Inspiring Innovation in the Work Place.

Copyright (c) 2009 Alan Gillies

Think of this... What if instead of the small and lightweight mobile phone that you work with today, you had to lug around one of those bulky phones that were everywhere in the early 1990's? You can give a big sigh of relief that it was just a consideration; courtesy of the innovators who expended many years of their lives, designing and implementing this 'mini-world' for each and every one of us.

However, this did not come easily. Innovation has to be incorporated into an organizational culture if such revolutionary and landmark achievements are what we are aiming to achieve.

Ideally, a culture is considered as a group of opinions, attitudes, norms, beliefs, and values, while innovation is the implicit and explicit end result of the creativity and understanding of the people working within this company. However, just coming up with something that is 'out-of-the box' doesn't mean that it will always work - often due to organisational circumstance, because even though an exceptional innovation can be created and brought into reality, there are often many factors which can stop this process - in it's tracks, keeping many amazing ideas from ever reaching their production stage. With the passing of time, innovation has gone far beyond the concept of simply generating creative ideas; it's something which can now be seen as the culture of a business. This 'innovative culture' can often be the difference between a 'successful' and a 'not-so-successful' organization. Such a culture works toward developing an attitude of constant learning and advancement in the abilities of the employees. Every organization has its own unique culture which differentiates it from all of the others, and the success or failure of any of these businesses depends largely on how well this culture is managed. An organization with a well managed innovative culture almost always expands more rapidly than an organization without this understanding. In the case of an organization with a poorly managed culture, integrating and connecting with the innovation of a current culture is not a simple endeavour, as this requires careful planning, strategy, consistent motivation and an unflinching drive toward improvement.

Here are a few factors organizations should utilize for the integration of innovation into their culture:

1. Intellectual Property - This is the most important ingredient of an innovative culture. Regularly bringing up ideas in discussions or debates creates a continuous process of refinement, and these brain storming sessions infuse the members with enthusiasm, thereby stimulating the participants to come up with even more 'never thought of before' solutions.

2. Technology - Ownership of 'tech' and the process of upgrading these technological advancements are both other aspects which need consideration. This structure acts as an interface between knowledge and products, and is therefore responsible for the materialization of concepts from paper into tangible and intangible services.

3. Effective Leadership - Effective leaders are those who, in the organization, continuously integrate and motivate the creative thinking of their peers and subordinates.

4. Proper Communication - Proper communication is essential for making correct information available, at the right place and at the right time. Miscommunication at the smallest level in an organization can play havoc with even the most brilliant innovative idea.

To be competitive in our changing business world, businesses require their individuals to develop innovative ideas consistently. These innovative ideas can support any organization when they're traversing difficult phases of business, as organizations can sell off such innovative ideas in a down turn of a business cycle, or take in high profits during a point of large market share.