3 Steps to Innovation

Traditionally, innovation in business meant “invention” in the 3M style: a corporate culture that encourages employees to continually invent products and find new applications for existing ones. An innovative company was one with a culture of pride in invention and a structured incentive plan of rewards.

But in these tough economic times, invention is not enough. And the “innovation” that is demanded of top level management requires executives to move beyond the narrow focus on new products and services.

Today's leaders must be willing to pioneer innovation in business models, business processes, and value chains, as well as in new product development. They must also stimulate and sustain innovation at its root--among their employees.

But how?

Three key steps that top-level executives can take are:

1. Add innovation to the strategic plan, along with budgeting and forecasting. Innovation needs to be tracked and measured, not just encouraged.
2. Create conditions for cross-departmental networking to tap into employee talent for innovation. This means encouraging conversation and collaboration both formally and informally, rather than implementing disruptive “change” programs that almost always flicker briefly and then die.
3. Take steps to foster an innovation culture based on trust among employees.

In the next several posts, I'll offer concrete, practical suggestions for how to achieve these goals. As always, your thoughts and comments are welcome.