Critical.
Authoritative.
Strategic.
Subscribe to CIO Magazine »

Seven Highly Effective Ways to Kill Innovation (and Seven to Make Sure You Don't)

Innovation doesn't just happen, it comes from careful tending of creative teams. Find out if you or your company is guilty of squashing good ideas and their growth
Page:

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 may be the obvious business mandate, but plenty of companies are guilty of creating a culture where a good idea has as much opportunity to take root as most of us have of winning the lottery. What gives?

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"?

Page:

Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.

More about: Creative, Delphi Group, Gillette, Inspiration, Killer, Speed

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Users posting comments agree to the CIO comments policy.
Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Latest Blog Posts
Whitepapers
  • The State of Privacy & Data Security Compliance
    With the plethora of new privacy and data security regulations, we believe it is time to ask whether regulations help or hinder an organization’s ability not only to protect sensitive and confidential information assets, but to be competitive in the global marketplace. Further, how difficult is it to be in compliance, who is the typical person or functional leader accountable for compliance? What is the value to the organization? Finally, what differences (if any) exist in security practices between compliant and non-compliant organizations?
    Learn more »
  • Shedding Light on Backup and Availability Challenges in Virtual Environments
    This IDG white paper explores specific backup and availability challenges organisations must surmount as they move to virtualise their business-critical applications. It then shows how attaining proper service levels for these applications requires a high degree of visibility into the VMware virtual environment.
    Learn more »
  • Case Study: Svenska Kraftnät safeguards web and ensures communication security with Clearswift
    Energy producers from surrounding countries load power onto the Swedish National Grid’s network, with energy suppliers then paying the Swedish National Grid to load onto their grids for them to sell-on to customers. Using Clearswift’s Email Appliance, and MIMEsweeper for SMTP means that the organisation has safe and resilient email helping them to meet their goal of providing a safe, robust, cost-effective and environmentally sound energy transmission system.
    Learn more »
All whitepapers
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to Invitation only events CIO, reports & analysis.
Recent comments