Innovation – The Mantra for Success

Innovation is the buzz word of today. We need to understand this concept else we may think we are innovating, while we actually may not be.

Firstly, it is essential to know why we have this desire to innovate. There are two aspects here. One is that every human being wants to experience its personal-power, so when we solve problems, we realize our power. Second, every human being wants to leave a legacy behind and so this intense urge to create something unique. To innovate you need to use your creative imagination which everyone in this world is blessed with, while only a few chose to use it.Innovation starts with the love to solve problems. So you must like problems.

I like what Buddha said. Life is a problem. This is a tremendous opportunity to use our creative imagination. Once we define the problem accurately, we need the right people with whom we can ideate, and this process is called brainstorming.

The ideas thus created fall into two categories Incremental & Breakthrough. Incremental is logical ideas whose probability of success is high. Breakthrough is an altogether new way of doing things, and thus the risk involved is very high. In today’s world which is demanding and competitive only breakthrough ideas will sell. Incremental ideas will only help survival while breakthrough will create growth. It is important to learn techniques of innovation and practice them.

People must realize they are hired to solve problems, and thus Innovation is a key competency they need to display. The way the innovation process works is people come together to solve a problem and mostly create a partial success which then feeds into the cycle of continual innovation. It is wrong to believe that innovation creates complete success. Also, it is important to note that innovation teams must have members from diverse backgrounds. Organizations must invest in building creative teams by forming cross-functional teams for problem-solving. Innovators must be nurtured, and their ideas must be championed.

Customer focus is the key part of innovation because you must innovate around customers need only. Ultimately business innovation must yield profits. Teams experienced, and rookies working together create great innovations. The more you innovate, the more the customers get attracted and become loyal.

Also when you nurture innovation job becomes interesting, and thus people enjoy their work and attrition can be controlled. The best is to convert your passion into work. This is the best way to remain creative for life. If you can convert your hobby or liking into your profession, it’s fun. Else there are ways to make work innovative. Managers must focus on converting repetitive routine work to creative.

Please be aware the world is fast-paced and demanding. If organizations don’t become innovative, they will perish. The new mantra is thus innovate and have fun, after all, we spend so much time at work it must be ensured that life remains interesting.