Change Talk

Several comments on a Linkedin post (The Product of Innovation is Ideas) inspired an examination of the fractal nature of ideas. This train of thought has some interesting implications for innovation management and culture.

I’ve been a student of innovation for more years now than I care to count.  One of the things that has always made the art of innovation so very enjoyable to me is the fact that every discipline in business is of the belief that they “own” innovation, a premise from which they have each devised a particular flavor of innovation – one that mirrors their perspectives on business.  

In working with business leaders around the world, we spend a lot of time talking about the values, philosophies, and cultures they need to guide and nurture innovation in their business.  One of the key questions we are often asked is, “how can we drive engagement and ownership in the business for the new things we are trying to do?” …“how can we put some power into our strategy?”

Have you ever experienced the power of visual collaboration with customers and colleagues when facing complex problems?

 

Have you ever heard about Design Thinking? What comes to your mind when you hear it? 

 

Creativity? Creation? Innovation?

Culture. Many pages have been written, many words penned, about this very elusive piece of the business enterprise. Culture is to a business what the persona and soul are to an individual. It defines who it is, how it thinks, what it does, and what are and are not the right ways for it to move into the future.

Everybody wants it, nobody seems to have it: A culture of innovation. But what exactly do we mean when we call for a culture of innovation? After all, how can we create a desired culture, if we don’t know exactly what it looks like?

In a study released by Gilbert and Bower, the authors extrapolate that when companies face major disruptions in their markets, the way their managers perceive that disruption influences a company’s response profoundly.

An African proverb suggests: If you want a different dance, change the music. In other words: To see different moves and different actions, find the factors that drive the behavior and alter them.

 

Companies and organizations have many reasons for implementing change or pursuing new innovation strategies. Some change and innovation strategies aim to make a difference in our society, others to help the company remain resilient and yet others to strive for mere survival.