Culture of Innovation

Culture is one of those things that is hard to quantify.  When I ask executives about their culture, they are confident that they have a culture that encourages innovation.  In most cases, these same executives project their wishes for their culture and not the reality.

Culture is enabled by people and their views and opinions can get in the way if you don’t stay on top of it.

What kind of culture do you have?

Is there a way to get a more unbiased view of your culture? Yes – by answering the followings questions:

1) Ask a number of people in your organization what they believe is the essence of what the organization stands for.  If you get different  answers, that points to lack of clarity which then means each person is projecting what they think.

2) How is your organizations the same/different from others?  If you are generic with a generic culture, then innovation is NOT part of what you are about.

3) For the people who are successful in your organization, what are their common traits?  What are the skills, abilities, etc that get people promoted?

4) What are the characteristics of people who failed in your organization?

5) Who are the 5 most respected people in your organization? Why?

6) What are the characteristic of the missed opportunities and failures of the organization?

To hear how to access your organizations culture, listen to Do You Have A Culture Of Innovation.  To get all of the shows, consider subscribing to the show either on iTunes or via the RSS feed.

 

To learn more about how to find ideas that turn into game-changing innovations, read Beyond The Obvious.  Why? Out of habit, we still cling to the “obvious” ideas that were once true in the rapidly receding past. In order to innovate, we need to learn to identify and ignore these “obvious” rules, ideas, or beliefs.  This books is a practical guide on how to go beyond the obvious and consistently generate game-changing innovations.

Order an autographed copy of the book at Innovation.Tools.