Building a Culture of Innovation

You’ve all heard the saying, "Nothing changes if nothing changes." Well, if nothing changes, we stay the same. We don't grow, evolve or get better. That's not going to work not for you, and not for the world. We need positive change. We need new ideas. We need progress. We need innovation.

"What is now proved was once only imagined." William Blake

Since our inception, Exalogic Consulting has continuously evolved learning from other ideas, thoughts, and sparks. From our peers, from clients, from what happens on factory floors and boardroom discussions, from the wonderful evolution of information technology in every facet of our lives. Today, we craft bespoke IT solutions that are a product of decades of experience in understanding, conceptualizing, and implementing projects across verticals and business needs. This is innovation.

The corporate culture embraces the written and unwritten values, norms, and attitudes in an organization that influence the way employees think and act. An innovation culture is part of the corporate culture and determines how much innovation is supported and promoted by the management and its employees. The culture of innovation is therefore the framework for every innovation activity. If the culture is not positive, it can hinder innovation, even if the idea and the innovation team are still perfect. It is thus a decisive factor in the success of innovation within your organization.

To build a culture of innovation the following need to be paid attention to:

1. Communication: At a base level, change is threatening- and employees are especially threatened by digital or technological changes that may make their roles redundant. To address these fears, leaders must explain the broader purpose for the changes and clearly communicate expectations for employees moving forward. Make it clear that change is an opportunity, not just a disruption. An innovation strategy sets the direction and framework conditions. The expectations and goals regarding innovation should be clear to every employee.

2. Embracing failure: Successful innovation requires failure along the way- yet many employees are terrified of failure and its consequences. To build an innovative culture, it is imperative to take this fear away by building a culture of courage and an environment that supports and encourages people to try and make room for improvement.

3. Creating space for innovation: Innovative spaces matter. Experience shows a strong correlation between the physical workplace and a culture of innovation. This does not mean interior decoration drives innovation; rather, in contrast to the traditional cubicle setup, spaces designed to encourage collaboration and creativity have a positive effect on employee mindset and motivation.

4. Building Credibility: Change does not occur overnight. Throughout the process of cultural change, it is important to build credibility throughout the organization. Company leadership, from the CEO down, must be role models that visibly 'walk the talk' and follow through on what they have communicated and committed to do.

5. Creativity Workshops: In addition to providing information and raising awareness of innovation, it is recommended that employees be directly involved in the innovation process in the form of creativity workshops. Teams working together across all functions work on innovation questions and develop new ideas and solutions. If the workshops are well moderated and the topics are exciting, an immense attraction will be created and people will be inspired and mobilized for innovation.

6. Innovation Awards: Innovation contests, whether in the course of a pitching contest or whether the best innovation ideas, innovation teams or innovation projects are awarded, always have a very strong impact and attention.

7. Feedback: Innovation rarely happens in a Eureka! moment. Instead, it comes from a series of small observations, recombination of ideas, and mini experiments that give us fast feedback, allowing us to adapt. The feedback must be frequent, constructive, and supportive.

And there you have the 7 ideals for building a Culture of Innovation! Which of these points interested you the most? Have you already been applying any of these in your organization? If there is anything you'd like to add to this to achieve an innovative culture, please let us know by leaving a comment. We'd love to hear from you!