10 Innovation Lessons for Success

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• 10
• Innovation Lessons For Success

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66 of the 800 executives surveyed worldwide
confirmed that their organisations could not
survive without innovation.
Source PA Consulting Innovation Matters 2017
report
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idea management software10 innovation lessons
for success
The quickest way to engage employees in
innovation is for them to see their own
leadership teams active and engaged themselves.
Lead and others will follow! It is this type of
active engagement that sends a ripple effect
through an organisation and encourages employees
to also participate. And probably not
surprising, the quickest way for any innovation
initiative to fail is to see their leadership
teams disengage.
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idea management software10 innovation lessons
for success

• This is true for most company initiatives but
  particularly true when it comes to innovation.
  There are generally two main causes for this
• poor (or lack of) communications
• little or no engagement by leadership teams
• The first is fairly easy to resolve with a clear
  communication strategy and regular updates.
• The second however is much more difficult to
  prevent as leaders become distracted by other
  business priorities.

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idea management software10 innovation lessons
for success
Innovation is a business critical initiative,
though by many organisations today it is still
seen as a second tier objective. Innovation needs
to be an initiative that every company embraces
as part of the overall business strategy. With
the right leadership, success is only an idea
away.
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idea management software10 innovation lessons
for success

• Choosing the right innovation management software
  to capture and refine ideas is critical to the
  success. Any innovation digital platform ideally
  should
• be simple to use
• be easily accessible (including mobile)
• allow discussions around an idea
• integrate into the existing digital landscape
• include Artificial Intelligence

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idea management software10 innovation lessons
for success
People are inherently creatures of habit who do
not always embrace change easily. A standalone
open innovation platform is much more difficult
to attract employee contribution than one that
already integrates into their existing companys
digital landscape. Having the latest business
challenges, ideas and discussions feed into a
companys intranet, allows innovation to filter
through and become part of the daily business
work flow.
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idea management software10 innovation lessons
for success

• Business innovation today will struggle to be
  successful without the inclusion of Artificial
  Intelligence!
• Over the years there has inherently been two
  major flaws with innovation platforms once
  employees begin submitting their ideas.
• How to identify Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to
  collaborate on ideas to turn them into potential
  innovations
• How to identify the right ideas to progress with

The Solution Artificial Intelligence can help in
both these situations by analysing all the Big
Data captured, including all user interactions
with each idea, and applying a machine learning
algorithm. AI accelerates the decision-making
process.
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idea management softwaredid you know?
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idea management software10 innovation lessons
for success
Whilst money is the natural go-to incentive to
engage employees in ideation, after a recent
survey it may surprise you to know that the top
response was actually recognition by ones peers
and leaders. Therefore, including a way to
recognise and reward successful contributors to
innovation and making it a part of the
communication strategy, is often a great way to
organically influence other employees to get
involved.
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idea management software10 innovation lessons
for success
Many employees interact with customers regularly
and therefore they are a critical knowledge asset
to solving a companys business challenges. And
for employees to continually participate in
innovation they need to be kept motivated. So
avoid ideas falling into a black-hole, and
demotivating employees, by creating a feedback
process on ideas. This can be done by appointing
Ambassadors which leads me to
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idea management software10 innovation lessons
for success
Build it and they will come! This is something
I have heard many times when it comes to digital
platforms. Unsurprisingly, it is very rarely
true. And even less true when it comes to digital
innovation management tools in large
enterprises. Creating an Innovation Ambassador
role, where the primary responsibility is to
drive awareness, encourage engagement and
showcase wins, will ensure success. This role
should be an add-on to an existing role and
shouldnt be more than 5-10 of someones time.
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idea management software10 innovation lessons
for success
Ideas flow best when the environment created to
do so is enjoyable. For example, some companies
like to host Innovation Days where employees come
together and collaborate in a relaxed and fun
way. So dont be afraid to get creative when
encouraging employees to engage in innovation.
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author Hi there! I hope you enjoyed my
presentation. If you are hungry for more, you can
find similar articles over at Innovation Insights.
David Christopher, Head of Digital Marketing,
Wide Ideas
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