Businesses need to adapt to the changing needs of the world and the market in which they operate in order to succeed in the modern world. It’s not always clear what’s the best way to go about things. Make the wrong decision and your business can be shuttered for good. What’s a business to do when they want to change to meet market demands? Developing an innovation culture within your business is the answer and a must read article is The ingredients for building an innovation culture by Arjen Van Berkum on his resource management website.
Staying competitive and becoming innovative benefits more than the bottom line. Van Berkum writes, “Ensure that every employee understands the place in this ecosystem you want to position your organization in.” Employees who are given a say and allowed to think outside the box in order to innovate fosters a sense of ownership in the company.
The only way innovation can be encouraged is to make your employees feel like they’re free to take their ideas to management and even other departments! That ownership in the company gives employees extra incentive to take pride in their work.
Happy workers are harder workers after all which is exactly what innovation culture requires. That same pride in their work will translate to a better face that your company presents to the world. Clients, contractors, and even suppliers will want to work with a company who is at the forefront of business innovation. Gaining such an impressive reputation will make sure people are flocking to apply to any open positions. Human resources will never have trouble hiring again when people want to work at a company where they can be creative and allow their visionary ideas to take flight.
Leaders have to be sure of their vision in order to carry through with changing company culture. People rarely want to follow someone who isn’t sure that their ideas are the best way to go forward. To do this, begin by listening to your customers and what they need. Perhaps the business is doing something they want to make sure you keep even as you change.
It would be folly to not consult them and then have to scramble to reinstate beloved features of a product or service. Additionally, the business may be missing out on something that could bring more customers in so responding to customer feedback can make a company stand out from the crowd of similar business.
Celebrating each success a business has from its new innovation culture benefits both workers and customers. As Arjen Van Berkum says in The ingredients for building an innovation culture, “Credit others for their contribution, then they will keep on helping you being successful,” and reading his article is a great start to becoming more innovative overall.
Working hard and being patient is what is required of business that wishes to be unique in their field. Innovation doesn’t keep occurring naturally once you start this process; it has to be cultivated throughout the life of the company! Arjen Van Berkum gets it, how about you?