Because of the unpredictable nature of innovation, there is often no fixed formula or pattern that allows people to dictate what will and won’t work. This is why it is important to be keenly aware of the anatomy of one’s company or organization in order to innovate effectively. In this article, we explore three different ways innovation can be properly integrated into the workplace.

Walk The Talk

While the conception of innovation is in the mind of the innovator, the application of that idea is largely determined by all those present at the meeting where it is pitched. Often, when meetings are called in order to determine what problems are present and brainstorm possible solutions, ideas are thrown around left and right, and notes are taken. This however is not enough to bring about innovation, as whether or not ideas are employed depends on the higher ups in charge of implementing these policies.

Steps must be taken in order to allocate proper resources for possible workplace innovations, and realistic timelines must be set in order to see which ideas truly work for the company, and which can be discarded or brought back to the drawing board. Until the ideas are implemented, they will remain just that: ideas.

The Tool For The Job

A myth circulated for a time about how NASA spent billions of dollars in research on a pen that was able to write in a micro-g environment during the Space Race of the 1960’s, as ballpens relied on gravity to get their ink flowing. According to the same myth, Soviet Cosmonauts allegedly used a pencil to solve the same issue. Although proven to be nothing more than an internet myth, what made the statement so believable was how often the same situation occurred in daily life.

Oftentimes, the need to innovate can be hyper fixated upon, even seen as the only option. This however, can be counterintuitive, as many problems have simple solutions. These problems are best met by optimization rather than innovation. Keeping a healthy balance between the two, sometimes even having a little bit of both to solve a single problem, is key to properly incorporating each method, and it is always a good idea to openly communicate with your team which of these mindsets you intend to take into brainstorming.

Name Your Steps

When making any kind of change in the company – especially one as unpredictable and new as an innovation, it’s important to be realistic about what steps can be taken between the endgoal and where the company is, now. It is usually not a good idea to try to directly implement the change, as clear as the vision might be in the moment. A better solution would be to see what little changes can be made at every step of the way in order to achieve the desired outcome.

Like all changes, innovation takes time and patience, and while the only thing consistent about it is change, it’s always a good idea to change consistently.