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Articles
By Reva Nelson
Innovation is needed in so many different areas right now, from new systems, to customer service, to new product, to advertising, to rewards, to scheduling work hours, to cost recovery methods. Just about everything's up for grabs as our population, resources and markets change.
In meetings with my clients, I hear presidents, vice-presidents and senior managers bemoaning the lack of innovative ideas coming up from the ranks. On the other hand, I also hear the complaints of front line people who feel no one's listening when they do have an idea. The lines of communication are still tense.
In fact, one V.P. told me this true story (different names):
A manager, (James), had an appointment to see the V.P. (Bob) at 11: a.m. Bob was in the hallway outside his office, speaking with someone else. He told James to go ahead, go into his office, have a seat and he'd be in shortly. James said, "That's o.k., I'll wait out here." Bob said, "Please, go in, get comfortable, read a magazine, relax, I'll be in soon." This exchange went on, James kept refusing, and Bob realized James simply could not go into his office to wait. It was beyond his comfort zone.
V.P. Bob, in discussing this scenario, risk-taking and innovation, with me, said, "What have we done to these people with our hierarchies and formalities? They can't relax enough to go into our offices, they can't go past these well-established boundaries."
Yet, these are the same people we're asking to accept vast changes, forget the hierarchies, take personal responsibility, take risks, be innovative and creative because the organization needs their ideas. Many people are afraid to go out of their well-established comfort zones.
How then, can we encourage innovation? All innovation begins with one idea from one person, who takes the RISK to put the idea forward. He then tells someone, they form a partnership for support, and put the idea forward to a team. The team implements it. Certain conditions for that one person to take the risk of coming forward in the first place are necessary:
1. The corporate culture must support new ideas, allow mistakes and good tries.
2. People need to develop a positive attitude toward risk-taking and perceive themselves as risk-takers.
3. People will risk for a vision they have helped to develop. No one wants to risk for someone else's vision.
4. There must be support and a reward system in place. Rewards can be money, time, recognition or a new project of the person's choosing. Morale goes up when people are involved for a vision they create and want to realize.
Are the people who work for you coming forward with their ideas? Are people comfortable enough to wait in your office? Is the corporate tree developing new shoots or in the process of dying? For innovation, there must be initiative on the part of the individual, support from the corporation and risk and trust between the two.