The ideal solutions must be sustainable and satisfying.Many time the problem is not that we don’t have solutions of but we have identified the wrong problem and treating the problem the wrong way.

Raise these questions: Is this a right, relevant and primary problem and by solving that we can have significant impact on our present as well as future?

After we identify, what is the right approach to solve or how we treat this problem?

HIERARCHY OF SOLUTIONS

Alternative < Cure < Prevention

Let’s assume that somebody has fever or cold. So the first kind of solution is the alternative, take the pills and it will be all right. This is the least sustainable solution because he hasn’t understand it completely he just confronted and want to be solved one way or another to get back normal. Then second is the cure, it is an alternative with the understanding. In this case he goes to the doctor ask about his fever, observe himself and understand the reasons for the causality and treat not only the symptoms but the reasons. And the better than this is the prevention, it is also an alternative with understanding and preparation. This time if that person have preventive mind-set than he understand the causality of your fever but he prepares, like change his routine, develop an early signs system so that he can identify and cure before its reach critical level.

 As the part of preventive solution we should start by redefining your organization for innovation first.

Redefine in way that reflect that our organization exists to innovate to deliver value. Ask your organizations these two questions (1) Why we exist, why we do things what we do?  (2) What we think about what we do or What we think about our organizations, their existence and role of innovation?

That will clarify what’s considered as the innovation for our organization and what’s not, what is game changer and what is the incremental innovation based on what kind of value. Example: At Amazon providing the best customer experience is central so if we come up with the video review of people it might be considered as the incremental but if we come up with technology that allow people to see 3D images and feel it like in the physical stores, now that might be the game changing. But redefine in a way so that innovation become an easy, simple, interesting and fun activity for everybody. The redefinition of innovation should not build the perception in people as you have to be God Gifted or Genius to be innovative.

This will take time. Your approach should experimental, understand by experimenting and must be in agreement with everybody. Once this is done (the cause part), set the culture that deliver on it by humanizing (cause+ culture).

Humanizing the organizations for innovation start with the individuals based on the different principles or values that not only amplify the innovation but sustain innovation and make innovation the core competence.

Principles or Values for building the culture of innovation.

(MOONSHOTS FOR INNOVATION)

(1)  THINK MORE, QUESTION MORE: In organizations we are much more like only doers, what orders we are given. The top people think, the middle managers acts as the coordinators and in the bottom people just be doers. That’s not because they can’t think but they seldom provided the tools and environment to think and come up an inside or an idea. If we want innovation as core competency we need to change this. Contrarians are the questioners and the questioning is one of the most important and starting point to be the innovator. It’s not the answers that leads to the innovation but the questions. By thinking and questioning we use the single most important lesson the science teach us Scepticism and Openness.

 (2)  DARE TO DREAM THE IMPOSSIBLE: Game changing innovations never happens when it was possible. Greatest inventors and innovators have the same common pattern that they had the dream of impossible (at that time). But that impossible became possible because they dared.

(3)  MAXIMUM FREEDOM: Without freedom innovation is not possible nor with limited or calculative freedom. If we want intrinsic and infinite flow of innovation then we need maximum freedom. Freedom to think and imagine, freedom to explore, freedom to experiment.

 (4)  TREAT PEOPLE THE WAY THEY WANT AND LIKE TO BE TREATED: Business can be described in principles, processes, profit and people but people always comes first. If we want that people bring their gifts of creativity with them in the organizations every time, we have to treat them as they like and want. This is very personal and differ from one person to another. We need to understand that. From innovation and organizational point of view often times it’s not the mangers intentions but their treatment with people break the bridge and they choose not to come up with the ideas.

 (5)  NURTURING RELATIONSHIPS:  Innovation can’t be forced. If we want it to make it the natural act than let it be nature’s way by nurturing. Researches shows that nurture is more powerful then nature. How you lead, mentor, push and correct people is it taking them to the next level or demoralizing. When their roles and relationships become more and more meaningful they become more passionate.

 (6)  DOING WHAT’S INNOVATIVE NOT WHAT’S JUST WORKING:  Innovation isn’t everything but the only thing. Pushing people and teams not to take the easy alternative and really differentiate them by innovating. This will spark the competitive spirit by innovating, for innovation.

 (7)  INSPIRE TO INNOVATE & RISK-TAKING TO BE THE GREAT: In the organizations people often find very risky and hard for anything new. Because of the failure stories of peers and others. For innovators the leap of faith is often one most important part to go ahead which other people see as the risk taking. We want culture that convert those failure stories into stepping stones as part of the process. And should not treated with negative marking.(if you are right, you get +1, but if you wrong -2)

 (8)  EMPOWERING TO BE THE EXPERIMENTER & ENTREPRENEUR:  Put the experiments and trials score-board out of the game until the game really start. Many times our organizational processes don't give us enough chances to fail and improve because they bring the score-board in the game even in the practice session. Everything we do is considered and measured into total efficiency matrix. All our trials and given time are considered as the chances given to us to prove our self. As the trials are meant to be failed on large basis they hand-cuff, discard the creative people with red and yellow card that you haven't shown the tangible results. Many times in order to fund an idea people make changes as their bosses say and by the end the original innovation loose its power because it has become the total reflection of what should be by the point of view of top management people rather what it originally was. This things kill initiative and entrepreneurship spirit.

 (9)  LIVING FROM YOUR IMAGINATION WITH RESPECT OF REALITY: For innovation or in general to accomplish anything worthy, we need ideal balance of Facts and Faith, empiricism and imagination, curiosity and caution. We need to embrace the trade-offs. The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. [F. Scott Fitzgerald]

(10)  LOYALTY IS THE REAL ROYALTY: All the innovation roots pass through customers. (directly or indirectly) Long term is the right matrix for innovation. Loyalty is only earned by the long term.

(11) IT’S NOT WHAT YOU GET FROM IT BUT WHAT YOU BECOME THROUGH IT: One can yield the highest rewards for his or her dedication to excellence by innovating is not just by measuring what he or she gets from it but by recognizing and applying what he or she becomes through it. For innovation ROI we have to consider not only the tangible rewards like new products, revenue but what we have learned and become capable of(as the organization) by perusing.

 

 

Develop your culture on this values or principles will help in decentralization, democratization and disruption. Building the system or culture where innovation happen because of system or culture the other components are Skills, Resources, Accountability and Rewards. First I will share ideas for each of these. Then next I will share The Ideal model for the culture or system. (customizable for everybody).

Skills and Idea Generation→ Getting Resources to Experiment → Accountability → Reward, Compensations

 

1)  Skills and Idea Generation: If you set to do thing that are truly innovative then all the past references are irrelevant. And to be truly innovative we need new sets of skills. Skills that make us more innovative intelligent. But for that we have to understand innovation and innovation process.

The INNOVATION process ( I to I)

IGNORANCE/ INNOCENCE → AWARENESS → KNOWLEDGE → UNDERSTANDING → INSTINCT/RELAIZATION → CREATIVITY/INNOVATION. This clarify many things. With innovation process in mind develop training programs that’s start with knowing and understanding yourself first then progress to your industry, company rather than the reverse. Like SELF → PEOPLE → YOUR WORK, COMPANY, INDUSTRY AND THE REST.The problem with our education system and corporate training system is designed that goes from your work, your industry to people and last yourself. But without knowing about yourself you won’t be able to develop their true potential. All the innovators know more about themselves or better the understand themselves and people well first.

Real skills to be the real disruptive innovators.  Clayton M. Christensen ,Jeff Dyer and Hal Gregersen the authors of  The Innovator's DNA, did big research project to find the secrets of disruptive innovators  like Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos. They come up with five skills that matter most they call them the discovery skills

Thinking (Associational), Questioning, Observing, Experimenting and Networking.

Ideas to naturally develop innovation skills and idea generations.

(1.1) Try QQ: Question storming and Question converting rather than just brain storming. In this session we ask and generate as many questions (100 is good but at least 50) about the issue we working on. Then select the best pressing one and try to convert big, open ended questions into close ended one. This will provide you the new insides help you to understand better and upgrade your skill. Example

 (1.2) Introduce department exchange and role swift programme: Take one department employees and put them in the another department with assistance for one month or two. Like: Take some of the finance folks and put them into marketing with their willingness. This will help them to embrace new reality and principles, make more connection.

(1.3) Inter networking event, the Medici effect. Set up get to gather where different people (from your organizations across the border) comes in contacts they share ideas.  

(1.4) Make infrastructure: Design special rooms like Thinking rooms, Dreaming rooms where people frequently visit to think and dream. Make thinking room as all white, walls celling doors everything white and put the black writing there which is the topic of think. People need to go there lock themselves in for 10 or 20 minutes with focus on one thing to think. Make the board rooms of innovative companies. Example : make room that likes Apple board room and people go there put the cap as Apple logo and do everything as if they are Apple people. Now think like Apple. This helps.

(1.5) Stretch with structural tension: Holding two pictures side-by-side in our mind at the same time (A  vision of the future reality and a clear picture of the current reality before us.) will generate a force within ourselves called "structural tension". Tension by its nature, seeks resolution, and the most natural resolution of this tension is for our reality to move closer to what we want.  So use this for solving the trade-offs and finding new ways to meet goals.

 

(2) Getting Resources to Experiment: The goal here is to reach from mind to market faster. and not letting the men and monopsony come in between.

Ideas for exploding the experimentations

(2.1) One day prototype competition: every month put a competition in which we invite people to make prototype of an idea and compete with other in friendly way. Have a good prize so many people want to be in.

(2.2) Create the groups of innovation freaks: How the Pc was invented by the efforts of Homebrew Computer Club where all the computer hobbyist met regularly. And have chance to present their idea with prototype and let the people judge it, improve it and build upon it. So you can start similar thing in our organizations. 

(2.3) Money in the bank: this is the WWE concept where if you win the money in the bank title you have the power to challenge the WWE winner anytime, anywhere. So reflecting on this develop something like any moment in a year its been announced for in a week or day if anybody can come up with an worthy idea and prototype will get big money as bonus.

(3) For accountability:In organizations innovation activities treated as the optional not the primary like language subjects in high schools where much focus on maths and science subjects. But if you redefine and humanize with culture on above principles or values then accountability is the obvious thing. Now it is not the question of do or don’t but how much and how better.

Managers should be accountable for the how many people actively sign up for innovation initiatives, keep them engaged and motivated, identification of next innovator star, completion their projects and finding more usefulness of their projects in terms of financial like how their findings has saved time, money efforts or how they have created value or build the foundation for next big thing.

Ideas for holding everybody more accountable.

(3.1) Play now and get paid later: For accountability for long term and follow up. Start something that if you start today get 50% reward and 50% reward with bonus will be credited next quarter.  Same way with the innovation. Giving extra for long term increase the follow ups the started initiatives.

(3.2) Quantity bonus for managers: Put bonus on how many extra ideas or prototypes have been completed by the help and commitment of the managers for employees. 

(3.3) Engaging score : bonus for managers for their efforts for making more people interested and engaged in innovation initiatives.  

(3.4) Open declaration by individuals and managers for goal: publically declaring goals for innovations for everybody in true spirit will help to be more accountable.

(4) Reward and compensations: When it comes to rewards and compensations, very often in organizations the primary type is financial. This just appeal to Creative people but not drive them to the next level and keep them up. Creative people are right brain personalities. And they respond more to the recognition than money alone. For them reward is the result of their action not the reason for their action. So my point here is to make recognition the big part of reward along with money.

Ideas to make innovation the part of the reward system.

 

(4.1) Offer partnerships and royalties for innovation: offering not only the stock options but partnerships into new venture in what they invented. Bypass royalties of small percentages of products and services.  

(4.2) Recognize the next innovator star: Organize success seminars when somebody has innovated and change the game.

(4.3) Credit them with like golden plated in headquarters: with every new product super-success, pup their name in the golden plate in headquarters and relevant office in way that people want that kind of recognition as being innovative.

(4.4) Create Innoward: create reward or compensation plan with different levels. From top to bottom Like 3% bonus on these things and 6% on these many so on the Silver Achiever, Golden Achievers.

(4.4) Minimize the efforts and level for recognition. Recognize people for small efforts and small successes on small scale and give chance to share their story. In many cases. Many times all organizations do these but they have set the level high like the winner and finalists will be recognized but what if we can deploy that on micro scale like on department level. If you do something innovative that’s really interesting or promising you get recognition. That’s keeps the mojo of innovator going.

Synchronization of everything:

  IPL: Innovation Premier League : the core idea behind this is to take different people who have specific skills like programmer, designer, financer planer etc and make a team, find or take challenging issues, work for month or less and find out the best solution. Several teams are in competition with each other as real sport Leagues.

There are many ideas and we can come up with many but choosing the relevant ones is the most important. In any culture we not only need to work on what to do but on stop doing. So here is our agenda figure out What to do, Stop Doing and Start Working.