Innovation Tips that Work - Number 2 Dr Ken Hudson

Innovation is both structured and unstructured, as it can be planned through formal processes such as stage gate and new product development, but it also emerges from spontaneous interactions that happen when people bump into one another or chat over lunch. In order to nurture innovation, it's important to encourage and identify the most creative people, and to teach employees techniques for brainstorming and idea development. To take innovation a step further, companies can dedicate an entire day each quarter to celebrating past achievements and future goals. Innovation can apply to any role and process, and it's essential to give innovation teams real responsibilities, goals, and a budget to make a difference. To generate funding for innovation initiatives, companies can take a percentage of every leader's budget and allocate it to an innovation fund, which leaders can then compete for based on the strength of their ideas. Ultimately, it's important to challenge everyone to think more creatively and reinvent traditional processes for a better outcome.