It’s 1874 and you have just invented something you feel is really special. After hi-fiving your colleagues, you head down to Western Union, the greatest communications company in the world and show your work.
Despite your excellent pitch and this was a century before PowerPoint, they turn you down on the spot. They call your idea a useless toy and show you to the door. Would you give up?
What if the next five companies turned you down? What about the next 25?
How long would it take to lose faith in your idea?
Fortunately, Alexander Graham Bell, the telephone’s inventor, didn’t listen to Western Union. He started his own business and changed the world.
More than ever today, there is a need for business leaders, to create a culture of innovation.
When I am consulting, I am continuously asked the question, how do we do this? One simple but very effective way to start this process, at every one to one meeting, ask your people four questions:
1. What innovative / improvement ideas do you have that you feel will benefit the organization?
2. What are we doing around here that we shouldn’t be doing?
3. What are we doing around here that we should be doing better?
4. What aren’t we doing around here that we should be doing?”
This will create the culture that you are open to listening to new ideas.
This will create the culture that you expect your people to come up with new innovative ideas.
This will create the culture that you want people to challenge the ‘status quo’.
What are you doing to build a culture of innovation in your organisation?
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