There are countless articles and speeches by marketing gurus and the corporate fraternity that have stressed upon the need for innovation within the DNA of any organisation.
Although every organisation will have its own priorities and sector-specific issues to balance, businesses that fail to innovate run the risk of losing their chunk of the market to competition.
As disruption and innovation become the order of the day, it’s essential to keep investing in innovation to protect against commoditisation and survive in an ever-changing market. And how will they do that? By innovating.
Cultivating innovation
To start cultivating a sustainable culture of innovation in the organisation, people and their ideas must be put at the centre.
Leadership at the helm of the organisation must envision new realities by challenging the status quo, encourage employees to anticipate current developments and craft forward-looking solutions by exploring new possibilities.
Clear vision for innovation
The focus of innovation is progressing towards enabling a transformational journey to create unforgettable customer experiences.
It becomes imperative for companies to mine areas that are ripe for innovation and devise its own innovation agenda. The company’s vision should be loud and clear, enabling every employee to think expansively and creating a ripple effect of ideation within the organisation.
Transformation
Innovation can come from any corner of the organisation.
While it is easy to identify innovation with R&D or engineering organisations, it should not be confined to these departments alone. There are several examples of innovations in the supply chain and other areas which have transformed organisations.
Swift implementation
It is not guaranteed that every innovative idea will make a significant business impact for the organisation. The biggest roadblock to monetising innovation is not carrying out the innovative ideas through to maturity. Fast-paced execution is also necessary for sustaining the productivity of the company’s research and development functions.
Across levels in the organisation
Innovation should be instilled at all levels of the organisation by equipping the teams with tools to ideate, enabling a culture of brainstorming and discussion, providing platforms to pilot their ideas and refine them further to align with customer needs to derive value.
The writer is President – Engineering & R&D Services at HCL Technologies
The company’s vision should enable every employee to think expansively
