How Entrepreneurs can Leverage both Process and Innovation to Grow

How Entrepreneurs can Leverage both Process and Innovation to Grow

Does your work place vision statement incorporate the word ‘innovation’ yet the company is far from being innovative. In fact, most ideas are the same old ideas that have been recycled year after year? If you said yes to the above you are caught in the ‘innovation’ trap that lots of companies are currently in today.

Organization’s love the buzz word ‘innovation’. What does it truly mean? By definition it means to invent or introduce something new. Most companies however say they are innovative but still execute the same tactics, plans and/or ideas and never truly invent or introduce something new.

Why is this? I haven’t come across a company whose desire is to do the same old same old. What I come across are companies that are reacting and as a result are ‘firefighting’ daily issues while giving lip service to innovation. When you are firefighting you can’t invent or introduce something new! It’s truly impossible. Employees are trying to ‘get by’ and are ‘reacting’ and as a result don’t have the ‘time’ in their day to devote themselves to being creative.

So where does the process come in and how is it an ultimate partnership?

Why process and innovation need each other

A good efficient process stops the firefighting by simplifying ways of working and ensuring that each process step makes sense. Everyone knows how to perform the daily tasks so it doesn’t matter who does it. It frees up time for staff to spend time on being creative and thinking of innovative ideas. As a result, by eliminating firefighting daily, employees will be less stressed, confident that tasks are being completed properly and can focus their energies on the creative process of being innovative. This is why it’s the ultimate partnership. Like yin and yang, the sun and the moon, both are unique but one can’t not be without the other.

They complement each other and are in balance.

As a result, to be truly innovative, you need to have an efficient internal process for your daily ways of working. Why, it gives you the time needed to be creative so that you can be innovative. Now that is a win/win solution!

Does your work environment allow for innovation? Feel free to leave a comment below or shout out to us on Facebook or Twitter. Of course, you could always write your own blog post on the subject and share it with us… We’d love to read it!

This blog appeared originally as Innovation &  Process at The Cornerstone Dynamics website.

If you’re looking to learn more about  innovation and collaboration from Adriana Girdler,  you might enjoy attending this year’s conference Delivering High Performance Collaboration