Thursday | 8 January, 2009
Order Takers to Innovators
How four CIOs energized their staffs to take risks with new technology and generate fresh value for their businesses
Innovation killer #2: Tell everyone to "think outside the box," hold a brainstorming session, then call it a day.
Great ideas are the seeds of innovation; they are not innovation itself. "Everyone [for example] has the idea for a book in their head," says Koulopoulos, "but there's a huge gap between 'book in the head' and the laborious process of writing the thing."
Invention and innovation are mistakenly synonymous in so many people's minds; but they are different and you need both. Koulopoulos points out that companies that get innovation right have a holistic view of innovation and create a culture to ensure that it flourishes. This means a process to support innovation is created, implemented and communicated so that everyone knows how it works and is able to participate.
Innovation tip: Create a formalized process for ensuring that ideas are nurtured.
Innovation killer #3: Lay the success of innovation solely on IT's shoulders.
Technology should support the role of innovation, not lead it, says Koulopoulos. This is because innovation is first an issue of corporate culture, concerning things like rewards, inspiration and motivation.
In any situation, you get two activities — the invention and the innovation, or the actual process of innovating. Koulopoulos draws a hard line between the two and says technology's role falls after invention. IT should be involved with implementing the technology that best supports the innovation process. For example, many companies are turning to vendors that offer idea management technology, such as iBank and Brightidea.com.
Innovation tip: Realize — and convey — IT's role in the innovation process.
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