Seven Highly Effective Ways to Kill Innovation (and Seven to Make Sure You Don't)
- 21 September, 2007 15:50
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For starters, the creative process can be fragile and requires support and nurturing. That can be tough in today's fear-inducing environment of rapid technological change and marketplace competition — but it also makes innovation essential. So take a journey through our list of innovation killers, and find out if your company is crushing good ideas or allowing growth and change to flourish.
Innovation killer #1: Believe that innovation will "just happen."
Trusting that innovation will take care of itself is like believing a vegetable garden will just happen to appear in your yard one day. Innovation requires the investment of time and money, and it requires a process to support it, according to Thomas Koulopoulos, founder of the innovation consultancy Delphi Group. Like a garden — a fragile and time-consuming endeavour — the innovation process requires a place for seeds (or ideas) to root. It also requires weeding, protection against predators, and consistent nurturing and care.
Attention to innovation is a requirement in today's world, says Koulopoulos. Even in industries where the margins are slim — such as manufacturing and sourcing — innovation is a must. "Here's the irony," he says. "Even though I might find that I cannot afford to take a big risk, that doesn't mean that somewhere on the globe I won't be challenged." As an example of how vulnerable standing still makes you, he points to the American auto industry, now failing in its battle against foreign carmakers; the competitors did think it was important to innovate.
Innovation tip: Lobby for the importance of innovation, and the dollars and owners to support it.
Next: Should you think "outside the box"?
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