What is an innovation culture?
Innovation culture is the work environment that leaders cultivate in order to nurture unorthodox thinking and its application. Workplaces that foster a culture of innovation generally subscribe to the belief that innovation is not the province of top leadership but can come from anyone in the organization. Innovation cultures are prized by organizations that compete in markets defined by rapid change; maintaining the status quo is insufficient to compete effectively, thus making an innovation culture essential for success.
“We’re what we do again and again.” — Aristotle
Innovation cultures often measure employees based on metrics such as value creation (for customers as well as for shareholders) and competitive differentiation , instead of traditional metrics such as on-time delivery and revenue generation. Companies that foster innovative thinking also encourage discovery and find ways to reward time spent on the research required to generate new products and ideas.
Importance of innovation
Innovation cultures are difficult to establish and sustain but are considered by many management experts essential for creating competitive differentiation and competitive advantage in the marketplace. Another benefit of creating a culture of innovation is for the sake of staff retention.
According to Forbes contributor Edward D. Hess, professor of Business Administration and Batten Executive-in-Residence at the Darden Graduate School of Business, “Failure is a necessary part of the innovation process because from failure comes learning, iteration, adaptation, and the building of new conceptual and physical models through an iterative learning process. Almost all innovations are the result of prior learning from failures.” Organizations fostering a culture of innovation must be prepared to fail in order to innovate.
How to create a more innovative culture
- sensitize employees to innovation and its opportunities.
- motivate and inspire employees to engage in innovation alongside their day-to-day business. Be it actively in the role of the innovator, but in which ideas and projects of others are supported.
- Provide employees with the necessary information, tools and skills to enable them to innovate.
- Provide employees with the necessary resources, structures and space to enable innovation
