Innovation prospers in dynamic companies which encourage their employees to seek solutions and take risks. The author of an article on the management-issues.com website was once approached to help a company become more innovative.
The situation was as follows:
- Current capabilities: Employees looked for innovations almost exclusively in the area of operational efficiency
- Innovation hot spots within the company: Innovation did not occur everywhere but was restricted to only a few spots
- There was no standard approach that would help employees to be more innovative
- Industry trends: Clients preferred suppliers who were able to help them innovate
The CEO had a strategy to solve this, which was based on the following:
- Differentiation from competitors: Innovations should be found also elsewhere, not only in the area of operational efficiency
- Client's perspective: Innovation should stem also from employees who deal with clients, and opportunities should be distilled from trends affecting clients
- Standard method: A method and standard language should be introduced within the company for innovation
What are usually the main issues?
A company may have built a culture centred on operational efficiency, which tends to inhibit innovation. Another problem is a lack of trust in employees and a strong risk-averse attitude. Very often, senior leaders have no accountability for innovations. And if they do have such accountability, they may not have performance measures or reward mechanisms in place.
Last but not least, lack of communication between employees who come face to face with clients and those who do not may result in the company failing to address market trends and client needs. This is particularly true in the case of multinationals.
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