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You can follow a process which makes you to become a creative innovator. Adapt the similar process across your organization to make it part of the ecosystem. Below steps are your starting point for new success!

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Mind mapping is good for learning new things. It’s great to make ideas happens because then you must link things to each other. Also once one new ball is drawn you have to think is it the end of something more still.

Post-it papers on wall (multiply) is typically used  in any workshop. We wants to know about current situation or find new ways to do things and so on. Later need to think how all of those ideas will work.

Design thinking will follow a process. It definitely has high impact if used right. You can have different things to create a prototype or just follow people do their daily job and find new things. Learn design thinking!

Question

Role play where others create new ideas and one is a person to ask more questions like how, why or  what is a good in making innovations happen.  Systems which will automatically generate questions you need to answers to insert new data of your ideas or innovations is also possible.

You can create a list for yourself that you always follow and make check before generating to others.  If you prepare a presentation you can also practice in front of a mirror.  Which might be possible questions? A new marketing campaign or way to advertise is often copied, but you can think how to advertise your idea.

Observe

Some systems are able to record time, steps, conclusions for user actions. It’s not that clear always. Amazon uses your previous buying records, or what you searched and others also found products with same terms based on your activities.

Many marketing innovations are quickly copied because competitors are seeing what you do. If it’s totally unique it’s hard to copy. Make it part of your enterprise strategy!

Feedback is a traditional way to collect information. It can be used many cases for example time to time internally or from customers. When you get more strategic, put it part of balanced scorecard. In that you have KPIs that require answers from your partners or customers. Follow by time.

Network

Use applications like Meetups to find interesting events to participate and meet like-minded or even places where you challenge yourself. I use it a lot when I travel. Other way is to join some big company event, for example Alibaba cloud related free seminars or conferences.

You can start learning  new things. Participate in university MBA program or some smaller course which you will have classmates to network.  

Companies can have partnerships and it will benefit all participants to share information free of charge. Sometimes get even without money a new product. You can start your own community online. It’s easy but takes more time!

Experiment

Ask people to join a meeting  which they don’t know before. They must do something what they didn’t expect. I have put in kickoff meetings break program to do small exercise or think new ways.  If it’s not possible change your usual role or wear different. At least people will concentrate and act differently on that day towards you.

Tell news that will shock or make people see you in a different way. It can be a risk. And you can make it less big, so that it won’t change the whole setting.  Organize stuff differently and people need to adapt. Take for example a new seat.

Take people out to new places they don’t know before and see how it affects to team dynamics or just go normal way. These are easy to do!

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Great things start with small steps like locating in more innovative places. That’s why companies concentrate into places like Silicon valley to join the right network and find talent for their needs. We need people who are creative, but also those who actually can make it concrete and market the actual invention.

All of us like to work in an innovative company. What makes companies innovative? And is it possible to become one? It can be checked and thought. Why so many good ideas never realize? It’s not a new innovation if there’s no realization. Maybe we think something isn’t really novel, something totally new.

Creativity

According to dictionary creative is “The use of imagination or original ideas to create something; inventiveness”.  It’s often referred to artistic work, but any kind of job can be creative.  Imagination or  dreaming is not creative because ideas don’t become reality. This is the different with idealistic and creative people.

Often creative means new end product. It can be also modification for something existing.  You can enhance your creative by letting your mind flow.  It’s hard to force others, but creativity can exist in a group, too.

Examples for creativity

 Problem solving is creative. You need to find a solution for something not known before or which is new to you. Writing as well. You don’t need to write a book, think about a greeting card instead of too big things. In visual art you put something in your PowerPoint or painting, that’s creative.

Sometimes I think communication is part of my creativity. You have to find a way to tell bad news for your team or you want to market new products, etc. Trying a new food, traveling new places, choosing different route back home, mixing clothes, etc. can become a way to become creative. Many things can be seen creative.

Innovation

 “The action or process of innovating”, as said in a dictionary doesn’t really tell what’s innovation.

Innovation is a realized new or significantly improved product, service or process which has business, society or government value. Innovative people are those who can continuously get new ideas, enhance them and actually realize it.

Many techniques and also environments can make innovations happen more often. But don't force too much. Take a break. You can become more innovative by learning techniques to get more ideas, read or do something which improves your skills, etc.

Examples for innovation

 The iPhone is an innovation because there were mobile phones in the market already; but this phone is great design and connecting to ecosystem etc. in a different way. Dyson, a bagless vacuum cleaner, was a good innovation and they used existing technology.

Uber, the business is based on ordering taxi from an application and they had good maps for part-time drivers, too. Business can be done in a new environment by partnership or collaboration. For example big companies work with startups. This is actually open innovation. Open source software, the model how code is developed, tested and shared is innovative, a novel innovation when it started.

Invention

Dictionary defines invention as “The action of inventing something, typically a process or device”. Invention is unique or new device, method, composition or process. Many inventions are possible to have a patent, too. Note the difference to innovation which is typically inside organization.

Inventors are people who see something others don’t and they are often considered a bit “crazy” with their talks. You can invent something in your daily life, for example use something existing to help at home for doing things. Research or business has sometimes inventions by a sudden. This makes it interesting, there’s a possibility to create new things.

Examples for invention

Wheel is probably the most important invention of our times. And how often did we hear no need to invent again? Concrete which is cement was also invented really early to make better buildings. Now it’s used with amazing architecture.

Light pulp came from Thomas Edison’s invention. We can work during the night. Graphical user interface is actually invented by Bill Gates but it was used by Apple, too. World-wide-web and Tim Berners-Lee. How could we live without it?

Robots and their future coming now, also RPA which stands for robotic process automation. We can get help from good inventions. Camera, television, airplanes, and many others we often forget, but they are part of our daily life.

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Leadership means how you treat people and how you make sure you get most out of them. Organization structure affects both people and decisions, also reporting structures. Who has the power?

Great way for a strategy manager is to collect feedback, organize surveys, follow by time, etc. By these tools it’s no so difficult to be connected to others, departments and people.  To make sure messages are understood, there must be continuous discussion between teams and management.

Strategies are always changing existing. Give time for people to get understanding and accept new direction.

To gain needed skills, take my Strategic Project Management course!