Your Business Will Fail Without Innovation — Here's How to Weave It Into Your Culture

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In my last post, I spoke about the exciting and vital role of innovation accelerators in empowering new startups and provided examples of how they can transform businesses. Since that post was published, the prestigious Harvard Business School featured the ICL Group’s Project BIG in a new case study entitled “From ‘BIG’ Ideas to Sustainable Impact at ICL Group.”

The Harvard study highlighted several significant points I want to discuss today. The goal of this article is to provide a practical guide on how to actually embed a culture of innovation in your own organization.

The Harvard Business School analysis of the BIG project

The BIG (Business Innovation for Growth) program is a flagship ICL leadership program that engages with the company’s employees and gives them a structure to submit ideas. The ideas are centrally evaluated and those with potential are developed by business units. BIG broke down existing silos and rapidly expanded from an initial engagement with 3,500 employees to an inclusive international program that includes all 12,500 employees and operates in multiple languages.

Since its inception, BIG has focused on the core principles of universal collaboration and a standardized process for (rapid) idea execution. The results are impressive:

4,748 original ideas submitted to BIG
1,584 projects approved and formally launched
1,154 projects completed according to defined goals and metrics
$262 million in final annual operating income

Creating a culture of innovation

Most organizations acknowledge the need for a culture of dynamic innovation, but they either don’t understand what this actually entails or they aren’t sure how to achieve it. Some also struggle to clearly define the benefits of a culture of innovation, which include remaining competitive in an evolving market, fostering employee satisfaction and driving continuous improvement.

We’re in Industry 4.0 and a new technological revolution, plus a period of rapid changes to consumer culture. Innovation is vital for businesses; those that can’t innovate will fall by the wayside as their more agile and innovative competitors dominate the markets.

4 key steps to embedding an innovation culture

I feel very strongly that the urge to innovate is intrinsic to all human beings (it’s how we survived a hostile environment and developed as a species). The problem is that in hierarchical, highly structured or system-dominated organizations, innovation can be easily stifled.

Leadership: By championing innovation and getting actively involved, leaders can create a functioning framework for the free exchange of ideas and create a new corporate culture.
Employee engagement: Dynamic innovation has to involve employees at every level. Platforms have to be inclusive and accessible, and they must recognize and reward successful contributions. Crucially, there should be no shame attached to failure or rejection.
Structured programs: Structured programs create a framework for innovation. Employees know exactly how to submit an idea to the program, and that it will be objectively evaluated by experts outside their own chain of command. Each stage of the program has defined metrics and methodologies and is quantifiable.
Technology and human infrastructure: Innovation programs are at their best when there is an optimal balance between technological tools and human enthusiasm and initiative to optimize innovation programs. Technology can deliver a decisive competitive edge, but it’s the human passion for innovation that bridges the gap between a good idea and an amazing new product.

The benefits of employee-driven innovation

Employee-driven innovation delivers a host of benefits to any company. These range from the directly quantifiable like improved retention to the intangible. One thing I’ve noticed — and admittedly it’s entirely subjective — is that genuinely innovative organizations have a completely different employee vibe and energy to their moribund counterparts.

One of the first benefits of a successful innovation program is that it supercharges creativity and problem-solving across the board. When employees see that their ideas are valued, they gain a new confidence and enthusiasm to embrace creative thinking and problem-solving. Expect a rush of creative solutions to business challenges.

Creative environments that reward innovation — and never stigmatize failed innovation — increase employee morale and retention. Employees who have the means to contribute and influence the company’s growth tend to become very loyal — especially when their efforts are recognized appropriately.

Employees come from hugely diverse backgrounds and bring unique perspectives. A young intern, a receptionist or a truck driver will have insights and cultural awareness that a VP might not. Their insights and ground-level view of market segments and gaps can really contribute to organizational growth and adaptability. A collective culture of innovation prepares companies to adapt to market changes and capitalize on new opportunities.

A culture of innovation: Key challenges and solutions

In any business, there will (hopefully) be key breakthrough ideas that overturn an established way of doing things, identify revolutionary novel materials, realize an unmet need or open completely new markets. When companies achieve a culture of innovation, they notice that the majority of breakthrough ideas are the result of close collaboration within, or between, teams.

Putting the right people together, giving them forums to come together and allocating adequate resources for R&D can increase the volume of breakthrough ideas. A diversity of talent, drawn from different disciplines and backgrounds, can also increase the frequency of vital disruptive ideas that go beyond the core business remit.

There are solitary geniuses who produce disruptive concepts, but it’s my experience that if you want a steady stream of transformative innovations, you need motivated teams working within structures, enabled by great resources and proactive leadership.

Take the first step towards an innovative culture

We’re in a time of unprecedented technological advances. It’s the ability to develop an innovation culture that will separate the winners from the losers across the business ecosystem. Even established industry leaders will gain from employee engagement and retention, and a workplace culture that solves problems at every level and delivers unique ideas that open new markets and launch new products.

You can take the first step towards a culture of innovation by absorbing these proven principles that demonstrate success. It’s certainly one of the best programs of its type that I’ve ever seen, and is a working template for other businesses to copy!

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