When appropriately utilized, innovation and growth go hand-in-hand. According to Forbes, some of the most efficient innovations are also cheap to execute, initiating growth from the start. However, this isn’t always the case. Regardless, increasing innovation and growth for long-term success can be done in a few easy steps.
Determine Your Type of Innovation
Innovation manifests in different ways. Traditionally, there have always been three innovation types:
- Incremental Innovations: These are the small, everyday innovations that change the company’s business model or technologies for increased efficiency. This type of innovation works towards building Operational Efficiency mentioned in the section below.
- Breakthrough Innovations: These are usually the most significant innovations that have a lasting impact on the company’s business model.
- Radical Innovations: Radical innovations don’t happen as often but can create new major industries with avenues for exponential business growth.
There is a fourth type of innovation that seems to be more prevalent in recent marketing. Big Bang Disruption (BBD) is a technological innovation with an end goal of hitting the market with a bang. Companies utilize cheap dramatic technologies with progressive business models to the big splash they seek.
An excellent example of this is what’s known as a trend.
Finalizing the intended innovation type makes strategy building easier. Organized innovation is the first step toward long-term growth and success.
Focus On Technology
According to Insight Success, the fundamental technologies that inspire increased innovation and growth are:
- Analytics
- Social networking
- Cloud computing
- Mobile device computing
- Summarizing
These technologies give the employees real-time access they need to innovate on the fly. Employees can communicate and thus innovate, whether they are at work or not.
Technology isn’t synonymous with innovation, but it definitely makes it more efficient. By nature, innovative ideas tend to be disorganized and inefficient. Appropriate technology and a well-thought-out innovation strategy make long-term growth possible.
Develop An Empowering Workplace Environment
Technology aside, to endorse consistent innovation within a company, it’s essential to have an environment that compels innovative behaviors. The workplace environment is a blank canvas that can become a playground for company growth with a bit of structure.
Companies do this by aligning the:
- Structure
- Culture
- Behaviors
- Rewards
Aligning the workplace environment with innovation can be difficult because traditional business has always focused on a 99% defect-free work environment, known as Operational Efficiency. But on its own, innovation isn’t efficient. Purposeful innovation is but requires a mix of freedom and structure to thrive.
However, innovation also derives from the obsession to be constantly learning. So, if one focuses on maintaining a workplace environment that encourages purposeful innovation, Operational Efficiency will come.
According to research by the University of Virginia, innovation is often spurred on by experimental learning that requires a sense of creativity void of fears of failure.
Regardless of the type of innovation you work toward, growth is inevitable when the entire business constantly learns, experiments, and progresses. The above-stated tips help to keep the whole business on track by increasing innovation at the base level (workplace environment) and utilizing technology to invoke even further growth in the long term.
