Together We Innovate
When it comes to innovation, the myth of the lone genius dies hard.
Most companies continue to assume that innovation comes from that individual genius, or, at best, small, sequestered teams that vanish from sight and then return with big ideas. But the truth is most innovations are created through networks -- groups of people working in concert.
After studying networks in more than 20 organizations, we've found three problems that stifle innovation. They share a couple of common themes: the failure to effectively leverage the expertise of employees (or their peers in partner organizations) and the failure to react effectively when new ideas do arise. But we've also found five steps companies can take to clear those barriers and start producing big ideas.
The problems:
- No Communication
- Bad Gatekeepers
- Insularity
The solutions:
- Get the right people talking
- Rapidly test & refine ideas
- Think twice about leadership
- Make collaboration easy
- Think about "Energy"
