Information Age, UK: Europe Head of Cognizant’s Center for the Future of Work Says Innovation Belongs to Everyone Today and Businesses Must Actively Encourage Innovation Among Employees

“Many organizations treat innovation as something outside of their daily work, but how can they ingrain innovation as part of their everyday processes?” asks Euan Davis. “Whether you are in the C-suite or on the shop floor, there is probably no shortage of ideas, entrepreneurial spirit, and opportunities waiting to be embraced.” Excerpts:

“Often the challenge with innovation in large companies is not the dearth of good ideas but the ability to identify, develop and sustain them and even turn them into potentially profitable business propositions.

Innovation is a very broad term and the extent of innovation can vary from incremental core business improvements (below the line innovation) to a major breakthrough or ‘eureka’ moments (above the line innovation).

Throughout the whole process, a key component is changing the corporate attitude to failure. The lean methodology and mantra of ‘fail fast’ where companies are encouraged to test out lots of new ideas and quickly drop them if they do not bear fruit, may sound good, but it is neither tolerated at most companies, nor is it an attitude that guarantees success at the end of the process. Instead, businesses should shift the emphasis to instilling the habit of generating more ideas and managing the good ones through the business.

The process of managing innovation, nurturing new ideas, and moving them from the whiteboard and spreadsheets into the field is where we find firms struggle.

Innovating at scale is always tricky and to be able to push new ideas effectively through the business, teams and individuals need commitment from the senior leadership team, and commitment that goes beyond lip service. This includes funding, fostering the right culture and ensuring the sustainability of good ideas.

Innovations must be based on everyday discussions with clients and employees and address their pain points.

The lifeblood of any company lies in its ability to improve its product portfolio or develop new ideas and continually evolve. Successful leaders are those who champion innovation, understand context, mechanics and measurement beyond bottom-line results.

How leaders choose to foster innovation will be felt throughout the entire organization and ultimately impacts the future success of any company.”

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