5 Ways to Boost Innovation and Beat Your Competition

In order to cultivate a workplace that is conducive to creativity, savvy leaders need to structure the culture of their company in a way that fosters innovation to produce fresh ideas.

And to keep up with the competition, innovation and creativity are essential and no longer only the preserve of artists. Unfortunately innovation is not something that can be forced to occur, especially not by an overarching leader. “Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel” (Socrates).

One key to growing a business or indeed an entire economy is coming up with inventive new ideas. America is a world leader in innovation, while it continues to be increasingly difficult to compete on price; American companies are ahead of the competition when it comes to innovative products or smart products. Research and development is a cut above the rest of the world in part because of the creative environment fostered by the freedoms of American society according to Antoine van Agtmael and Dutch journalist Fred Bakker. In their new book, “The Smartest Places on Earth” they argue that continuing in that tradition, America’s ‘rust belts’ are now becoming hotspots of innovation. Old industrial skills are being put to new use thanks to advances in such things as material sciences. One example is North Carolina State University’s capitalizing on its heritage in textiles to lead the way in research and development of textiles that can resist heat and chemicals.

There is no doubt that innovation is vital to the long term success of a company, so what can you do right now to encourage ingenuity in the workplace?

Here are 5 Ways to Create a Work Environment That Will Boost Innovation:

1. Keep Everyone in the Loop – Make sure your employees are clear on what the company’s strategies and challenges are. Your team needs to feel connected to the company to find incentive to be innovative.
2. Don’t Stifle Creative Flow – Failure is part of the process. Keep an open mind, innovation can be a risky business, respond kindly to unique ideas and do not penalize those ideas that didn’t work out. Google and 3M allocate about 10% ‘free time’ to experiment with new ideas.
3. Invite Ideas – Be approachable, foster a relaxed and flexible work environment that will allow ideas to flow and boost productivity. Make it clear to everyone that you want to hear their ideas, it is good for them to know that by innovating business processes they can help keep the company competitive and boost their careers. Think about rewarding ideation through an awards scheme, it will encourage further out of the box thinking.
4. Act Upon Ideas – The flow of thinking will dry up if employees see that the process is pointless. Ensure time and resources are given to develop and implement ideas worth acting upon. See ideas through to completion (and don’t forget about that rewards scheme). “Innovation is the process of turning ideas into manufacturable and marketable form” (Watts Humphrey).
5. Promote Time Away – Allow your team to take time away to re-energize and recoup, they will come back feeling fresh and excited to be at work. Four time British Prime Minister (more than any other person) William Gladstone would let off steam felling trees.

Trust your team. Delegate and provide ample time and freedom for creativity and your company will flourish.

Also read: Cambridge Consultants’ Innovative Culture in Action