Innovation and Time

Ever faced a situation where you read about something interesting and immediately got immersed in it only to hit a roadblock and then you can’t seem to go any further. I recently faced this situation when I came across an innovation challenge over the weekend. So how do you get over this situation? Different people have different things which work for them – some people find that sleeping over it helps them; some people use it as an opportunity to take a break and focus on some other activity. I generally find that discussing this with my colleagues clears my thinking and helps to identify the way forward.

Innovation or creative thinking needs time and patience. We can’t hurry the process nor try to achieve it within a very short time. But yet many companies try to come up with quick solutions and expect too much when it comes to their innovation programs. For Eg: they send their employees to a training program on innovation and expect them to become innovative overnight or have a brain storming session for employees to come up with innovative products and feel disappointed at the lack of ideas.

In other words, innovation programs need to be nurtured like a child. They need constant guidance and reassurance and even small victories should be celebrated. The only way to achieve this is by having a dedicated platform for innovation and by encouraging innovation day in and day out until it becomes second nature to your employees.

So you must be wondering if it is worth the effort. This is the way I look at it. The innovation within your employee’s brain is like a hidden treasure placed somewhere within your house. All you have is a map to this treasure and possibly a way of getting to it. But it still needs dedicated time and effort. Of course, you may be so rich that you don’t need to dig this up and are happy without it. But in today’s recessionary world, I daresay, this situation is very unlikely. For all others, the faster you start digging and the more systematic you are in your approach, the more the likelihood of success.

In summary, innovation programs need some initial investment and also constant reinforcement and encouragement. But they have huge potential to give substantial returns when done correctly. So learn to nurture innovation and explore unchartered territories of information and wisdom.