successful management of innovation is quickly becoming the dividing line between successful and mediocre organizations. Incorporating innovation into business strategy can help with business development and growth.
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