Does your organization support innovation? Is your organization innovative enough? Does it offer an opportunity for the employees to develop ideas and come up with solutions? Certainly, innovativeness is the power behind any successful company. Your organization will not earn long-lasting competitiveness if you do not support innovations.
While many companies – probably yours too – prioritize innovation, only a few sustain it. Building a culture of innovation is not a simple task. However, it is possible.
You can turn your venture into a hub of new ideas and development. Not through seasonal new product launches, but by having sustainable innovations. So, how do you realize this? Here are strategies you can implement:
Determine The Types Of Innovation You Want To Pursue
If you’re the executive, you must see beyond the product. One problem with many organization is that they think innovation is about product development. The truth is: having new product per season does not make you innovative.
Probably, your organization may not be requiring new products. Rather, a change in your business model may be the key to your competitiveness. In building a culture of innovation, you must determine areas to target.
Having an all-round innovative approach rather than being product-centric is beneficial in several ways.
First, it ensures the utilization of every employee’s knowledge and experience. This approach allows non-customer- face role staffs to engage in finding ideas in their area.
Also, it eliminates forcing them to come with ideas without knowledge of customer needs. Hence, let your innovativeness focus on the main four P’s – product development, policies, profits, and processes. This way, you will have everyone on board and sustain an innovation culture.
Make Employees The Innovation Drivers
Well, desiring innovativeness is one thing, but transforming it to reality is another. For your organization to build a culture of innovation, you must make it employee-centric. Your company must give the employees a space to grow and implement their ideas.
In essence, instead of grouping them according to their regions or departments, you should view them as a resources pool. Each employee should be in a position where their ideas are necessary.
Your organization should have a team of innovation champions for talent identification. This way, you will protect innovators from managers and allow their ideas to grow.
Offer The Right Resources For Supporting The Culture Of Innovation
For you to be an innovative entrepreneur, you need the right mindset. Your workforce must have the right mindset and resources for idea development. As the executive, you should build a culture of innovation through encouraging idea development mindset.
Such a mindset realizes that what was the competitive core yesterday is not today. Also, what is core today will not be so tomorrow. As such, the company must focus on developing a new business model, processes, and products that will lead to sustainable competitiveness.
However, you must provide the necessary resources. Your employees should have all the equipment for testing and operationalizing their ideas. Otherwise, building an innovative culture will remain a dream.
Wrapping Up
It is important to know that your company innovative culture means:
- You focus on multifaceted innovations not on product development only.
- Making your employees the innovation drivers
- Providing necessary resources and equipment to support innovation.
In a word, to build a culture of innovation, you must focus on four areas: products, process, profit models, and policies.