Encourage Innovation on Your Team

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Organizations need innovation on all fronts, not just in new products, services, or technologies. But many managers don’t innovate because they don’t think it’s their job. Here’s how you can build a stronger innovation culture on your team:

  • Implement an immediate innovation. As a team, identify ideas that will reduce costs, save time, or improve customer service. Pick one or two to implement right away to demonstrate success.
  • Identify an ambitious goal. Once your team has confidence in its ability to innovate, set a larger goal. Can you reduce costs by 50%? Can you combine services to help customers?
  • Continually foster innovation. Include “Innovation” as a category in performance reviews. Recognize colleagues who try new approaches even if the results aren’t perfect. And, give people time to think and experiment.

Adapted from “Innovation Is Everyone’s Job” by Ron Ashkenas.

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