I was doing some research on innovation and was surprised to find that a lot of what I write and talk on follows the steps of innovative strategic thinking. I have come to realize that sometimes we might get caught up in the need to find innovation when innovation already exists in our organizations.
Yet we, as people, can be our own worst enemy. For example, the business leader who says we need to be more innovative in our business to survive but then counteracts that statement by living for yesterday (memories of the past), not providing the tools nor the steps to be innovative or providing the time, space or culture for people to be innovative. I think we can all agree that in our rapid business world innovation is needed for invention and re-invention. Yet maybe we approach it the wrong way.
As I was doing my research I started to realize that in my book, S.E.T for Success, I covered the steps to innovative thinking in various chapters. Innovation is the action or process of innovating, usually to conceive a new idea, approach, product or service. Innovation proceeds invention and implementation and it comes from allowing people the space and place to be innovative.
In your planning process consider these five steps for innovation to create your business’ future.
Question Everything. I have always loved that statement and learned to apply it years ago in university while studying social-economics at the University of Manitoba. It means ask questions and doubt the answers to challenge the current thinking. You should allow people the space to question and doubt. This is especially important in planning or open discussion sessions with people.
Look at the Possible. Don’t shut ideas down. Allow your teams to take a deep drive and come up with creative solutions to business challenges and opportunities. This is an important part of innovative thinking and should be done with no positional barriers. You might find that the best ideas come from the unlikely of places.
Diverge to Converge, Connle Ma http://bit.ly/21rgw9h
Diverge in Your Thinking. Don’t be surprised if this process causes your team to diverge before converging on great ideas and agreement. You need to provide people permission to do so. There will be lots of idea and some people will be confused. It’s normal for innovative thinking. Initially you should diverge in the beginning stages of the thinking and planning process. Just let it happen with a planned chaotic approach.
Converge on Great Ideas. Eventually things will move towards convergent thinking as people start to agree on the important items and the decisions that need to be made. Capture the convergence of thinking and business decision-making. Decide what the focus items should be for the overall success of the business. This could be a new product, a new market, a new direction. Find ways to make it happen.
Evaluate the Alternatives. In business analysis we often talk about defining business problems and opportunities and then evaluating the alternatives. At some point in the creative innovative thinking process an adult must appear and make a decision on what you will evaluate or re-evaluate or not the process will go on forever. Look at what makes sense with the team and pick what you will focus on. Make sure you consider the options in your initial discussions after all the ideas have been born. Don’t evaluate as you go along as that will kill creative and innovative thinking. At some point a decision will need to be made. It’s a bit of a balancing act as you can’t always know if you’re right. A bit of science and art mixed together. Have fun with that.
Business leaders and their teams face challenges, uncertainty, and an increasing need to keep up with the breakneck speed of change in their field every day. This is accelerated by the global business world around us. People know the road to their success is paved with peaks, valleys and detours, all of which need to be skillfully navigated. The bigger reality is the need for innovation on this journey. That means finding the space and the place to allow for innovation. Usually not something that is done once a year. It is usually built with a culture that is willing to take a deep dive and follow steps that provide people permission to be innovative.
