What do you do if your innovation skills are falling behind in the competitive business world?

In my experience, conducting an honest assessment of your innovation skills is crucial for improvement. Start by identifying areas where you're falling short and understanding the underlying reasons. It could be due to not keeping up with industry trends or lacking diversity in thought and experience within your team. Recognizing these gaps is the first step towards bridging them effectively. Without self-awareness, targeting efforts to enhance innovation skills becomes challenging.

?? What sets truly innovative companies apart is not just their ability to analyze the market and competition, but their ability for identifying gaps that consumers are not yet aware of. These companies anticipate future needs and provide services or goods that offer a better experience. Additionally, they foster a culture of creativity and experimentation, embracing failure as part of the innovation process. They invest heavily in research and development to stay ahead of the curve and push boundaries to deliver breakthrough products or services.

Begin by evaluating where your innovation skills are lacking. This could involve self-reflection, seeking feedback from peers or mentors, or even conducting a formal skills assessment. Identify specific areas where improvement is needed, whether it's in creative thinking, problem-solving, or staying abreast of emerging trend

Comece fazendo uma avalia??o honesta do seu atual nível de habilidades em inova??o. Isso inclui identificar onde você está aquém e compreender as raz?es por trás disso. Talvez você n?o esteja acompanhando as tendências do setor, ou talvez sua equipe care?a de diversidade de pensamento e experiência. Reconhecer essas lacunas é o primeiro passo para superá-las. Sem essa autoconsciência, n?o será possível direcionar seus esfor?os de maneira eficaz para aprimorar suas habilidades inovadoras

"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing." - Socrates. Acknowledging where our innovation skills lack is a humbling but essential step. It's about peeling back the layers to uncover not just where we fall short, but why. Maybe we've been slow on the uptake with new trends, or perhaps our teams echo too similar a thought pattern. Identifying these gaps is our launchpad for growth. This self-reflection, amplified by insights from fellow experts, sets the stage for targeted improvement. It's a collective call to action: let's pinpoint our weaknesses, understand their roots, and strategize our way to a more innovative future. Who's with me on this journey of self-improvement and collective growth?

Look beyond your immediate industry or field for inspiration. Explore diverse sources such as books, articles, TED talks, or attending conferences and workshops. Engage with thought leaders and innovators both within and outside your network to gain fresh perspectives and insights that can reignite your innovation capabilities.

Once you've identified areas for improvement, invest in upgrading your skills. This could involve enrolling in relevant courses, workshops, or training programs. Leverage online platforms, educational institutions, or professional development opportunities offered by your company. Stay curious and proactive in expanding your knowledge and honing your innovation skills.

Foster collaboration and exchange ideas with a diverse range of individuals and teams. Engage in cross-functional projects, seek out interdisciplinary collaborations, or join innovation networks and communities. By working with people from different backgrounds and expertise, you can leverage collective intelligence and spark innovative solutions to complex challenges.

I continuously seek new knowledge, embrace emerging trends, and actively participate in creative problem-solving exercises are key. Engaging with a diverse network of professionals and exploring cross-industry insights help me spark innovative ideas and approaches.

Recognize that failure is an inherent part of the innovation process. Instead of fearing failure, embrace it as an opportunity for learning and growth. Encourage experimentation and a culture where taking calculated risks is valued. Analyze failures objectively, extract valuable lessons, and apply them to refine your approach and enhance future innovation efforts.

Adopt an iterative approach to innovation, where you continuously refine and iterate on ideas based on feedback and real-world insights. Embrace agility and adaptability, allowing you to respond swiftly to changing market dynamics and customer needs. Cultivate a mindset of continuous improvement and rapid iteration, iterating quickly based on feedback and data to drive innovation forward effectively.

Get third party input!!! ASAP!!! Can you do heart surgery on yourself? Getting external inputs especially from lay people no where near from your industry or your geography etc provides a vantage point of insight anyone on the inside may never have - or at least may not have effectively or efficiently. What is critical first is: 1) establish what success is: your success criteria 2) agree with every one internally this is success for ALL - that confirms everyone wins and has buy-in 3) create questions you want answered by external inputs - people from any walk , any age They all will see your ‘elephant’ differently 4) when the external person speaks - stay quiet, take notes 5) sort findings and evaluate what’s worthy to execute.

Much before skills, innovation is a mindset. It is an outcome of a creative pursuit within an environment. If struggling to innovate, one should look at both scenarios? 1- Is it a mindset issue with you? Are you playing safe or struggling to think creatively, while the environment totally allows for it? Then, yes by all means confront attitude for risk taking as well as letting go of traditions. 2- Is it that the environment is not conducive. Most environments advocate innovation but hardly develop cultures to support it. Chances are that you are stuck in a lip service environment. If that is the case, decision makers need to walk a cultural makeover.