Communicating the Innovative Spirit

Communicating the Innovative Spirit “Some men ask why? I dream dreams and ask why not? *Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 1

1. Misconceptions • Innovation is risky. • Innov. Is based on a big idea or grand scheme • Innov. Only comes from a few great minds • Innov. Is product focused. • Creativity is the same as innovation. 2

2. What is innovation? • Stage 1: Idea generation • Stage 2: Feasibility Analysis • Stage 3: Reality Testing • Stage 4: Implementation 3

Implications of the model • Differing criteria at each stage • Organizational barriers can occur at any point • The time line is elastic • An overemphasis on single stage may be problematic 4

3. Success and failure • The Quadrants • Implications (So what?) • Results alone do not determine success or failure • Present success is no guarantee of future success • The actual innovation is but the tip of the iceberg 5

4. Blue Ribbons & Red Tape • Not entirely novel • Tools already available • Rhetoric versus reality • Paper work as enemy • No guarantees • “Wrong Department” • Champion 6

5. Stop & Go Signs • Corporate Policy (tied to model) • Corporate Programs • Everyone is an innovator • Allow secret persistence • Eliminate lengthy proposal • Foster informal communication • Reward innovation 7

6. Bad ideas & tough decisions • An idea may fail, but people don’t • Ideas are usually not fully developed from the outset (tolerance) • View ideas as attributes • Reject the attribute not the idea • Educate folks about the innovative process 8

Communicating the Innovative Spirit