Now you may be thinking ‘hey, innovation is a creative process, surely it should be free and open?’ But ideas need managing, assessing and reducing to the best ideas. Some of them will appear, at first glance, to be completely inappropriate. But without an objective process, you may miss the best .
Successful Innovators know that it isn’t just about having ideas. They know that, if not managed, this can be a time consuming and fruitless acivity. You don’t need to have a complex process, but it does have to be quick and objective.
There are many processes around e.g. Triz, Stage Gate etc. But most of these are focussed on creating and delivering physical products. We use this one, which is better designed for innovating services.
Set the Climate. This could include improved communication, results measurement e.g. KPIs, senior level support, reward structures etc. Essentially, this is about making creative thinking acceptable behaviour.
Redefine the problem. You may think you know what the problem is, but it may not be what you first thought it was.This could include techniques like SWOT analysis, situation analysis and other creative tools.
Idea Generation. Different problems need different idea generation techniques, most of which are much more efficient than straight ‘brainstorming’.
Evaluation and selection. Where the objective is to find the ‘best’ idea. This can be highly subjective e.g. ‘we’ve tried that before!’ You need to set criteria, which will depend on the problem and your business. This could a person or a team, and it may need several stages and further investigation. A risk analysis is usually a good idea.
Implementation. Creating an action plan that involves the idea generator is essential. Risk management is also key, as there are bound to be several (or many) unknowns. Setting review dates can also be crucial, as you will need to make go/no go decisions at critical points. You will need a skilled and open minded manager to coordinate the implementation.
We call it C.R.I.S.P. C(limate) R(edefine the problem), I(dea generation), S(election and evaluation), P(ut into Action – Implementation). Learn more in our Innovation Workshops.
Download a summary of the 5 secrets of innovation
