How to bring about innovative thinking ?

Innovation brings value and growth in societies. Were it not for the innovation of the steam engine and electricity or to more recently the digital computer, humans would not have been able to achieve this growth and economic prosperity. We  hear about the need to bring Innovation to our workplace, lifestyle, but we have struggled to bring it around. 

As we know any product, process or service that adds value to the user of that product, process or service, is an innovation. 

Recently in research conducted by Scott Kirsner on 270 corporate leaders in Strategy, Innovation and Research and Development roles, titled The biggest obstacles to Innovation in large companies  and reported in HBR July '18, (click here), it was found that internal politics and turf wars were the biggest obstacles to Innovation in large companies. Poor adaption of new emerging technologies, especially AI, Blockchain, IOT etc were at #6. Lack of budget was at #4 while lack of strategy and vision was at #5. 

The top three reasons cited as responsible for lack of innovation in large companies were, (as given in the pictorial) 

1. Politics / turf wars, 
2. cultural issues and 
3. inability to act on critical signals

This calls for serious introspection as to what promotes and what holds back innovation. It also gives an idea of where one needs to actually concentrate to promote innovation in organisations. 

Innovation is basically of three types - Product, Process and Business Model (click here). All our thought processes of Innovation will be included in either the product, process or the business model.

If then, what is exactly Innovation ? 

• Does it reduce your efforts or inputs  ?
  
• Does it improve the outputs ?
  
• Does it incorporate modern technology ?
  
• Does it improve convenience ?
  
• Does it improve the speed of process and delivery ?
  
• Does it improve the quality ?
  
• Does it entail bringing around a new product or a process ?
  
• Does it improve safety ?
  
• Does it reduce pollution ?
  
• Does it help build sustainable environment ?
  
• Does it bring better value to customer ?
  

The answer is many .. Innovation encompasses all these thought processes.   

Most organisations try to promote a fearless, creative environment that helps employees think innovative. Apple and Google have gone to the extreme, by earmarking about 10-20% of their time for working on innovative products and services, that may in the future be adopted across the organisation for the benefit of humanity that could bring more value to society.

Referring to the article in HBR of Dec '19 by Scott, Paul, Rahul and Natalie, Breaking down the barriers to Innovation, (click here), the authors have listed out a tool called BEAN, Behaviour Enabler, Artifact and Nudge that the authors claim will enable innovation.

Behaviour Enables are tools or processes that make it easier for people to do different creative things

Artifacts are things that one can see and touch that will support the new behaviour

Nudges are tactics that promote change through indirect suggestion and reinforcement.

In the research carried out by the authors they have identified five features exhibited by innovative organisations, they are given by the anagram F-A-C-E-S

1. Focus on deeply understanding customers' needs, unstated needs and desires

2. Assume there is a better way of doing everything

3. Collaborate across and beyond organisations, often cross-pollinating

4. Empower people to take considered risks, voice dissenting opinion and seek extra funds to continue with their ideas

5. Believe that Success comes after rapid experimentation, failing often, iterating fast with the spirit of perseverance

Some of the barriers that stand in the way of Innovation can be given in the following points, again given by the interesting Anagram, T-I-D-E-S

1. Lack of Time

2. Interia, lack of infrastructure nd support

3. Doing things Differently

4. High Expenses or cost and possible punishment

5. Poor Innovative Skills

One major handicap of businesses is that they are organised to deliver predictable, reliable results.

The Development Bank of Singapore (DBS Bank Ltd) often had meetings which got extended, wasting hours of time and resources for the bank and the employees. They came out with an effective BEAN called MOJO, Meeting Owner - Joyful Observer, meeting owner being a senior officer and the Joyful owner being a junior officer , the two people together saw that meetings ended on time and saved the bank lot of money and resources. 

BEANS in general have to be simple words or expressions that are eye catching and simple - (approximated by another anagram, R-E-S-I-S-T)

• REINFORCING
• FUNNY and EXCITING
  
• SIMPLE
• PRACTICAL and IMPLEMENTABLE
• CONSISTENT and STEADY
  
• TRACKABLE

An organisation can have any number of BEANS for the different areas, proceses or actions and functions that need to be innovated.

In Alliance University Bangalore, India, we have arrived at a number of such BEANS, for example,

• Faculty need to be PIQS (Precise, Quick and Short), 
• classes have be IN-IT-EX (Interesting, Interactive and Exciting), 
• Quizzes need to be SH-EET (Short and Sweet), 
• Projects need to be PR-IN-EX (PRactical, INteractive and EXciting)

The advantage in this approach is that the faculty and students have now come to enjoy the teaching and learning experience.