Listen, Be Open-Minded, Avoid Judgment

Business ideas are often shot down due to a perceived notion that there’s a lack of imagination. Just as it takes an open mind to develop new ideas, it takes an open mind to effectively evaluate the objectives and opportunities that could evolve. Instead of limiting possibilities, utilize a process that is logical and non-judgmental to uncover a solution that is tailored to your business needs.

Evaluating ideas can be easy or relatively complex, depending on the task and final goal. It is essential to understand the problem first in order to find the right solution. For example, when buying a new car you typically don’t just think about what color you want. There are many criteria to consider such as size, make, model, and features needed versus wanted. Taking the time to acknowledge all options allows a greater possibility for creative, yet calculated decision-making.

Once idea generation is complete, there are five factors that can be used to filter in the first part of the evaluation process. Here are just 5 criteria that can be used to evaluate one idea from another:

1. Impact on loyalty
2. Feasibility
3. Speed of implementation
4. Competitive advantage/can’t be replicated easily
5. Financial impact (Cost of resources and quarterly reporting)

What is creativity and what makes it a vital part of the change-making process?

Depending on who is talking, the definition of creativity can change. Some say creativity is independence, the ability to do things you’d like to do. Others believe that creativity is a unique state of mind, the ability to see things differently than others.

Creativity can also be viewed as an individual with a chameleon-like ability to change in a changing environment. Another perspective is that creativity can be likened to the secret of a cockroach’s staying power over millions of years; being adaptive and being able to endure over time.

There are some people who believe that nothing is new, creativity is therefore the ability to rearrange existing variables into new combinations. Others believe the complete opposite, that creativity is in fact creating or making something that has never existed before. It can also be seen as something that is inexplicable, like a bolt of lightning that seemingly comes out of nowhere.

Yet others believe that creativity is merely a result of painstakingly hard work, like the trial and error endured by the Wright Brothers in creating the first airplane. As Thomas Edison once said, “Creativity is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration.”

However you choose to define creativity, the good news is that all of us are creative.

Defining creativity

Creativity is an inborn human characteristic that can be nourished, cultivated, and raised to extraordinary outcomes in almost anything that is attempted. Though it cannot be seen, creativity is as much a part of anyone as any other part of the body. What matters the most, is not how it is defined but rather how it is used.

Check your assumptions at the innovation door

Over the centuries, an adage has developed that there are two things in life that are permanent: death and taxes.

Many years ago, Sophocles (400 B.C.) suggested a third: change.

Today, almost everyone agrees with him. In the book “Future Shock,” Alvin Toffler points out that we are living in an age not just of change, but of rapid change. The acceleration is now so great, that many people are unable to cope with it and, as the title suggests, are in shock. Humans prefer to function in a more stable world. Instability and uncertainty do not resonate well as we try to control and predict our everyday lives.

No matter how hard we try or how much we think we have it all figured out, we don’t. It then becomes a matter of those who are willing to embrace, adapt, and innovate or get left behind. 

Produced in 1972, the documentary based on the book “Future Shock” demonstrates how change is only accelerating. 

The right people with the right knowledge should achieve innovative results

Picture this scenario: you’re the Team Leader for a group of employees within your organization.  You have observed endlessly the frustration and lack of motivation within your team and want to initiate change.  You get approval from the CEO to implement a new program intended to re-energize your group and increase productivity…but it doesn’t.  You’re left wondering what went wrong and your team is left even more unhappy because now they have something new they are expected to execute.

What happened here?

Innovation isn’t just about solving a problem and implementing a solution; it starts with ownership and ensuring you have the right people involved using a common process to collectively solve it together.  In the above situation, there was a manager willing to take ownership but because the problem wasn’t properly defined, including the people it affected most, it failed.  Engaging the right people in the problem-finding process provides an opportunity for a greater understanding of what’s actually going on.  New facts can be unearthed, and true problem definition will help propagate a breakthrough in the innovative process.

Problems are infinite within organizations 

Often businesses are reactive, scrambling to find solutions and losing not only profit but their share of being competitive within the market.  In this post-pandemic economy, staying ahead of trends and maintaining fluency at the same time is a major challenge. Problem finding must be an intentional process identifying Generators for proactive measures and then finding balance within the team, including the other styles and those directly impacted or involved.

Finding employees who are aware of the world around them and eager to find new problems is invaluable; Generators, are proactive and deliberate in seeking out problems needing to be solved.  With the internet making our world smaller and the ability for companies to reach a global market more directly, it is imperative for businesses to deliberately look for problems. The consequence of failing to meet this new economic landscape will result in a lack of evolution with consumer demand and decreased profitability.  

Finding the right people to innovate

“But I don’t know who to include?!”  That’s ok.  There is an eight-step process to help you.  When finding the right people is a problem, do a problem-solving session.  The beauty of the eight-step wheel is that it can be used at any moment when you are stuck or unsure of where to go next.  Stop and restart the wheel to work out the new problem.  

What are the problem-solving steps in the wheel?

Use the innovation process and be patient, don’t jump ahead, and don’t abandon it because it’s hard or you think it’ll take too long.  Include everyone involved in the process, and ask who can solve this problem? Who does this affect?  Getting the right people involved must be intentional, even if you must go outside of your organization.  Remember that executives or managers aren’t necessarily the ones who should be included.

When creating a team to problem find, be sure to consider their thinking style: Generator, Conceptualizer, Optimizer, Implementer.  If possible, all of them should be represented; heavy on the Generators if problem finding is the intention.  Ultimately, the problem will dictate the people and the problem’s owner needs to ensure the right balance of styles are involved.  

Thanks to virtual meeting spaces such as Zoom or Google Meet, you can select individuals based on their thinking styles and not impact where they physically reside or work. So remember not to make assumptions on anyone’s behalf, representation of all expertise is important so your team finds and solves the right problem.

Innovation stalls with the wrong team

What happens if you’ve created a team and, after engaging in problem-finding, discover that you have selected the wrong individuals?  Simple; start all over again.  If you realize this, that’s actually problem finding, which is great, but you must start again as soon as you can.  Don’t try to force the process to work without the missing people.  Remember, you are in control.  It is good to trust the process but don’t let it drive you, it is simply a tool to help you navigate.  

How will you know if you’ve created the right team?  

KNOWLEDGE + INNOVATIVE PROCESS+SKILLS (diverging and converging skills) + TOOLS (ex. brainstorming) + STYLES = INNOVATIVE RESULTS

When the owner of a problem involves the right people in problem finding they can energize each other and come up with ideas that may never have surfaced otherwise.  Innovative people don’t wait for problems to find them, they seek problems to solve and often find problems that others have ignored.

Finding new problems is innovation, and people will be happy because they got results.  When the right people are involved in an established process, they are provided the opportunity to create endless possibilities by interacting with one another and going beyond what is expected. 

Efficiency can be achieved by almost anyone, innovation requires the organization to go beyond the immediate to revolutionize its future.  By empowering the right people to innovate, they will find new ways to contribute to the company helping it evolve with a competitive edge. In-person or virtual, it doesn’t matter how the team is connected just that the right people are involved.

Ownership, the right people with the right knowledge and a process leader using a common innovation process will always achieve “out-of-the-box” results!

At Basadur, we can help you learn more about involving the right people in the innovation process. 

Management must embrace the evolution of their role, from reactive solutions to proactive innovative leadership

It is fairly well-established that we’re in an age where creativity and innovation are absolutely vital for organizations to survive and thrive; if you don’t find new and unique ways to add value to customers the business is dead in the water.  Competition is fierce and competitors will find what the market demands and provide that value at a cost to your own organization.

The key to driving innovation is finding leaders who aren’t afraid to take chances on establishing a process that nourishes every employee, at every level.  There is a need for leaders who understand their team’s goal and the role in which they play to achieve that goal. 

Innovative leaders are instrumental to organizational growth

Senior-level employees are often labeled as leaders within their organizations; there is an expectation that they’re aware of all the business’s problems and equipped to address them quickly and efficiently. 

Innovative leaders go beyond this responsibility, they have in mind the major challenges of the organization but aren’t too quick to jump into solutions.  Their job isn’t just to evaluate the end result but to help ensure that the process is continuous, met with open-mindedness, and allows individuals to move forwards and figure out ways to implement new ideas.

Part of that is being able to delegate the finding and solving of organizational challenges and empowering subordinates to collaborate without judgment.  When everyone feels included in the process, the possibility of finding new and unexpected ways to create value for the organization becomes the norm.

It all starts with leadership.  Even if Senior Level management is currently struggling to nourish creativity,  they have the ability to learn how to innovate and ultimately lead innovative teams.  

Common characteristics of Senior-Level Innovative Leaders

• Listen generously
• Defer judgment, they entertain the idea mentally before responding or making comments
• Asks clarifying questions to be certain they understand
• Open to a variety of input and information, not just what impacts them
• Actively thinks and considers why the things that are happening are, why they’re being experienced and is able to admit (while surrounded by a sea of ever-present immediate problems and challenges) that these might be symptoms and ask what is really going on? What’s outside of my everyday view?
• Has a vision of what could be, has a greater depth and appreciation of what is important to the business
• Is in tune with many different aspects of the world around them and can say “I don’t know where I’m going to find the next big idea, but I’m open to looking for it”

Innovative leaders can have all the right intentions and be ready to implement the creative process but, as often happens, internal roadblocks can interfere.  An organization with an overly strong culture that values short-term goals can greatly impact the ability for innovation to thrive.