There is no long-term business without innovation. No matter how exceptional your current offerings, the inevitability of change looms. Whether it transforms your business landscape or renders your current practices obsolete, innovation is key to an enduring business. Integrating innovation into business may seem challenging but it can be an engaging and rewarding process.

It’s all about culture

Change is annoying. Resistance is natural, especially if innovation is confined to an isolated part of your business. The whole business needs to be involved. The team at the top must be advocating and involving so that everyone believes the benefits. Get everyone involved.

Here are a few pointers on how to do it properly:

1. Sustainable Strategy:

Sustainability applies to the longevity of your business as much as it applies to the planet’s future. That is, they’re inextricably linked. Keep sustainability at the core of your business to keep innovation grounded in a purpose that extends beyond profit.

2. Define Strategic Areas for Innovation:

Now that you understand what you can and want to do, understand who you’re doing it for. What are their pains and gains. Ensure the problems you’re trying to solve are real and within your capability. Validate your assumptions through conversations. You’d be amazed at what insights a simple dialogue can uncover.

3. Ideation:

Once you understand the problems it’s time to solve them. Getting everyone involved at this point promotes buy-in. Encourage (positive) constructive feedback to refine ideas. Every idea has potential; it’s just a matter of uncovering it.

4. Prioritise and Develop a Roadmap:

Select the winning ideas aligned with your strategy. Hold onto the others; they might find relevance later. Assess complexity, value, and timelines, allocating resources accordingly.

5. Communication:

Transparency is key. Keep your team in the loop. While some details may be confidential, share what you can. Make innovation feel like a collaborative journey rather than a clandestine operation. Keep this going at every step. Even after launch.  

6. Pilot Programs for Testing:

Launch a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to gather feedback. This step ensures early validation and helps you understand if your innovation has the potential to succeed. It can be as simple as images, mock ups or a website to help consumers or customers better understand the innovation.

7. Scale Up Successful Innovations:

If the MVP is a hit, it’s time to scale. Plan a soft launch and gradually expand. Learning from each step is crucial to sustained success.

8. Learn:

If one of your innovations is a roaring success, understand why and use those same steps again. The same goes for innovation that tanked. Understand why and makes sure you don’t make the same mistakes. Treat the failure as valuable a learning as the success. Make the team feel good about the learning (this goes back to communication) and maintain positivity towards innovation.

There’s no business without innovation and if the whole team isn’t in onboard, it’s an uphill battle. Clear strategy, involvement across functions and levels and communication is the basis of an innovation culture. If it’s in the culture it’s second nature.

Ready to innovate? Book a virtual coffee with us and explore how our purpose-driven strategy, coupled with a systems thinking approach, can recharge your business.