Innovation in any organization is about doing something new or different which would turn out to be beneficial.  It involves the encouragement of new ideas and perspectives in all dimensions of the business and it must go all the way from operations to customer service.  For innovation initiatives to be truly effective, they must encompass the entire organization.   Among the numerous facets to consider, there are four key aspects that require special attention and these are,

Sony Latin America’s Juan Meza asked, “Who is going to make the next iPhone? Is it going to be Apple? Probably not.” PHOTOS: Carlos Miller

Vision

Many organizations lag behind maybe because they over emphasize on historical performance and data.  Traditional thinking leads us to repeat those things that have worked in the past.  The risk of only focusing on what have worked in before, is that the one thing that was successful before does not guarantee success in the future.  In reality, innovation encompasses looking in the forward direction and not necessarily backwards.

Training

Another core reason, for which most of the companies fail to respond to the need of the modern times, lies in the lack of training.  If the employees and other people linked to the organization are not trained on the latest techniques and methods, growth and expansion of a business will be much slower.  This is often one of the most overlooked aspects of the innovation puzzle, yet one of the most important since most often than not, employees and partners play the most important role in accelerating organizational change or stopping it on its tracks.

Teamwork

Collective effort is something which can be termed to be the backbone of an organization.  The outcome of teamwork is speed and efficiency.  Most modern business challenges are extremely complex, it is unlikely for individuals to get as far as if the task is done collaboratively.  There is no such thing as individualism when working an organization and the companies which emphasize on the teamwork and collaboration are the ones that gain the maximum rewards and profits.

C-Level Support

We are beginning to notice some organizations embrace innovation at the highest levels with the creation of a new C-Level function; welcome the new Chief Innovation Officers. We are seeing these new CIOs transforming the innovation arena, as they not only get the chance to tap on organizational wide resources but have also the responsibility to bring new revenue.  The key point is to secure executive management support to tap the right resources across the organization.

Innovation initiatives are often seen as risky investments by some, however in the hyper competitive environment we live in today, those organizations who do not innovate will soon find themselves fighting for survival as they one day will notice their sales had vanish overnight.

For more on this topic go to  http://www.worldcityweb.com/event-coverage/marketing-connections/101-innovation-sonys-meza-says-must-encompass-entire-company

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