Being innovation isn’t easy. First, you need to have an understanding on what innovation really is and how to apply it to your organization process. Second – and probably more important, you need to have the will to change how you do things today.
People, in general, don’t like to change. Getting people to change is a process in itself. There are a lot of good books and consultants on this topic. I am going to plug a friend/colleague, Jerry Jellison. I have read his books and participated in his workshops, and I found them effective. My two cents.
Changing the Culture at a Big Organization
The larger the organization, the harder it is to do anything. Too many chiefs, too many egos, too many people that know that their way is the right way.
If you can’t get executive buy-in, then there is no way innovation has a chance to be well adopted across the organization. The alternative is a grass-root approach where you pick a small project to pilot a Design Sprint or a simple Design Thinking workshop.
With hope, a little luck, and a lot of tenacity, you can be the champion for innovation for your organization. And if your organization doesn’t appreciate your efforts, there are others that will. 😉
Apple Started Out as Two Guys in a Garage
Many of the Experience Leaders today started out as an individual or small group of people with a vision of making the world a better place. Steve Jobs, who started Apple in his parent’s garage, said he wanted “to put a ding in the universe”. Jeff Bezos, who started with a small team in a warehouse, said that “Our goal is to be earth’s most customer-centric company.” The list goes on.
The takeaway here… You don’t have to be a big organization to make a commitment to innovation. In fact, some the greatest innovation companies started small.
You can do this. If you need help… Well, I recommend the Van Tyne Group. But that shouldn’t be a surprise.