NewStatesman: Cognizant’s UK, Ireland and Nordics Head Writes About Developing a Culture of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

“Currently, businesses face two dilemmas,” writes Sanjiv Gossain. “They need to make their operations as efficient and cost-effective as possible to run better, while embracing and investing in innovative technologies and processes to drive growth and run differently.” But where does a business begin to tackle these challenges? “Firstly, they need to carefully assess the wealth of creative talent throughout their organization across all geographies,” writes Gossain. “Secondly, it is about being more proactive. Promoting innovation and an entrepreneurial culture internally is imperative; from suggesting new product lines and innovative business ideas to identifying new niche markets to target or ways to foster greater teamwork, employees should be able to share and voice their opinions and work with the right people to develop them.”

According to Gossain, one way of enhancing this entrepreneurial spirit is to try and maintain a start-up culture—decentralized and proactively pushing opportunities and accountabilities further down the organization. “Adopting and promoting this type of culture is really the way forward,” he opines. “You cannot manage talent centrally; you have to give employees the reins to run with specific projects and ideas. Good ideas can come from anyone within the organization—it shouldn’t be confined to senior management. However, it is important to remember and make clear that entrepreneurship and innovation does not necessarily need to be the next big idea that will completely change the business. It can be a small incremental change, which is revolutionary and undoubtedly creative in its own right.”

Gossain suggests that ambitious individuals can also be given the chance to develop their own businesses within the larger enterprise—a model that has worked incredibly well at Cognizant. “This strategy gives them the opportunity to adopt an entrepreneurial role and the freedom to launch and grow a part of the business by themselves,” he writes. “Business leaders need to create a work environment that prides itself on its people and skills and uses them to best effect to innovate, increase growth and compete in challenging economic times.”

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