Research Articles

Daring to be Different - The Key to Creativity and Innovation

Kaye Thorne
CEO
The Innovation Network

How innovative are you?

Could you enable others to be innovative?

Does your organisation encourage innovation?

These are important questions in today's business environment. The generation of an innovation culture is seen as one of the most critical areas of focus for organisations in the 21st century and yet can be seen as very challenging to achieve.

One of the most over-used words in corporate communications is 'innovation'. It is found in mission and value statements, in employee competencies, and inevitably in recruitment advertisements. However the desire to acquire innovation often outweighs the understanding of exactly how to achieve it. Ask any CEO their view on innovation and they will all agree that it is important, however, if you subsequently ask them what they are doing about it their response is more guarded. The real issue is although everyone wants innovation, they really are not sure how to go about achieving it.

There can also be a lot of 'hype' about 'innovative' organisations and a common belief that you need a leader like Branson, Dyson or Gates. In reality it is within the corporate capability of any organisation to foster and develop innovation. Equally, creating a culture of innovation is as relevant to a SME as it is to a larger corporate organisation. It is not about investing vast resources . What is required, is a real understanding of how innovation works and a commitment to create an environment, which not only encourages idea generation, but also has a process to follow it through. Really successful organisations do not simply innovate; they accelerate and innovate again.

So just how do you encourage creativity and innovation?

Supporting innovation

Creative people are often viewed as being 'difficult' to manage; innovative organisations are perceived as being unusual, with a certain level of 'wackiness'. As a result many organisations have reservations about their capability to accommodate these differences.

Tom Peters in his book, 'Circle of Innovation', gives some examples of these viewpoints when he reproduces the following quotes from different writers:

Our most beloved products were developed by hunch, guesswork, and fanaticism, by creators who were eccentric - or even stark raving mad."
Jack Mingo, author of 'How the Cadillac got its Fins.'

"You say you don't want emotional, volatile, and unpredictable, just imaginative? Sorry, they only come in a package....I can offer you a dedicated, loyal, honest, realistic, knowledgeable package, but the imagination bit would be rather limited."
Patricia Pitcher author of 'The Drama of Leadership'.

Daniel Goleman in his book Working with Emotional Intelligence describes it as follows:

"The creative mind is by its very nature, a bit unruly. There is a natural tension between orderly self-control and innovative urge. It's not that people who are creative are out-of-control emotionally; rather, they are willing to entertain a wider range of impulse and action than do less adventurous spirits. That is after all, what creates new possibilities."

These individuals may also have had a lifetime of asking questions, or making suggestions which may have been largely ignored, or dismissed as being either too fanciful, or impractical, or too difficult to answer. The reasons for this are many; the ability to be creative and to generate innovative ideas has often been perceived as something outside the normal realm of behaviour, and in many ways creative people often suffer for their craft before they gain recognition.

The really innovative organisations however are those where creativity and innovation are recognised and encouraged, not just in a special group of people called 'Creatives' but where everyone is involved in the 'good idea' philosophy.

However, creating the 'right' environment can be more of challenge. Lack of understanding about the process of innovation has traditionally led to people dividing themselves into two camps: those who are seen as creative and those who are not. This applies to an individual's assessment of themselves as well as the perception of others. By recognising how the process of innovation works, individuals and teams can develop a clearer understanding and respect for each other's contribution.

Managing the process of innovation is absolutely critical for its success. Understanding how ideas are generated, sponsoring creative thinkers, allowing people freedom to think, is an important part of the role of any manager. The really excellent managers are those who assemble teams where creative and innovative people are supported by others who can help them and those who can help them explore their ideas and those who can help them take the idea to the next stage of making it happen. Within this environment high trust develops allowing ideas to be challenged, modified and implemented while remaining true to the original concept, thus enabling the creative and innovative people to move on to generating the next good idea.

If you want to assess your organisation's ability to foster innovation you may like to find answers to the following questions:

Is there top management support?
Do we champion idea generation?
Do we accept ideas that break organisational precedent?
Do we encourage cross fertilisation of ideas and perspective?
Do we give people personal space to be creative?
Do we tolerate failure in the pursuit of a good idea?
Are changes in direction accepted as necessary?
Do we reward ideas that develop business success?

Characteristics of innovative organisations

Innovative organisations:

Nurture creativity
Are supportive but challenging
Develop effective teamwork
Encourage cross company communication and co-ordination
Support innovation
Recognise small changes
Allow time for reflection and debate
Encourage active participation and involvement
Create a climate of co-operation and trust

Retaining talent is critical in today's buoyant economic environment; every employer needs to identify why their employees would want to stay with them. As Goleman describes:

"The premium on emotional intelligence can only rise as organizations become increasingly dependent on the talents and creativity of workers who are independent agents.. Such free agents suggest a future for work somewhat akin to the functioning of the immune system, where roaming cells spot a pressing need, spontaneously collect into a tightly knit, highly co-ordinated working group to meet that need and dissipate into a free agency as the job finishes. In an organizational context such groups may arise within and across organizational boundaries as demands require, then cease to exist once their task is accomplished. Such virtual teams can be especially agile because they are headed by whoever has the requisite skills rather than someone who happens to have the title 'manager'."

So how do organisations sponsor innovation?

Create an environment where good ideas are the philosophy of the whole company rather than just a few 'creatives'. Develop the 'spirit of enterprise'.
Recognise the innovation process and encourage teams to work together building on each other's strengths.
Encourage one or two individuals to take a proactive approach to idea generation.
Suspend overly critical judgement; instead, give evaluative and positive feedback to help the idea generator explore options and choices for implementation. Far too many good ideas are lost because of overly critical judgement applied too soon.
Develop values of trust, integrity, freedom of spirit.
Encourage a climate of self-awareness; create a learning environment where individuals are encouraged to identify their preferences when innovating.
Play to individual strengths within a team, not expecting those who generate an idea to implement it. Create strong communication and feedback channels to ensure that the original concept is maintained.
Create a coaching environment where line managers are encouraged to share learning and where knowledge and wisdom are valued.
Streamline processes for evaluation, decision-making and feedback, thus increasing speed to market.
Champion individuals that think differently, seek to be the organisation that others benchmark against.

As we move further into the 21st century the need to continuously innovate will become even more important and the need to retain talent will continue to be critical. However, there will be no real progress if we retain the status quo. In the words of Ridderstrale and Nordstrom in Funky Business:

"To succeed we must stop being so goddam normal. If we behave like all the others, we will see the same things, come up with similar ideas and develop identical products and services. At its best, normal output will produce normal results. In a winner takes all world, normal = nothing. But, if we are willing to take one little risk, break one tiny rule, disregard a few of the norms, there is at least a theoretical chance that we will come up with something different, actually get a niche, create a short term monopoly, and make a little money. Funky business is like playing the lottery. If you participate there is a 99% chance that you will lose. On the other hand if you do not take part, your chances of losing are 100%."

Kaye Thorne is the creator of Innovation 3® which is a process of measuring individual preferences and organisational readiness for innovation. She has developed two profiling tools: the Innovation Preference Inventory and the Organisational Readiness Indicator which are available online through HRworkbench Pty Ltd.