 | Five Keys to Instilling Innovaton and Creativity
in Your Organization
James Feldman, CITE, CPIM, CPT, MIP
Certified Facilitator |
|---|
Creative ideas are what turn ordinary companies into market
leaders. These companies see the end result first and then build a
path to achieve those results.
Unfortunately, in most companies today, neither creativity
nor innovation exists. The corporate environment fails to foster
creative or innovative ideas, which results in lost profits and
opportunities every day. However, creativity and innovation are key
elements that propel businesses to the top. Without either, your
company comes in second at best, and no one remembers number
two. While being number one certainly doesn't guarantee continued
success, it is definitely better than being forgotten.
Answer these quick questions to learn if your company
lacks creativity and innovation.
- Are your profits stagnant or slowly rising at best?
- Are your customers satisfied, but not very loyal?
- Do your employees lack the enthusiasm to think of new
ideas?
- Are you selling the same products and services as you
were five years ago?
Any answer of "yes" indicates that your business may not
be around for the long-term. To revitalize your organization and
keep it from extinction, follow the guidelines below.
1. Foster a Business Climate That's Open to Innovation and Creativity
Innovation is the ability to come up with ideas and solutions
to pressing problems. It is the process of producing something that
1) has value, and 2) did not exist before. Creativity is the ability to
take that new idea and make it valuable in your customers' eyes.
Realize that every problem has a solution, although the solution
may not be in plain sight. To make the solution more apparent,
remove "standard operating procedures" whenever possible and
inspire creative thinking throughout the organization. Use novel
approaches, strive for dramatic results, and reach for the highest
goal possible. Reward business associates for finding the
"innovative solution" and for "thinking creatively."
As you encourage your people to display innovation and
creativity, be prepared for mistakes. Acknowledge the mistakes,
learn from them, and then try again. When people know that
mistakes are part of the process, they'll be more open to take risks
and think in new directions. Remember, failure and innovation are
related. Success only comes when you learn from failure.
2. Become Number One with Your Clients
The more satisfied your clients are, the more business you'll
have in the future. Realize that the only commodity your clients
know is you. Since you are the catalyst providing the solution to
their problem, you are accountable for fulfilling their needs. As a
result, you need to invest time in keeping the channels of
communication open.
When communicating, be sure to listen more than you talk.
Ask questions that solicit more than a "yes" or "no" response, and
then truly listen to clients' responses. Understand their needs, and
then provide a solution that works. Also, thank your clients for their
business on a regular basis. A simple "Thank you. Are you happy
with the products or service?" works wonders. The ability to
communicate effectively could be the greatest innovation you have
in your organization, as it's something few people have mastered.
3. Create a Partnership with Clients
All business transactions are based on someone delivering a
promise to fulfill a specific desire or need. Companies that spend
millions of dollars promoting their products or services only to
make the client wait on hold or have to redial numerous times to
lodge complaints erode the partnership.
To create a true partnership with clients, become a problem
solver. Clients like when the companies they work with function as
thinkers. Become your clients' best solution and they'll stay with
you for the long-term. Show your clients how they will look better,
feel better, do their job better, or enjoy life better. Show them how
you can save them money or time. Make the experience one in
which clients realize their lives would be better with your product
or service.
4. Create a Partnership with Employees
Asking people to be creative and then shooting down their
ideas creates a rift in your organization. Instead, show people that
bringing their imagination on the journey is welcome. Information
wealth flows directly from innovation, not optimization. Wealth, of
any kind, is not gained by perfecting the known, but by seizing the
unknown. Therefore, we must all become successive producers of
ideas, concepts, and innovations. We must try them out to see if
they work; if not, we will lose out to our competitors.
Remember that the more offbeat, the more diverse, the more
eccentric, and the more unusual, the better we learn and the more
we retain. So allow so-called "mavericks" and their ideas into your
organization, as they will likely offer a new perspective to the same
old routine. Partner with these people, as we all need to stretch
ourselves and innovate in everything we do. As you examine their
dramatic and new approaches, remove constraints, limitations, and
regimens. Listen to your employees as you would your clients.
Their insights will likely make your company better at what it does.
5. Implement Next-Generation Approaches
Doing any form of business is a form of innovation. The
quest for knowledge opens the door to opportunity and helps us
understand each other and provide what is best for each of us,
personally and professionally. To succeed at this level, your
company must support innovation and creativity. Doing so will free
your employees from the "we always did it this way" syndrome.
Constantly redesign your company's rules to be flexible and to
show that you, as a company, value worthy ideas, no matter what
the source. Only then will you increase your profit potential and
become a memorable market leader that delivers results.
