Ingredients of Innovation

There is a time to cherish traditions, and a time for innovation. My Granny’s-Oatmeal-Cookie recipe has been passed from generation to generation.??They are my all-time favorite. If someone tried to change this family recipe and say… add raisins (gasp!) my Granny would turn over in her grave for "ruining" the cookies. So while I am careful to guard the tradition of how we make the world's best cookie, sometimes innovation is what is called for. The business I founded 21 years ago, Enseo, just made Fast Company’s #15 in their 100 Best Workplaces for Innovators because we have a culture of encouraging people to be sassy, spicy and shake things up.??Here are some ingredients that inspire our corporate culture of innovation:????

1 Mixed Bag of Diversity.???Can you imagine how bland oatmeal cookies would taste with?just?oats???Innovation thrives when there are a multitude of ideas from different perspectives to add spice and variety.??There is no better way to gain valuable perspectives than through diversity.??

Equal Parts Courage and Compassion.?Sharing a new idea takes courage.??It is important to create a community of courage and compassion where your people feel safe to put themselves (and their ideas) out there and those ideas (and the people who pitch them) are treated with compassion and encouragement.??While it is true that not all ideas are great ones, the next idea might be GOLD and we don't want to miss out.???????

A Pinch of Flexibility.?Great new ideas will only turn into innovation if people are willing to do things differently.??If the goal of your organization is to never rock the boat, innovation is not for you.???

Sprinkle in Some Speed.?Fail fast is one of our mottos.??The faster you fail some of the ideas, it will allow for the best ideas to rise and be developed.??

2 or More Iotas of Imperfection.??Innovating demands imperfection.??Innovations doesn’t start out complete and perfect.??Sometimes the best innovations have to be fed and encouraged and modified by the whole village to fund spectacular growth and change.?

Everyone loves the smell of freshly baked cookies when they walk in the door.??Equally appealing is the rich aroma of satisfaction and enjoyment that comes when you have mixed together the ingredients for innovation.???A culture that inspires innovation attracts and retains amazing employees as well as customers. The Leaders of teams who innovate have the toughest and funnest job of all. We get to gather up and encourage all these great ingredients, select which ideas are the best, and watch everyone take a taste of innovation and enjoy! Please keep an eye out for the next article in this series where we will be exploring in greater detail the ingredients for innovation.?

I have included the actual recipe for Granny's Oatmeal Cookies. I want to hear if you like them as much as I do. Remember they are not traditional oatmeal cookies, my Granny innovated and now we cherish this recipe! If you want to know the importance of the sunflower on the recipe card, please look back at last year's How DO you DO (below) and don't forget to subscribe.

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