Innovation
10 Key Dimensions to Driving a Culture of Innovation #Innovation #DriveCulture
Product lifecycles are getting shorter. Consumers are well informed and restless. And the relentless march of information technology have all forced organizations to be more agile, flexible and innovative in order to remain sustainably competitive. But establishing a culture of innovation is easier said than done, especially for larger organizations that have the legacy of established systems and processes to be adhered to.
So what can we do to drive the culture of innovation in our organization? Here are 10 different dimensions to look at:
#1. Create urgency – establish strong business reasons
Can any organization create a culture of innovation without establishing the reason for change? The answer will always be an emphatic NO. For any organization enmeshed in certain ways of working, shockwaves are required to get the jolt and change the course. Leadership, therefore, has the task of answering the question: “Why change?”
Reasons may be related to the aging of existing products, rising competition, inavailability of suppliers, shifting customers, etc. Whatever the reasons, they need to be identified, articulated and should be used for creating a sense of urgency within organization to change and innovate.
#2. Drive from the top – create a vision for the future
Innovative DNA cannot be generated only from the bottom-up. It requires drive, focus and vision from leadership. Leadership must create urgency and facilitate the nurturing of innovation through communications, systems and policies.
It is also important to understand that developing an innovative mindset is not just about creating a perception in the market place to gain business advantage. Such an advantage, if gained, will always be short lived, waiting to slip away anytime if innovation is more lip service than a real mind shift. In today’s fast changing world, only a deep rooted innovative mindset will be able to withstand the pressure created by rapidly changing business situations. The leadership of the organization will have to make adequate investment in developing this, if they are really interested in sustaining/ growing the market position, in years to come.
#3. Select the right leader to drive the culture of Innovation
Selecting the right leader is crucial for driving a culture of innovation. Driving innovation is different from running business-as-usual. A leader has to:
- To create belief in the organization – “Change is good”
- To create urgency for change – “Innovation is the only way forward”
- To instill confidence – “It works”
- To innovate can be arduous and risky- “It’s OK to take risks and fail”
Additionally, a leader has to have the right credentials and ability to establish credibility with his or her organization. A leader, whose personal characteristic does not match with what is expected in driving innovation, may not be the right choice for the role. The leader has to have the following:
- Past history that matches the requirements of the role
- Imaginative thinking, holistic approach and a fine balance of intuition and rational judgement
- Great ability to communicate. Ensuring a good balance of assertiveness, sense of purpose mixed with the right dose of humor
- Firmness of character
- Ability to make things happen
- Excellent people management skills
- Able to lead from front
- Ability to encourage and reward learning from failure
#4. Endorse disruption
Think how quickly businesses and products come and go in today’s business environment. Products that were a premium consumer good just a decade ago have since vanished. Organizations, which were part of Fortune 500 not so long ago, are no longer anywhere near that list. Indeed, 88% of the companies, which were in Fortune 500 in 1955 are no longer there.
Disruptive innovation is eating up products, which were quite popular only a few years back. For example, not that long ago (certainly within most of our lifetimes), the Walkman was the commonly used device for listening to music. It has since become redundant because of smartphones and ipods. Desktops are fast vanishing under the onslaught of laptops. Point and shoot cameras are disappearing, since mobiles have integrated cameras now. Organizations like Nokia lost market share so quickly, since it could not keep pace with the disruptive changes brought out by Apple and Samsung. Organizations that demonstrate inertia today are under constant threat of losing their markets and customer base rapidly.
