Laura Weiss on Innovation
February 19, 2009 in General Information
Innovate – and plan your own economic stimulus
Yet success will depend on transforming rhetoric into action. Innovation at a national or even regional scale may seem hard to grasp when you’re focused on the immediate needs of your individual business or organization. But, in fact, new products, services and processes (even those that may fail) are linked and need to be continuously introduced to keep our economy – and our society – moving forward. [...]
Get focused, fast. Most innovation programs are exploratory in nature, and the scope of inquiry can be quite broad. Instead of tackling everything at once, think about your best customers – who are they and how do they experience your product or service? What are the “moments that matter” to them? Anything that’s extraneous to addressing their most pressing needs will not only consume resources but also leave you vulnerable to competitors who are vying for their loyalty.
Leverage what you already know. When it comes to innovation, there is a tendency to believe that insights and know-how are the domains of outside experts. Take the time now to improve internal networks for communicating your ideas in order to more effectively mine in-house knowledge across as much of your organization as possible. You may know more than you think, which will help you get focused on what’s missing and eliminate the cost of reinventing the wheel.
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Be compassionate with yourself. Innovation at its core is about putting new ideas into action, repeatedly, resulting in some kind of change in the world. If you’ve engaged in a conversation about doing something differently, and then taken the first (or next) step with conviction, you’re an innovator.
Today we need to think differently about the practice of innovation. It’s not just about conceiving the next bright shiny object; rather, it’s about actively making smart investments now that set a course for the future and get your business in position to take advantage of that eventual upturn – even if it’s going to be after a very long economic winter.
Laura Weiss specializes in the design and management of the innovation process. She is based in San Francisco and can be reached at laura@lauraweiss.net.
(Cross-posted at the new home for all content – …words)
