Creating an environment for innovation
“We treat innovation as if it were magical, not subject to guidance or nurturing, much less planning…there are times,places and conditions under which innovation flourishes”
(Samuel Palmisano, CEO IBM, 2003)
Innovation rarely happens by random or accidentally. We have established that it usually flourishes in an environment that encourages problem solving and among businesses that have an integrated approach to eliciting ideas.
It comes from the talents of individuals and one of the key organisational variables that supports innovation is leadership. If innovation is not encouraged and supported by senior management, it will not become part of the organisational culture.
However, many businesses and organizations tend to limit any formalized ‘thinking’ sessions or innovation processes to their management personnel. The reality is that it is often at the lower staff level – where they have closer contact with the customer - that the good ideas really lie. It pays to tap-into that reservoir of workface knowledge.
Some larger businesses have introduced the concept of innovation SWAT teams. These are groups of 4-6 employees – led by a team leader – who undertake training in innovative thinking and who meet regularly to systematically look at new ways of doing things. These teams may report their findings to management and are often rewarded for their input. Even in a small tourism business, a structured get-together between management and staff can be valuable in reviewing aspects of the operation and to develop better ways of doing things. You will be surprised by the quality of feedback, not to mention the team-building benefit.
Ironically, innovation requires the kind of thinking which is often counter-intuitive to the way big business does things. Large organizations are usually programmed to tightly control processes and to eliminate failure as early as possible. Ris-taking underpins innovation and acceptance of risk is essential.
Similarly, enemies of innovation in bigger businesses are sometimes referred to as ‘antibodies’, ie, people who emerge from the system to fight new ideas. Antibodies can be particularly powerful in organizations that have enjoyed a long period of success, which can induce strong resistance to change. New employees are often told that “it’s the way things are done around here”. An organization like this needs to re-develop a culture not frightened to explore and to develop a mentality that even those things that have brought success in the past will probably not be sufficient to carry the business into the future.
Dr Goran Ekval of Sweden has identified 10 elements needed in the workplace to sustain new product innovation, which was refined by the State University of New York to nine dimensions needed to build a climate for innovation:
Challenge:
How challenged, how emotionally involved and how committed are individuals to their work ?
Freedom:
How free are individuals to decide how to do their job
Idea time:
Do people have time to think things through before having to act ?
Idea support:
Do people have adequate resources to give new ideas a try ?
Trust and openness:
Do individuals feel safe in speaking their mind openly and offering different points of view ?
Playfulness and humour:
How relaxed are individuals in the workplace – is it OK to have fun ?
Conflicts:
To what degree do people engage in interpersonal conflict or warfare ?
Debates:
To what extent do people engage in lively, constructive debate about relevant issues ?
Risk taking:
Is it OK to fail – or make mistakes – when trying new things ?
Innovation is so embedded into the culture of businesses such as 3M and Google that they have policies to mandate free thinking time for staff. 3M has a 15% ‘free time’ policy for staff to spend on their own projects and ideas. Google allows their staff 20% of time for innovation. It was a 3M engineer who, during the course of experimentation, mistakenly developed a glue that didn't quite stick. Instead of throwing it out, he innovated a new use for it and the now ubiquitous post-it note was born.
In addition to a reliance on an individual’s ongoing creative thinking and problem addressing ability, a concerted session to stimulate collective thought in an organization can be very useful. The Canadian Tourist Commission’s “Passages to Innovation” program suggests a number of core requirements needed to create the environment and setting conducive to a productive innovative thinking workshop. Click here to read the list of suggested requirements.