Innovativeness

 People need to think creatively, apply interdisciplinary knowledge to solve problems thoroughly.

Creativity is the most wanted professional competency, innovation is the light all forward-looking companies are pursuing. Innovation is complex. There are many ways to differentiate and there are many ways to pursue innovation. 

It’s important to build a creative working environment in which people are encouraged to think differently, ask tough questions, connect the right dots to generate novel ideas, and solve problems alternatively.

 

Courage: A combination of conscious and unconscious factors allows us to follow through our initial creative impulse, to generate novel ideas, and imagine the “art of possible.” When our imagination is engaged, our passion flows, and our impulse to act is high. The higher the level at which we are engaged and stimulated to imagine great ideas, the more likely we are courageous to tolerate risks, take action to make it work.

Are innovators more courageous, or courage refines an innovator? Being courageous is not the absence of fear. It is acting in spite of it. It takes courage to break down outdated rules, conventional wisdom; it takes courage to listen to what you don’t want to hear and to have the guts to make tough decisions; it takes courage to overcome obstacles for implementing fresh ideas to generate great values.

Connectivity: Creativity is a flow, an imagination, and an association through unusual dot connections. Being innovative is an ability to identify patterns, make unusual connections, with capacity to adapt, present emotional intelligence to decide, and a risk-taking attitude to innovate all the time. The intensity of people’s association and engagement (involvement and commitment) in innovation activities depends on their perception of the purpose, the leadership styles and the culture traits of that organization.

Organizations today have to make strategic choices all the time about where and when and how they innovate. Innovation happens at the intersection of people and process, process and technology, etc. Information is the most intensive piece of the innovation puzzle. To keep information flow and catalyze innovation, perhaps you should first work to identify how information is associated with the valued tangibles of your businesses; your products and your resources; then, you should align their resources scientifically to manage a balanced portfolio with both incremental and breakthrough innovation.

Nourishment: Creativity is both natural and nurtured. Individuals need to keep developing their creativity; business management keeps monitoring the pulse of inclusiveness and innovative culture fit, and makes an assessment of the business environment by asking: What is triggering your emotions for doing innovation? What about trust? Can you nourish learning, creativity by listening, asking questions, dealing with conflict and giving or receiving feedback effectively?

People are both means and ends of innovation management. Regardless of what type of innovation initiative you take, it is important to note that within the organizations, innovation is rarely an individual action; rather, it is a team effort. Innovation is surely a discipline to provide the creative workplace for people to discover and develop their talent and unlock their creative potential. In fact, nourishing a creative workplace and building trust is an ongoing and never-ending endeavor.

People need to think creatively, apply interdisciplinary knowledge to solve problems thoroughly. Digital organizations and their people must learn through their interactions with the business environment, think creatively, and understand tales of innovation. Trust, innovation leadership, and culture of learning, etc, are all critical in building a highly effective innovation team or organization to achieve exceptional results.

Posted in: Creativity,Innovation