Innovation: Fostering Creativity in the Workplace

How do you foster innovative culture within your company? Everyone wants to know the answer to this question. During the iKC discussion, “Creativity Survival Skills: Innovation in a Large Ecosystem”, five panelists from Sprint, BATS, MRIGlobal and Hallmark discussed this question, along with many other hot topics.

Innovation. What exactly does this word mean? Author Dr. Michael E. Raynor says everyone has his or her own definition for innovation. One panelist said innovation was “disciplined creativity”. Anyone can have ideas, but if you’re not disciplined, you won’t be able to execute them. Ideas will just stay ideas. How do you get your employees to think creatively? Many companies, like Hallmark, push their employees to do activities outside their skill sets. Herb Sih of Think Big Partners encourages his employees to do things they’re passionate about, beyond the typical work day. Each panelist agreed that it’s necessary for companies to have an open environment so employees can share their ideas. Demolish the “road blocks” put in place and educate your staff so they know the correct channels to go through to get their ideas heard.

The biggest thing I learned during this session is that creativity is crucial for innovation to blossom. Some other things I learned during this discussion are:

• Find the “right” people for your company. Even if there’s not a position available for them, don’t be afraid to make one! Having the right employees can make or break your innovative environment.
• Feedback is crucial. If you don’t give your employees feedback on their ideas, they won’t understand what you want from them. They might keep bringing the same thing to the table.
• Innovation is a journey. Sometimes the idea is good but the timing isn’t. There may be an incubation period for ideas, but that doesn’t mean the idea isn’t great.

Predict Successful Innovation with Dr. Michael E. Raynor at iKC

Dr. Michael E. Raynor of Deloitte Research.

iKC, sponsored by Master Your Card Missouri, is excited to spotlight Dr. Michael E. Raynor as the keynote speaker during this year’s innovation and entrepreneur conference on June 20, 2012.  Dr. Raynor started his career as a consultant, but quickly discovered his passion for research and innovation.  This realization led Raynor to the Harvard Business School where he focused on becoming a professor.  But as many creative thinkers and innovators know, career paths are not always straight ones.  Dr. Raynor took on a hybrid position with Deloitte LLP’s research arm, Deloitte Reseach, which has proved both fruitful and ever-changing.

But Dr. Michael Raynor is so much more than just a high-level consultant.  He’s a husband, a father, a best-selling author, an investor, an innovator.  Raynor can speak to a wide range of individuals at iKC—from the budding entrepreneur to the high-power investor—because it seems as if Raynor has been everywhere and done it all.

Dr. Raynor will present a keynote speech titled The Innovator’s Manifesto: Deliberate Disruption for Breakthrough Growth at iKC on June 20, 2012 at the H&R Block World Headquarters in downtown Kansas City.  The keynote will focus on the emerging rules of successful innovation and will speak to investors, entrepreneurs, managers and corporate M&A’s alike.

“My idea is that we worry about innovation processes rather than the substance of good ideas because we do not yet know what really good ideas truly look like,” Raynor says.  “In my research I’ve tried to tackle the question of innovation as scientifically as I can, and I believe I’ve got some interesting progress to report.”

According to Raynor, entrepreneurs and innovators far too often swing blindfolded at a piñata, hoping that they get a good whack.  But why swing blindfolded when a much more deliberate approach to ideas and innovation exists?  That’s what The Innovator’s Manifesto keynote is all about.

“Getting the right process in place is difficult, but conceptually straight-forward, rather like training for a marathon,” he says. “You know what to do to prepare for it, but not everybody does it because it’s hard.  Similarly, we’ve tried everything to make innovation easy, believing that somehow if we find the right management process, the good ideas will emerge automatically.  I think a different approach is needed, one that focuses on the defining attributes of good ideas, independently of how they were created.” 

iKC attendees now have the chance to learn what makes for a great idea – one that is systematically more likely to success.  Listen to Dr. Raynor live at iKC on June 20, 2012—purchase your ticket today.    

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