Here's how you can cultivate innovation within your team.

Allow team to fail with their idea before they figure out what works. Its as simple as no pain (pain of failure) no gain (gain of success)

Society has been conditioned to stigmatise failure. The same goes for the professional environment. While management often likes to invite people ?to challenge things and bring in new ideas", the majority do not like having the boat rocked. Embracing failure is, first and foremost, a cultural question. Allow people to be genuinely inventive and pragmatic, allow them to fail, and watch what happens. They will collectively pick up the pieces and rebuild after something has gone pear-shaped rather than pass around the 'blame bucket' while fearing reprimand.

Failure is inevitable, a natural consequence of pushing beyond a comfort zone. Here are 4 tips, based on my personal experience, for embracing failure as a Manager: 1. Make sure everyone understands failure will be part of the process. Don't get anyone discouraged, instead keep it as a learning experience. 2. Reflect from mistakes. Analyze on what went wrong and identify areas to improve. 3. Take risks. The more risks more likely to succeed. 4. Be persistent and positive. Don't give up and keep a positive attitude and you will eventually reach your goals. By embracing failure, we learn from our mistakes, develop our skills, and become more resilient. Embrace it, learn from it, and use it to propel everyone forward.

Fear of failure is more for managers than with the team. I believe in giving opportunity to team members to experiment but still control the outcomes. Sometimes experiments are a disaster but great inventions were only possible after applying the learnings from each failure. Failure builds stronger and confident human beings, if taken on a correct stride. So, embrace failure when you gave your 100% best. Failure, afterall is part of life!

?? Encourage your team to view failure as a stepping stone, creating a safe space for experimentation. ?? Communicate that every failure is a learning opportunity, fostering greater innovation. ?? Removing the fear of failure empowers team members to take calculated risks and try new ideas, leading to breakthroughs in a risk-averse environment.

In my experience, conducting DiSC assessments within leadership teams, I frequently come across a lack of diversity - unsurprising, as we tend to hire in own image. For innovation to thrive, different viewpoints & approaches must be brought together. A diverse team can challenge each other's thinking, resulting in more creative solutions &preventing group think. Building a culture of trust is equally important because, without trust, team members won't feel comfortable sharing their unique ideas & perspectives. When there's trust, individuals can freely express their thoughts without fear of criticism or backlash. This open exchange of ideas can lead to breakthroughs & continual improvement propelling a business forward.

From my experience, the most innovative solutions never came from marketing dept or innovation dept. You must listen to anyone in the company, especially people close to the customer or involved in processes. I also suggest organizing focus groups with customers to get direct feedback from the needs

Isso mesmo! A diversidade é um fator crucial para a inova??o e a resolu??o eficaz de problemas. Ao implementar essas práticas, as organiza??es podem n?o apenas melhorar a inova??o, mas também criar um ambiente de trabalho mais inclusivo e satisfatório para todos os colaboradores.

I completely agree with the importance of diversifying teams to stimulate innovation. In my opinion, it's crucial to break away from traditional frameworks, especially in France where there's a strong emphasis on academic qualifications and sector-specific segmentation. Every individual, regardless of their background, can contribute valuable insights. No question is ever foolish, and often, it's the simplest question that unlocks complex situations. We shouldn't hesitate to embrace diversity within teams because it's this diversity that leads to richer and more creative solutions.

Many a times, diverse perspective opens up new ideas / innovation. Encourage, nurture and learn from those perspectives - it's worth it.

Daily changes to the international setting, the continuous progress in technology and mainly the digital transformation of enterprises have made continuous learning of core importance to the development of executives and the companies they are working in. Professional training and continuous learning do keep high 1. the level of the executives, and, 2. the level of the services/knowledge they offer their companies. Furthermore, we should not underestimate the personal, professional and social benefits of continuous learning.

Continuous learning and development foster innovation, but it is crucial to recognize that this primarily depends on an individual's mindset—the willingness to self-reflect and improve. Each person has different capacities and desires for personal improvement. Therefore, beyond training and workshops, the role of an organization is to identify and support those who show a genuine desire to learn and grow. Instead of focusing solely on collective initiatives, it is essential to create an environment where everyone is encouraged and supported according to their own aspirations, thus cultivating a culture of innovation and continuous progress.

This is perhaps the most important thing that every person should internalize. The world is constantly changing and adapting to these changes requires a commitment to learning new things. Too many people, at a certain point in their career, feel like they know enough and stop pushing the boundaries of learning. That leads to stagnant decision making as well as being surpassed by others who have continued to adapt and evolve. Being ever curious and devoting some of your time to learning is critical to retaining relevance in the future. It also provides a positive example for other employees.

Exatamente! Incentivar o aprendizado e o desenvolvimento contínuos é fundamental para manter uma equipe inovadora e competitiva. Aqui est?o algumas maneiras práticas de fomentar essa cultura de aprendizado: 1. **Workshops e Seminários**: Organize ou patrocine workshops e seminários que cubram as últimas tendências e tecnologias em seu campo. Esses eventos oferecem oportunidades para aprendizado, networking e troca de ideias. 2. **Tempo para Pesquisa**: Alocar tempo regular para que os membros da equipe possam pesquisar novas tecnologias, metodologias ou tendências relevantes para seu trabalho. Isso pode ser formalizado através de "dias de inova??o" ou horas dedicadas semanalmente.

As the saying goes: if you always follow the same path, you never see anything new. This also applies to your job. You always have to do new things and challenge yourself. That's why continuing professional development is extremely important. I proactively suggest internal training courses on key personal skills and external seminars to expand specialist knowledge to my team. Anyone who takes part in a seminar should bring the knowledge back to the team afterwards. In this way, we ensure that we continue to develop personally and stay up to date professionally. This is particularly important in the controlling and management of public companies, as we manage a large portfolio with many different business models from various sectors.

Incubating ideas within a business can be a game-changer for innovation. One brilliant example is Atlassian's "FedEx Days," now known as "ShipIt Days," where employees are given 24 hours to work on any project and deliver it overnight. Google’s 20% time policy is another standout, allowing employees to spend 20% of their workweek on projects they’re passionate about, leading to products like Gmail and AdSense. At 3M, the 15% rule encourages employees to spend 15% of their time exploring innovative ideas, famously resulting in the creation of Post-it Notes. Ideas are delicate and need to be nurtured so to truly foster innovation, companies must provide time, resources, and a supportive environment for them to flourish.

Le cerveau ne doit pas toujours produire. Il doit avoir du temps pour la réflexivité. Favoriser les communautés de connaissances communautés de pratique (Cop), communautés épistémoques, communautés d’innovation,…

Make it a game: safe and fun! Bring a dose of playful elements to your organization with challenges, teams and rewards. Freedom and competition will make creativity flow. Celebrate and repeat!

I've seen lots of opportunities missed due to too-aggressive responses. Take the time to develop the idea, and run through scenarios. What if it works, then what, what if it fails then what? Work to understand as many angles as you can. THEN propose it to a co-worker or team member to see if they can foresee any challenges or next-level opportunities with success.

As a former patent search specialist i would suggest to invite a patent search specialist to search for any related patent in the technical field under investigation. He/ she can rate or specify the novelty of any idea by searching in a patent database. Even then you can decide or evaluate if the idea is likely inventive or even new. Also you may evaluate that your application is new and should be patented..

Rewarding creativity is crucial to foster a growth mindset. It motivates teams to think critically and take risks, which leads to breakthrough ideas and strengthens a sense of belonging, brining people together. It also implies rewarding failure, which forces organisations to learn from setbacks - this builds resilience. Resilience allows for both continuous improvement and a more sustainable business growth.

Recognition and reward play a crucial role not only in stimulating creativity but also in enhancing productivity within a team. However, it is essential that these recognitions are tailored to the specific dynamics of the company. Each organization has its own values and goals, and how it fosters creativity should reflect this corporate philosophy. Creativity should not merely be an objective to achieve but rather a philosophy that permeates the entire organization. By embracing this approach, not only do you foster innovation, but you also cultivate a dynamic and adaptable corporate culture capable of tackling long-term challenges.

Rewarding is the best way to encourage specific type of behavior. Its very common in sales teams. When you want to sell a specific product more than anything else, you reward and incentivize that more than other products. Likewise you will have to reward creativity in some way. It need not be a monetary reward

Engineering and maintaining a safe space for work teams to have open and honest conversations can produce a lot of good outcomes, one of which is innovation! No doubt some of my most productive work gigs and most effective teams have been the ones with room for creative expressions, learning, reasonable trial and error, learning some more etc., which have then produced tangible outcomes. And it's not just "the boss' job", all team members have a part to play here.

I have found that fostering a culture of open communication is essential for innovation. At Banglalink, where I served as a Regional Manager, I implemented regular ‘innovation meetings’ where team members could propose new ideas and strategies. This practice not only made the team feel valued but also led to several successful initiatives, such as the development of new trade marketing strategies that improved our regional market share. By giving team members the freedom to express their creativity and by actively listening to their suggestions, we were able to create a dynamic and innovative work environment

We need to look at "feedback" as a gift and use it to learn and grow. Lots of organizations talk about having open communications, encouraging feedback. But what happens when we get feedback that is not what we assumed or expected? How do we react? Feedback is truly a "gift" in that it lets you see things from a totally different perspective and potentially a different way to solution what you are focused on or more importantly something that you might have missed.

Strategy as an executive can be really challenging, you need to listen and deliver to all kind of stakeholders Here’s 5 advices from my personal experience: 1. Motivate everyone. Show them a clear vision of the future ahead if we succeed 2. Make everyone feel important. To embrace change, people need to feel that all tasks are important in a team that unites for a goal. 3. Implement as soon as you can with calculated risks. Start with 20% of time and money and see how it evolves. 4. Stay adaptable. Be prepared to adapt as circumstances evolve, strategy is about flexibility to change while on the go 5. Be open, warm, and tolerant. Stay supportive providing a genuine clear feeling about performance

Provide Opportunities: As leaders, we should create opportunities for everyone within the team to contribute. Often times, we see seniors dismissing or not including juniors in brainstorming conversations. Innovation and creativity can come from anyone, anywhere. While a more junior team member may not have the most developed ideas, it could be the catalyst to something amazing.

One effective method for cultivating innovation is to focus on small, manageable improvements rather than seeking grand, disruptive changes. At Ten Decimal, we adopted a practice of regular feedback sessions where employees could propose small, actionable changes. This approach led to several successful initiatives, such as refining our client onboarding process and enhancing our internal communication systems. By encouraging team members to think about how they can improve their work in small steps, we fostered a culture of continuous innovation that has driven our growth and success.

I would like to add two more ideas. Always look beyond the company. Strategy and innovation are increasingly focused on understanding the "ecosystem" in which we operate and leveraging the available resources within it. Concepts such as "platform" and "exponential organization" are essential. Use AI as a support. There are various techniques, such as "multi-agent discussions," that can enrich internal discussions within your team.

When it comes to innovation, we often tend to focus only on products and technologies. However, innovation can occur in all aspects of an enterprise, including business model, customer engagement, and processes. In today’s fiercely competitive market, it is essential to cultivate a comprehensive innovation strategy. If we only rely on a simple “jab-cross” combination, our moves can be easily identified and countered by our competitors. By examining the enterprise holistically and orchestrating a multi-faceted innovation strategy, we can achieve greater robustness and longevity in our trailblazing endeavors.