Innovation matters because …….. it helps your organisation do a better job

Innovation is all about putting new ideas into operation. It’s about helping organisations do a better job. Non-profits in particular should love innovation because it often ISN’T about spending lots of money but changing working practices or changing old habits or using existing budget better. You can see innovation as continuously asking the question ‘how can we do this better?’, ‘how can we improve this?’

Innovation or creativity – which do I need?

Lots of people get confused about the difference between creativity and innovation. We tend to describe the difference fairly simply. Creativity is about having the new ideas and innovation is about putting new ideas into practice. The two are like Morecambe and Wise, Laurel and Hardy, Gin and tonic or Posh and Becks. They are much better together. Having great ideas and not implementing them is a waste. And there is no innovation without the ideas for change. Every organisation needs to be clear as to where the blockages are - in having new ideas or putting them into practice?

How call I tell if my organisation needs to innovate?

Like syphilis or the bubonic plague there are clear symptoms of an organisation that isn’t innovating. Here are some of the tell-tale signs:

• People do things because that’s the way they have always been done
• The organisation is out of step with what other organisations are doing in terms of best practice
• Directors and trustees say things like ‘I have seen all these new ideas and none of them will ever work’ or ‘just say it won’t work’ without helping find ways round the obstacles.
• Energetic staff with lots of ideas get new jobs or put all of their energy into their activities outside work

What stops innovation?

We have all seen some great examples of things that stop innovation:

• Rigid, inflexible budgets can kill innovation. If its takes 18 months to get the budget for a new idea approved (or even changed) the momentum for change will be gone.
• If managers blame people personally for failure. Innovation comes with risks so when managers expect every new idea to work and point the finger when it doesn’t – that stops people trying to do new things
• Most of the best ideas for innovation come from people at the frontline of the activity that needs innovating. So if management expect consultants or directors to be the source of innovation and ignores the grassroots then the best source of ideas for innovation will be lost. Conversely, if the frontline isn’t listened to if they say a new idea has problems then innovation may be difficult (this is not to say that the frontline has a power of veto over new ideas – but often they will have valid concerns
• Trustees and subcommittees can be great innovation killers. Ideas get referred from one committee to the next. Clueless trustees asked clueless questions or get staff to investigate blind alleys or red herrings (I exaggerate for effect). Committee structures can make innovation feel like wading through treacle in a minefield.

There must be some practical exercises I can do?

I thought you’d never ask. There are some great ways to show people the importance of creativity and innovation and how they can think differently.

Exercise 1 – Ask people to draw a picture of Humpty Dumpty as an ice-breaker.

The chances are that 99% of people will draw humpty dumpty as an egg-shaped person sitting on a wall. But why is humpty dumpty egg-shaped. The rhyme doesn’t say that he’s egg-shaped. Conformity has made him egg shaped. Creativity is about breaking out of our organisational equivalent of always seeing humpty dumpty as egg-shaped.

Exercise 2 – Brainstorm new ways of doing something.

In small groups get people to come up with new ways of doing a specific task. What kind of fundraising event could we hold? How could we develop relationships with the communications or fundraising team? How could we get more case studies? How can we make trustee meetings more productive? Record as many ideas as possible and then at the end ask each group to pick its favourite 3 ideas.

Exercise 3 – Understand what encourages and what stops innovation in your organisation? 

Most people in an organisation have a good idea of how innovation can be encouraged and how the organisation both stops and encourages innovation (in one charity we heard of the suggestion scheme was only for staff above a certain grade!). So in your organisation, what have people seen that encourages innovation and what have they experienced that puts them off innovating?

How can I encourage innovation?

Here are seven things (there’s lots more but seven will do for starters) that you and your organisation can do to encourage innovation.

Thing 1: Lead from the top. If you want to create an innovative organisation or an innovative team then show people you are serious. Demonstrate that you are serious enough to put into practice a couple of ideas that demonstrate you are committed.  Leave your office and have a desk in the open plan. Cancel the boring meeting that everybody hates and doesn’t work. Buy a bottle of wine for the employee who had a great idea.

Thing 2: Make it clear that the status quo isn’t sufficient. Constantly emphasise how change is necessary and that doing the same thing next year isn’t good enough. Give examples of what change is needed. Set deadlines and provide time for ideas and innovation (through away-days for example)

Thing 3: Provide a budget for innovation. New ideas often need funds. If a budget is rigid and inflexible then the waiting will stop innovation. Many organisations tackle this by having a budget pot which people can pitch to, for their new ideas.

Thing 4: Make sure new ideas happen.  Most people in charities are astute management watchers. What really matters is not what people say but what managers actually do and achieve. It’s no good talking about innovation if the new ideas don’t actually happen. So make sure some of the new ideas get implemented – otherwise people will assume its all just rhetoric.

Thing 5: Constantly look for new ideas from the frontline. As we have already said people at the frontline often have ideas for innovation. Talk to those people. Ask them how they would improve things. Set up schemes and mechanisms for people to put their ideas forward. The task of management is then to work out how those ideas can be put into action.

Thing 6: Watch your tongue. It’s very easy to inadvertently crush new ideas and new suggestions without even realising it. A careless word, a sarcastic comment, an ill-considered brush-off, a humorous put-down can all make people reluctant to put their new ideas forward (and I am afraid I have been guilty of all them).  If people stick their head above the parapet they won’t do it again if a verbal lashing is one of the consequences.

Thing 7: Praise and reward the innovators. When people have come up with good ideas and those good ideas have been put into practice make sure those people are publicly praised and publicly rewarded – a bottle of wine, a box of doughnuts or a bunch of flowers might be suitable.