To do successful innovation, an organization must have “processes by which innovation can be evaluated and rewarded, metrics that recognize and measure innovation, and above all, a culture of acceptance for innovation.”
If you want to develop an innovation mindset in your organization, consultant Radhika Chadha says you should ask these questions: Do your people believe their ideas or innovations can be useful to others? Is your middle management a negative filter for ideas, with the power to say no, but not to say yes? Do the rewards measure innovation, or only the ability to carry out responsibilities? Remember: the dot-com bubble wasn’t all bad, and Chadha is somewhat nostalgic for those “wacky and weird ideas” that got rewarded with equally crazy funding. Trial-and-error is just as important as trial-and-success. Actually, they’re identical, and the key word is “trial.”
The Hindu Business Line 8 March 2004
