Passion
Innovation is rooted in our passion to solve a problem, fix what is not fixed, do something better or faster. That desire’s tools are the questions we ask, the analysis we undertake, and the imagination we bring to the table. For an organization to “be” innovative, it must foster a culture and a climate conducive to authentic inquiry, group think, and the ability to risk.
Difference
Innovation requires differences among people: different eyes, voices, minds, perspectives, attitudes, and skills. Same minds will produce far less than different minds. The challenge is often to value this because it can be painful or at least uncomfortable to weather opposing points of view.
Tools
Innovation needs tools, processes or systems that people can use to imagine together about what could be. Formal and informal opportunities help ensure not only that innovation occurs but that an innovative culture emerges.
Learning
The more an organization promotes and supports learning about critical thinking, collaborative leadership, and creativity approaches, the better the chances of an innovative environment and dynamic throughout the organization.
Structure
Organizational structures and policies that enable interaction and exploration help to facilitate idea building. Innovation will have a hard time surfacing in an organization that designs structures and policies aimed at restricting its greatest resource, people.
