Understand the Innovation Process

It is very important to identify the challenges that face the company and ensure that the problems chosen have true strategic importance. If this step is ignored, organizational energy can be wasted on trivial issues. That is why the outcome of solving each problem should be carefully studied so that only high impact solutions are chosen. Identify a goal that creates excitement and energy. This could be a general goal and it can be refined later. The goal could be, ‘How to become a 1,000 crore company’, or ‘How to reduce costs by 50%’ or ‘How to create a Customer Fan Club’. Unless there is excitement and energy created around the initiative, a positive field, revolutionary change cannot take off. The slogan of that single unchanging word ‘Change’ defines the field created around Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. From being a rank outsider, he became the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate and the forty-fourth president of the US. The field is created by a clear, consistent, credible goal, shared by millions. It reminds everyone of Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream!’ or Gandhiji’s ‘Quit India!’ Creating a positive field around the idea is the most important first step in starting the innovation initiative. Enthusiasm, excitement and playfulness create a climate where creativity can germinate and innovation can branch into a productive sheltering tree. The study of how to create a positive field will be a life long endeavour. But today, consciously install the positive field in your mind and in the minds of your team.