Fueling Innovation

Bizmanualz Solutions

In last week’s article, How to Embrace Change, we discussed our history of innovation. We also touched on how natural it is to fear change, which can be a typical result of innovation. Change brings the unknown; uncertainty breeds anxiety. Most people and organizations will naturally tend to resist change. Yet, in this post modern era there seems to be a consensus that the ability to adapt and change is crucial for success.

A Tradition of Innovators

The U.S. has a strong history of innovation. The Europeans who came to the U.S. in the 17th and 18th century were those who were not happy with the status quo. They were willing to risk it all for the opportunities they could have in a new world. The pioneering spirit carried on through western expansion and even through the industrial revolution and the start of the information age. Several cultural values have helped continue the pioneering spirit such as individualism, a focus on achievement, and our sense of a land of abundance and opportunity.

The tradition of innovation should now help us through another period of transition as we move more firmly from the industrial age to the information age. Fueling process innovation in an organization, however, can be very difficult due to the natural inclination for an organization to resist change.

Risk aversion has little to do with innovation

A willingness to take risks has little to do with innovation

Certainly the willingness to take risks was a key factor for the pioneers who founded and settled the United States. Research reveals, however, that there is very little correlation between how risk averse an organization is and its ability to be innovative. What the literature seems to reveal is that there is a strong correlation between other elements of an organization’s culture and its ability to innovate.

Leadership Sets the Tone

All too often organizational leaders attempt dictate what they want the organizational culture to be, without really using the tools and levers at their disposal to set the organizational tone. Even worse they dictate it from a “do as say not as I do�? approach. In hierarchical-structured organizations culture flows from the leadership. However, the organization’s members will take their cues from what the leaders do, not what the leaders say.

Leaders in an organization show that innovation is valued by how they allocate resources like budget and manpower. They set the tone by how priorities are set. What do they spend their time doing and what are they paying attention to? If they spend a large majority of their time fretting about unit costs and force counts, then they are unlikely to lead an innovative organization.

How can Leaders Use Resources to Make Organizations Innovative?

Studies show that organizations foster a culture of innovation by setting systems in place to encourage and capture innovative approaches. Most importantly, these systems are essential to, and have active involvement from, top management.

Do your employees come up with great ideas?

What are you doing with the great ideas your employees have?

Examples of such systems include fostering active participative through cross-functional teams led by top managers to deal with issues ranging from production problems to budget issues. They encourage cross-training and education and put systems in place to support them. They also nurture strong communication by encouraging input from organization members. Then, most importantly, they truly listen to what the people who are carrying out the daily activities of the business have to say. There is a working feedback system to let the employees know that they are being heard and listened to.

Organizations with a culture of innovation also put systems in place like integrated customer touch point management. Here the voice of customer is ably captured, categorized, and then funneled to product managers, designers, customer service, production, sales & marketing, account receivables, and shipping, or to whatever department might be able to use particular customer feedback. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, programs must be created to reward innovative efforts that include recognition and financial incentives. These programs send a clear message that innovation is valued.

While our tradition of innovation might serve as the igniting match, these types of programs are the fuel that allows an innovative spirit to burn brightly. It is important to reiterate, however, that these efforts cannot succeed without active involvement from the organization’s leaders. Proclamations without management involvement will soon die on the vine. When there is active participation by top managers and decision makers, then a culture of innovation is truly being nurtured.

In our next article we will return to the topic of change, as well as how to manage change without causing fear and anxiety to the organization’s members.

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