Innovation in companies is a process and a result, unfortunately organizations, in general, focus on results
One of the tools to maintain business competitiveness is innovation, this innovation is presented in different ways, as a change that allows a task to be performed more efficiently, such as a new product or service or as a change in relationships with the environment, but innovation is more than changes and new developments, innovation is a business philosophy that involves all levels of the organization.
Innovation has two faces, that of innovation as a process and that of innovation as a result.
The complete innovation process involves a series of and a series of activities and a sequence of events, both inside and outside the organization) that begin with an idea and end with the adoption of the innovation or its abandonment. All innovation involves changes for the organization, but not all changes mean innovation.
The result of the innovation may involve a new product, a new service, new practices and / or processes and / or new technologies.
Taking into account these two premises, it can be said that the innovative organization (OI) is one in which innovation is promoted (process) and occurs (result). That is, the innovative company is the one that designs policies, strategies and actions (processes) that allow identifying activities that improve the organization's ability to generate and adopt innovations that create sustainable competitive advantages (results).
From the previous conception it is interpreted that innovation requires changes in the way of managing and in the culture of the organization. The changes that occur in innovative organizations are framed within flexibility and are understood as: greater participation of people, structural flexibility (little or no bureaucracy), training of human resources and search for potential talents, high decentralization of power, high level of job satisfaction, greater communication and access to information, among others.
Internal and external process
Innovative organizations are characterized both by stimulating motivated creative individuals and by systematically investigating any source of change (1)
The IO breaks traditional schemes and encourages the creativity of the people who work in it, the manager is no longer "the boss" and becomes a motivator, moderator and concentrator of efforts and visions who have the responsibility of channeling people into the search and meeting of common goals.
The manager must become a leader of knowledge and a leader of creativity, he must ensure that the relationship with the environment (search for new opportunities and identification of changes) is close and aligned with the market, in addition, he has the commitment to implement changes and new ideas without fear of risk.
In today's competitive environment creativity is no longer an option. Organizations that understand how to manage the creativity of their people to achieve results and are willing to implement new ideas will be the winners (2)
Ideas today play a stronger role in organizations and as noted above, the innovation process is born with an idea; That is why the OI must concentrate on promoting the creativity of its people, it must be concerned with developing the talents of its human resources, how? Through continuous training, the rotation of positions of individuals with potential, open information systems, greater participation in decision-making and greater sharing of benefits.
Greater participation in decision-making is perhaps the most disturbing element for any manager, but at the same time it is the best tool for developing creativity. If people never have to solve problems, they will never develop their creativity; We humans began to use tools and to use our brains because we were presented with problems to solve.
If an employee has the opportunity to participate in the decisions that affect the company and him directly, he will surely contribute more to the organization and feel more satisfied with his work and with himself, which generates a virtuous circle since the greater personal satisfaction The higher their motivation and the higher the motivation of the human resource, the higher the business performance.
A last fundamental element of IOs is their long-term vision, short-term approaches inhibit risk-taking and produce fear of error and failure, if you want to be innovative you have to take risks.
Some characteristics of IOs
* Continuous learning environment throughout the company. * Autonomous activity. * Ongoing training. * Information flow that is reversed. * Application of new technologies. * Close relationship between managers and employees
If companies were more oriented to the innovation process, putting preconceptions and fears aside, they would realize that this process bears very good results.
Bibliography:
Juan Carreón, «Theology of innovation. Jean Baptiste Say or William Gates? "
John Kao, "Jamming: The Art and Discipline of Business Creativity," free translation. Harper Business, 1996.
