The need for constant renewal and innovation are mandatory in today's business environment and while a new product or concept can catapult an organization ahead of its competitors, that "advantage" is these days of short duration.
Although these "revolutionary" products or new services are the headlines of newspapers and specialized magazines, it is the improvement innovations, made by day-to-day employees, that can give an organization the sustained growth it needs.
Constant innovation comes from developing a collective sense of purpose; stimulate employee creativity throughout the organization and teach them how to recognize unconventional opportunities.
Here are 7 tips to continuously innovate in your company:
1. Establish a clear sense of direction
Changing cultures involves changing ways of thinking, and that takes time. However, a clear sense of where the process is headed, helps to accelerate that process.
Include innovation and continuous improvement within the mission of the organization, and define it as a strategic element. What is the purpose of constant innovation in the company? What is the OBJETIVE? ¿Add value to the product… improve delivery times…. Accelerate deliveries?
A sense of mission clarifies where common efforts to innovate and improve must go.
In this way, the organization knows the objective, and each member can develop improvements autonomously, knowing that it complies with the organization's strategy.
2. Make communication open
Opening communication between management and employees lays the foundation for a climate of trust. But this change will not come from the employees. Access to information, stimulate the flow of information, be it good or bad news.
An example, Southwest Airlines. Everyone was informed of fuel prices, which skyrocketed during the Gulf War. CEO Herb Kelleher at the time communicated directly with the pilots, the experts, to find ways to decrease fuel consumption without affecting safety and level of service.
While not all companies can offer an open door policy to their top executives, each organization can initiate programs that allow front-line workers to feel heard. Lunches with all levels, participating in the monthly meetings of the division between the employees and the CEO, computer tools such as forums on the intranet or a direct contact email, will allow obtaining ideas from those who are closest to the client.
3. Reduce bureaucracy
It is NOT the size of the company that inhibits innovation (small companies are more innovative than large ones) - it is the system. The bureaucracy slows down the changes, and is a serious impediment to innovation. Smaller organizations can often move faster in applying innovative ideas, because they have less bureaucracy.
4. Instill a sense of ownership
Sense of ownership creates a powerful incentive for generating innovation. When a person is clearly aware of how their interests are aligned with those of the company, he or she has a strong reason to "go the extra mile" to pursue the mission.
For example: employee ownership of shares. When employees don't see how their individual efforts affect company profitability, they tend to be passive and reactive. To drive engagement, make sure each employee knows how their work affects business effectiveness.
5. Make sure recognition and rewards are compatible
While financial rewards are often linked to innovations, rewarding only the person or team responsible for the "big idea" or its implementation creates a subtle competitive environment that discourages the pursuit of small and less dramatic improvements.
The fact that groups compete with each other, for rewards, generates a negative effect, against communication. The exchange of it necessary to increase the generation of new ideas will be blocked by the desire to earn individual rewards. Companies that successfully nurture a culture of innovation design rewards that reinforce the culture they want to establish. If your organization values integrated solutions, you can't reward team leaders based on quantity. If it requires training new leaders, it cannot be based on short-term performance rewards.
6. Tolerate risk and failure
Tolerating a certain degree of failure as a necessary part of growth is an important part of fostering innovation. Innovation is a risk. Employees will not take risks unless they clearly understand the objectives, have a clear but flexible framework in which to operate, and understand that failures are simply necessary steps in the learning process.
An example is Toyota's production system. Workers have the power to make adjustments to their work if they see an opportunity for improvement. If innovation works, it is incorporated into operations, if not, it incorporates the "methods" of experience.
An important psychological benefit of this philosophy is the development of confidence. Employees who trust their bosses are more likely to take smart risks for the company's benefit.
7. Eliminate projects and processes that don't work
As your organization innovates, you need what Peter Drucker calls "creative abandon." Projects and processes that do not contribute must be abandoned to make room for new ideas.
Innovation requires optimism. It is a continuous attitude to achieve superior performance. Employees cannot be expected to be optimistic if they feel compelled to pursue activities that lead nowhere.
