It is no secret that in today’s fast-changing digital world, innovation is a key step for businesses. It creates productivity, finds new markets, distances competition, obtains financing and enhances brand image.
Thereupon, Lorraine Marchand, general manager of IBM Watson Health and author of the book “The Innovation mindset” stresses that :
“Innovation is occurring today at a dizzying pace and the market is responding positively”.
But in order to innovate successfully, it is vital to have the right innovation mindset.
According to Ryan Mitchell, manager of digital delivery at Chevron:
“A big challenge for innovation is getting people to think differently. Innovation doesn’t start and stop between any two walls”.
That starts by not letting the success of the past be a barrier for future successes and growth.
Innovation is not unique to the private sector
International organizations and NGO’s also prioritize change in order to get sustainable innovations and make their organizations better, but they too recognize that the key step in finding fresh solutions is the mindset.
In such cases the challenge can be even more complex given the fact that they operate on an international level and in sometimes harsh environments.
“You do need to focus on mindset and culture”
explains Emilia Saarelainen, Innovation Fellowship Program Manager at the UNHCR.
However this doesn’t mean that one should be afraid of failure when trying new development strategies. Such fears can be inhibiting to exploring new ways of working. Thankfully, a cultural shift has taken place in recent years.
While failure “was not an option for finance people for a very very long time”, companies are now getting confortable with accepting failure as
“The fact that we are always trying new things will help us learn”
explains Ryan Mitchell.
Moreover, getting to understand the right innovation mindset is also key to launching any kind of business activity explains Lorraine Marchand, as:
“95% of new ideas never make it to the market.”
So what is the key to the right mindset ? As Emilia Saarelainen says: “Innovation mindset is not rocket science.”
It’s about looking outside and seeing what’s out there, experimenting and trying things out, working together with others and continuous learning.
You need people with passion and willingness to change.
eBooster.ch is a consulting agency with proven records of global innovation projects across several international industries in the fields of 1. Consulting 2. Training 3. HR Talent
