Think about this… What if instead of the pocket sized mobile phones that we have these days, you had to carry around one of those weighty bag phones which were commonly sold in the mid 1990′s? You can heave a sigh of relief that it was just a thought; courtesy of the innovators who spent many years of their lives, designing this “mini-world” for all of us, just the way it is now.
However, this did not come easily. Innovation has to be incorporated into an organisational culture if such revolutionary and landmark achievements are what we are aiming to achieve.
In ideal terms, a culture is considered to be a group of opinions, attitudes, norms, beliefs, and values, while innovation is the direct result of the creativity, knowledge and understanding of the motivated people working within an organisation. However, just coming up with something that is “out-of-the box” doesn’t mean that it will always work – often due to organisational circumstance, because even though a fruitful innovation can be turned into a reality, there are still many factors which derail incredible ideas from reaching their destination. With the passing of time, innovation has gone far beyond the concept of simply generating creative ideas; it’s something which can now be seen as the culture of a business. This innovative culture can often be the difference between a “successful” and a “not-so-successful” organisation. Such a culture works toward cultivating an attitude of ongoing learning and development in all of the employees. Every organisation has its own unique culture which differentiates it from all of the others, and the success or failure of any of these businesses depends largely on how well this culture is managed. An organisation that has a top notch innovative culture invariably expands at a faster rate than an organisation without this resource. In the instance of an organisation with a ineffectively regulated culture, researching and implementing the innovation of another organisation’s successful culture is a monumental challenge, as this endeavour requires intensive study, detailed planning, ongoing motivation and an unbending intent towards advancement.
Here are a few factors organisations should utilise for the integration of innovation into their culture:
1. Intellectual Property – This is the most important ingredient of an innovative culture. Regularly bringing up ideas in discussions or debates creates a continuous process of refinement, and these brain storming sessions infuse the members with enthusiasm, thereby stimulating the participants to come up with even more “never thought of before” solutions.
2. Technology – Ownership of “tech” and the process of upgrading these technological advancements are both other aspects which need consideration. This structure acts as an interface between knowledge and products, and is therefore responsible for the materialisation of concepts from paper into tangible and intangible services.
3. Effective Leadership – Effective leaders are those who, in the organisation, continuously integrate and motivate the creative thinking of their peers and subordinates.
4. Proper Communication – Proper communication is essential for making correct information available, at the right place and at the right time. Regular involvement with business coaching can help you to prevent miscommunication at the smallest level, which in an organisation could play havoc with even the most brilliant innovative ideas.
In order to be competitive in our ever-changing world market, successful organisations require their employees to continuously develop higher levels of innovation. These innovative ideas, along with management training, can help any organization traverse difficult phases of business smoothly, as companies can sell such innovative ideas in a slump period of a business cycle, or reap maximum profits during a time of strong market share.
Alan Gillies is the Managing Director of the L2L Group, specialising in providing Executive Coaching, Training and Consultancy Services to Businesses across the Globe. Want to learn more about these business success strategies? Get Alan’s popular FREE Business Pack today!
