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ignite innovative culture

This year is full of potential for innovative growth in your organization.  Ezassi is your partner in measurable and achievable business goals with the help of our innovation software and services.

Innovative culture is not something you can turn on or off, rather it develops with time, intentionality, and synergy. Attract the right kind of talent and provide the motivation for a sustainable, confident innovative culture. If the right mechanisms are put in place, including KPIs, rewards, and specific processes to drive successful innovation, then your organization will find value ideating, working beyond a job role, risk taking, failing fast, and growing strong partnerships of collaboration.

We propose you ask these twelve strategic planning questions and consider the resolutions for energizing your organization’s innovative culture. This is a month-by-month prompt to spark the innovative spirit of your company and illuminate a brighter innovation portfolio this year.

Resolutions to Ignite a Culture of Innovation

Assess the Innovation Pipeline

January

Do I see the economic headwinds as a threat or an opportunity in my organization?

Optimistic organizations who seize challenging times as opportunities to grow have the best odds for innovational success this year. Companies focused on near-term results are likely to be unwilling to consider available innovation opportunities in the coming year, which could ironically wind up costing more when innovation pipelines require long-term attention due to short-term neglect. Whether looking to grow collaborations, acquire innovations or invest in internal R&D, there is no free lunch – pipelines must remain filled and robust to achieve long-term growth.

February

Can Innovation secure a strategic seat in my company’s goal setting?

Break down the silos that divide a company by department. Collaborate across disciplines and product lines while supporting change management and the human factors which ultimately increase the probability of success of the project. By fostering a culture of experimentation to “fail fast” innovators throughout your organization will be better supported and more likely to implement transformative change. Refer to this article from the University of Oxford and EY for a deeper analysis.

Evaluate your Innovation Strategy

March

Have I considered the Innovation Styles of my organization and its leadership?

This recent article by Harvard Business Review highlights the different categories of innovative talent, and to effectively grow organizations must have all four types represented. Take an inventory of the 4 Innovation Styles within your project teams and balance these types across the different departments of your business to be confident there is cognitive diversity for innovation.

April

Who in my organization finds new problems…better yet, new opportunities?

This is an idea “Generator.” You need more resources who identify opportunities for improvement. If your company lacks generators or doesn’t incentivize your employees to find problems in your product line or operations, you could implement an ideation campaign and Innovation Challenge to seek out current problems and reward problem finders. Remember, new ideas and methods can also be identified externally by your customers and clients. Ezassi has an easy to launch ideation software API to collect and manage ideas coming from all sources.

May

If a challenge in our business is identified, who owns the problem resolution?

“Conceptualizers” have a talent for thoroughly defining the problem to be solved based on long-term strategic analysis. The C-Suite level tends to attract Conceptualizers, so it is our recommendation that a Tech Landscape or Horizon Scan of nascent technologies be utilized to better understand the technical problem and define opportunities to solve for them. Our Technology Scouting Software saves time and resources in this research and development.

June

What is the best method for evaluating all our new ideas?

Planning and processing solutions to problems will most likely be executed by “Optimizers.” They methodologically evaluate all the ideas to propose the best solution. An Ideation and Collaboration software platform allows for efficient idea review, rating, and promotion. Also, our clients find that incorporating an Innovation Management Software allows the Optimizers to better collaborate using a Kanban project workflow with stage gate processes.

July

Who will take action to prioritize the project which will best grow our innovation portfolio?

By now you’ve identified the problem to solve, targeted the best idea for a solution, and must bring this new product/service to market quickly. “Implementers” are the fourth Innovation Style all organizations require and are the most commonly found on teams. They are the resources who act on the best promoted ideas to innovate new products and services along the project pipeline. Enthusiastic to see results soon on “green lighted” projects, this group will manage, move, and champion the innovation toward market.

Utilize Open Innovation Solutions

August

What are other great sources for new ideas for my business?

Innovative solutions can often be found outside your organization. Open innovation provides the opportunity to identify probable competitive threats and collaborate with experts and problem solvers who may be the key to getting new solutions and products to the market much faster. With open innovation, you can work with your customer base to co-invent and develop solutions. You can tap into the skills of people around the world who know your product, but also are ready to offer a fresh perspective beyond just your internal teams. This is effortlessly achievable with Ezassi’s ideation API on your branded corporate website to gain valuable feedback and innovative ideas from customers and potential partners.

September

What’s my plan to continuously discover new methods to bring back to my organization and collaborate with other thought leaders?

Reignite your company’s innovative mission every year by setting aside time and resources for learning at a conference focused on open innovation and emerging technologies. Maintaining creative energy and a forward-looking focus from year to year and project to project can be a challenge without a network of peers to share best practices and compare goals. Benchmark your successes and realign your team following a strategic and rewarding innovation conference.

Benefits of Innovation Management Software

October

Does innovation help retention, and if so, how do I recognize and reward employees with the most innovative impact?

An organization interested in growing their innovative culture is also focused on hiring and keeping the best while exceeding employee job satisfaction. Long-term innovation programs that include clear KPIs are proven to increase employee engagement. Ezassi’s innovation software utilizes gamification to incentivize cross-company involvement in ideation, collaboration, and goal setting for innovation accomplishments. Metrics collected to track the top innovators in your company are a transparent method for motivating, recognizing, and rewarding your team’s most valuable contributors.

November

How can I help create a culture where employees feel empowered to innovate and are able to pursue new ideas that may go beyond their existing roles?

Work in partnership with your HR department to ensure hiring for any missing links of an effective innovation team. Incorporate new technologies and continuous training to keep adaptability and productivity as prominent attributes of your leaders. Innovation software also provides an efficient way for employees to participate in innovation, actively collaborate with colleagues and experts from around the world and receive feedback and recognition for their ideas. By creating a centralized location for innovation that can be customized according to the company and the project, innovation management tools successfully support efforts by HR departments.

December

Are there specific KPIs I should monitor for the year end’s analysis of innovational success?

Goal setting for the New Year as well as analysis of the current year’s achievements are possible with innovation software which provides key performance indicators of a strong culture of innovation campaign. Refer to this Ezassi Case Study for kpis of innovation and leverage your own metrics of employee engagement to justly apply year-end bonuses for the best initiatives.

Grow with Innovation Software and Services

There is so much potential for innovative growth in your organization! Ezassi can help you achieve your goals through innovation management software. Ignite an Innovative Culture and connect your team to the best tools for success.