Enabling innovative creativity
Innovation needs the creativity to be enabled in the organization. People do not innovate, when they see no interest in the result. Or, they innovate in their mind, but they do not follow the implementation of the innovative idea. Innovation is the endless source of the improvements helping to build a better business, the organization has to enable the creativity potential in its employees as it is cheap and the results are amazing.
The Apple Computer is a good example of the organization utilizing innovation and enabling the creativity of its employees. Their internal procedures have to be set the way to bring the amazing ideas and improvements. They did not invent something special, they just made some tools really brilliant. It is not just Steve Jobs, it is the whole organization, which innovate.
To enable the innovative creativity the organization has to make several steps:
- Supportive management
- Right to make a mistake
- Recognition of innovative employees
- Open and Honest Environment
The management has to support innovations and the management has to communicate with employees about their daily duties and the ways to improve the results of the unit. The employees usually do not implement innovations on their own; they want permission and the support from their manager. When the manager does not send the signals of the support, they have the idea in their head and they do not speak about the improvement in the daily business. The managers usually think innovation has to be rewarded by the cash, but it is not true, people love to use the creativity. They just have to see, the results are implemented and recognized.
Most innovations are not successful, but when innovation is a real success, the additional income or cost saving outweigh all the unsuccessful ones. The employees have to feel, they have the right to make a mistake or to fail. Nobody will speak about the potential innovation, when it can bring the punishment. The employees have to feel the security and they have to be sure, they are allowed to make a mistake. The organization is not successful with all products as well. Some are successful, some products just fail. Give the chance to make a mistake to your employees and communicate it. Innovation needs the right to fail.
The employees innovate, because they like to play and because they want to be recognized by the manager and the organization. They need to see the result of their work. When the organization does not implement the results of innovation or it does not send a message “Thank You”, the people just simply stop talking about innovations and they leave their ideas in heads. It is extremely costly for the organization then. The employees do not want to be recognized financially, they want to be visible in the organization.
The creativity and innovation need open and honest environment. People have to speak about their ideas, they have to know the real results of the organization and they have to know about issues in the organization. When they know what difficulties the organization faces, they can bring a solution as they know, the solution is welcome. When the management does not communicate with employees about the real issues and hides the troubles, the employees just hide their ideas and they use their creativity for other tasks.
