Focused on communicating to and influencing leadership (ex: “How do I get funding for this project?”)
Of the many risks that directors should be aware of, innovation is the most complex. A corporation that invests in innovation risks failure. A corporation that doesn't invest in innovation risks annihilation due to the many threats from small startups and mega-corporations alike, in a variety of areas.
Bridie Scott is an Innovation Manager at Spotless and she’s taken the business on a journey from a large-scale company with big goals to a company that is listening to and empowering all of their frontline employees in the innovation process.
Numerous organizations run crowdsourced innovation programs, because companies can find better new ideas and take action on those ideas faster. This process allows companies to set a challenge and gather ideas from hundreds, thousands, or hundreds of thousands of participants.
Before being acquired by Facebook for US$1 billion, Instagram was just another photo-sharing app operating with insignificant infrastructure and a dozen employees. With the ever-increasing potential of modern technology, the next billion-dollar business could start from the comfort of someone’s home. To stay on top, established organisations need to stimulate innovation... and that’s our topic today.
Preventing harassment in the workplace isn’t a new problem, but it’s becoming something we discuss more often and more openly. Harassment can lead to distress, mental health issues and other overwhelming feelings—and on top of all that, it’s illegal.
I’ve recently been advising a range of leaders in how to start successful innovation programs. A couple are relaunches of efforts that were abandoned in the past, and others are starting from scratch in organizations (and sectors) that are more comfortable with the status quo.
As innovation professionals, we too often look for inspiration from organizations such as Apple, Amazon, Tesla, Spotify, Google, etc. Cultures within these businesses are encourage transparency, experimentation and autonomy resulting in engaged workforce of the best and brightest minds, pumping out game changing products on-schedule, on-budget and on-point. We want that for the organizations that we support. We want to drive those behaviors.
It isn’t exactly easy to succeed in innovation. The vast majority of innovation attempts seem to fail and a mere 6% of executives are satisfied in their innovation performance, despite innovation generally being considered as very important for the future of their organization.
Senior management is without a doubt a tough job. If you’re one of the few executives at the top of a large organization, there are likely hundreds of people; customers, employees, partners, and the list goes on; who are all looking for your attention regarding an endless sea of different topics and initiatives.
Organizations need to invest in the cultivation of capacity for innovation and recognize innovators with varying talent and strengths.
Innovation requires collaboration, but collaboration is stuck in a rut. Data science can help us climb out. It can increase the scale, the intentionality, and the nuance of how we collaborate. With the right data and algorithms, we can set our teams up to do something innovative.
IdeaScale’s second largest customer segment is in the field of education (our largest segment is our work in government innovation) and it’s been growing steadily over the past four years. One of the reasons that we think there’s a renewed focus on innovation in education, is because numerous emerging trends impact education at every level: from remote learning to the maker movement and the gig economy.
Let’s face it, creativity separates humans from the rest of the animals. Our species has opposable thumbs and with that, it seems, the inborn drive and ability to alter our environment. No wonder the topic of innovation ability provokes such primal emotions. Yet — like speed, intelligence or artistic talent — innovation talent is NOT distributed evenly across humanity. Given this truth, what is the best approach to driving more innovation in your workforce?
If you want to win, you need to be smart. As a pitch presenter, you’re ought to not just capture the attention of your prospects but also win their hearts. In today’s marketplace, innovation is highly appreciated and wanted. Coming up with a brilliant new product idea is the first aspect. The second is about how you present it to those who might be interested to get involved.
‘No man is an island, entire of itself’ runs the saying and it should probably go on to say that no concept should be introduced in isolation either. In the VUCA world, we’re all challenged with constantly trying to do something new, to create lasting change, transformation and disruption. That challenge means it helps to have others on your side, adding their enthusiasm, energy, perspective and creativity to the mix. Why… because if there’s one truth about innovation, it’s that it’s definitely not a solo sport!
