The innovation issue is certainly pressing. As our world’s financial resources become more and more scarce, business, corporate and political leaders are coming together to come up with the most creative ideas they can possibly think of to bring us back to center.

This post will give you a few strategies to move you in the direction of building a true innovation culture:

1) Make innovation so common that it becomes a part of your DNA. Innovation should not be reactionary. It should be given daily attention and should be embedded deeply into the DNA of your culture. Encourage the creative spark in your employees by using games, open dialogue and large white boards for posting ideas as they spontaneously pop up throughout the day.

2) Design innovation pods for your organization. To “assign” innovation to a committee at the top of your company is an old-school approach to innovation. Believe it or not, some of your most creative thinkers are probably on the front line or somewhere in the middle of your organization. By developing innovation pods or hubs throughout all departments, you will be able to capture a plethora of ideas from a wide variety of creative thinkers.

3) Get outside of your organization to “shop” for ideas. If you are physically sitting inside your office, you are missing the guts of innovation, and chances are pretty good that you’re stuck in the “way you’ve always done things”, which is a sure way to kill the innovation process. Take a few days and just walk the city, talk to people on the streets, walk through shops and art galleries, dine in new restaurants, listen to new music and let the environment do its magic on you.

4) Once you identify your big innovators, assign them a mentor who is a more experienced innovator. As with all organizations, as you begin to develop a culture of innovation, you will notice that some employees are just born to innovate. Once you have identified your superstar creative thinkers, assign them a coach or mentor (preferably someone who has been through the innovation process multiple times) to guide them through the process. It is not uncommon for creative thinkers to doubt their ideas, and they will need support through the process.

5) Reward ideas…no matter how crazy they may seem. The people of your company need to be recognized and acknowledged for contributing to the innovation process. Reward all ideas, both small and large, sane and insane.

EDGE! A Leadership Story