Fostering Innovation

Innovation is one word which is really buzzing around these days in the corporate corridors of India, especially with the companies moving into the super league.

Wacky ideas are getting cooked in product, technology, marketing, services and business strategy departments to provoke 'Out Of The Box Thinking'. As somebody pointed out, "Successful Innovation is not about ideas or inventions - it's about people. Rising to the challenge, more and more companies are coming up with strategies to instill a culture of innovation and competitiveness among employees.

There is no fixed approach to driving innovation - for some companies, it is about creating an open atmosphere at work so that the environment can produce a Eureka moment. For others, it could be through promoting diversity. Some companies invest in trainings, so that employees abandon linear thinking and break out of associative barriers. Another trend - which most of the companies, involving modern work like designing, IT and BPO's are following is the appointment of CIO...Chief Investment Officers...

Here are some ways that companies go about making innovation a religion among their workforce -

CREATING A CULTURE OF CHANGE – Although companies derive their own Change Advocacy model to be followed, organizations like GE and Motorola follow the Change Acceleration Process (CAP). CAP compliments Technical Strategy with Cultural Tools to achieve the Change Initiative. It follows six simple methods to manage the cultural side of any change – creating a shared need, shaping a vision, mobilizing commitment, making change last and then monitoring progress. First three among these gives enough scope to practice innovation...

RELENTLESS QUESTIONING - Encouraging employees to ask questions often simulates innovation. Many companies today have 'Out Of The Box' idea boxes in the office where employees can drop their suggestions and ideas. Some even have question boxes to encourage a culture of asking questions. At Airtel, experiments were done with 'Appreciative inquiry', an organizational development tool that is used to foster change as well as create more of what's working and what's not...

SETTING STRETCH TARGETS - Taking a lead from Jack Welch's famous stretch targets at GE, many companies today believe in setting goals that are outrageous and look well-nigh impossible. Either way, it is a win-win situation as stretch targets always energize people. As Welch himself, famously said, "We have found that by reaching for what appears to be the impossible, we often actually do the impossible: and even when we don't quite make it, we inevitably wind up doing much better that we would have done."

FUN AT WORKPLACE - A joyful environment promotes the spirit of innovation. Innovation can not happen in an environment that is not associated with fun. Recognizing this, most companies today invest in a fun filled workplace where people volunteer to do certain assignments because it is enjoyable. However, majority of the employees have a tendency to wrongly interpret 'Fun at Workplace'. As a result of which, they end up playing Dumb Charades, Watching Movie at PVRs by bunking work hours and arranging debates on non work related topics. These things might be good for enjoyment, but they certainly don't contribute towards process streamlining or improvement strategies that might affect the bottom-lines of the organization. These activities might not affect the cost to the company; however, they have huge impact when we analyze the opportunity cost, (the next best alternative) to boost improvement through fun...

MAKING ROOM FOR FAILURE - Although I am not so very optimistic and sympathetic towards failures, I do believe that there is no room for success without initial failures. When new ideas come forth, not all will succeed. Rather, rejected ideas allow room for experimentation. Often failure to implement an idea may force an employee to quit the workplace and start off an entrepreneurial venture based on that same idea...

Ultimately, it is about giving the right inputs. Successful ideas only burst forth when companies manage to create conditions that are conducive to innovation. It's therefore necessary to have an open culture, encourage questioning, break down associative barriers, challenge assumptions and provoke non-linear thinking for growth...