When was the last time you achieved
something really amazing and then tried to replicate it, but couldn't? That is how it is with innovation – you
create something by accident and then can’t figure out how you did it. Just because you have a great idea doesn't mean it will automatically be successful!
You have to capture it! And
cultivate it! Then you can then access
it anytime it is needed to drive ideas in your company. But how many companies actually do this and
do it well?
The problem is you don’t know when ideas or
innovation will occur. Neither does your
leadership team – they don’t know which employee will come up with an idea,
when it will occur or how the idea will apply to your business. Oftentimes,
ideas happen on the fly – like when an employee is working on one task but ends
up discovering something new and innovative instead.
Your employees have ideas about their jobs
on a daily basis, but many are lost because employees feel that leadership doesn't care about their ideas and won’t allow them to bring their ideas to
fruition. Innovation and new discoveries
only flourish when your employees have a chance to expand their perspective and
to tinker with those ideas.
One way to accomplish this exploration is
through job rotation that allows your employees to use their skills and
knowledge acquired outside of their current job title in new and engaging ways. And to collaborate on those ideas. For example, if your employee is shadowing
someone to learn more about a new work flow, insight from their previous experiences
might help them identify areas where a different approach might improve the
process. Chances are, no other employee
would have come up with the same idea – because the idea was born of that
employee’s unique thought process along with his or her skill set and knowledge.
It is even better if the employee shadowing
can actually perform the job for a given period of time – as they will come
away with a clearer picture of the overall process and may even replicate parts
within their own position. The more your employee understands other roles in
the organization – the better he or she can see the interconnection between ideas
and how they relate to the overall strategy for your company!
A standardized process helps you to
generate, to capture and to implement ideas that may save your business
thousands of dollars, improve your cash flow and drive the profitability and the
value of your business. But it won’t
happen by accident - success depends on your ability to transform ideas into
reality – and replicate them!
Idea Share of the Month!
There is a difference between ideas and
innovation. Innovation is the act of
putting your ideas into place and sustaining them over time.
Frame of Mind Consulting understands the unique DNA of your organization, which is necessary to turn any organization into one capable of leveraging the full idea potential of its employees Please visit Frame of Mind Consulting for more information or to sign up for Page's Idea Share Tip of the Week!
Good article, Page. Southwest airlines does some these things you mentioned above.
ReplyDeleteThe best yet Page :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you!!! Always glad to share my knowledge!
ReplyDelete