Manufacturing Executive - November 2008 - (Page 6) lisa bodell/opinion Keeping Innovation Afloat hough no one can seem to agree on whether or not we’re actually in a — dare I say it? — recession right now, most would agree that we’re at least seeing hints of a downturn in all things economic. When the economy is in trouble, innovation is one of the first activities to get shut down in most organizations. However, economic fears shouldn’t lead to a halt in innovation. Smart companies know that these are often the best times to kick innovation efforts into high gear so that new ideas are ready to bloom when things start picking up again. The good news is that innovation doesn’t have to be expensive. There are many small things you can do to keep your innovation efforts healthy without burning through your budget. Here are of some of futurethink’s favorite ways to jump-start the innovation process among the people in your organization. • Invite someone from outside the company to talk about the future of your industry. Pick someone inspiring — an author, a researcher, a futurist, or an expert in your field — and invite him or her to give an informal presentation or talk to your team about where things are going in the marketplace. This will help ignite fresh conversation and very likely will lead to new and exciting ideas. • Hold a “what’s next” URTHER READING idea competition. Challenge your team to submit ideas ARTICLES: on how to grow your busit The Innovation Gap ness in new ways. Specifiwww.managingautomation.com cally, ask ever yone to /innovationpoll2 submit one idea related to t Innovation PM Roundtable www.managingautomation.com the future of your business. /pmroundtableinnovate Set a deadline, collect ideas, t Why Are So Many Coming and then get a few key peoUp Short? ple in your organization to www.managingautomation.com /innovationpoll sift through what you’ve collected. Pick a few winners 2008 t Contrary to popular belief, an economic downturn is an excellent time to encourage the staff to generate new ideas and get new projects under way. — ideas that you intend to actually implement — and publicize your plans for moving forward. • Hold an innovation show and tell session. Give everyone on your team $20 to go out and purchase something innovative. Don’t give too many specifics; the goal is to see what people come back with. Hold a lunch-and-learn session where ever yone brings in their purchases, shares them with the others, and, most important, details why they think their purchase is innovative. Use this discussion as a star ting point for a fr uitful discussion on what innovation should mean to your organization. • Formalize an innovation update meeting. One of the best things you can do to keep innovation alive in your company is to put it on your calendar. Set time aside each month — or each quarter if that’s better for your company — to spend a few hours on innovation. Gather your key innovators together and dedicate time in the agenda for updating the group on new ideas and concepts, selecting new ideas for exploration, outlining next steps and new goals, and sharing innovation-specific goals and metrics. Ensuring that everyone is up-to-date on the progress of innovation will help people commit their time and energy to making big things happen. No matter how long the current economic slump lasts, the most important thing you, as a leader, can do is to step back and support your team’s ability to innovate without getting in the way. This can be especially dif ficult for businesses that feel that their resources are much too tight to “waste” on riskier innovation projects. But remember: Innovation doesn’t have to be expensive or risky, and companies that focus on innovation when everyone else is running for cover will end up better prepared to reap the rewards. s L i s a B o d e l l is chief executive officer of futuret h i n k t (www.getfuturethink.com), which of fers the world’s largest catalog of innovation research and tools to help organizations better innovate. F 6 November Photo: Lisa Bodell http://www.managingautomation.com/executive/innovationpoll2 http://www.managingautomation.com/pmroundtableinnovate http://www.getfuturethink.com http://www.managingautomation.com/innovationpoll
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