When it comes to business, innovation holds the key to success. However, many business owners forget that one of the key drivers of innovation is held within the core of the organization itself — its values. Innovation needs to remain within the entire organization as a whole, not within a singular team or department.
When we seek to identify examples of how this has been implemented, let’s look at Colgate. Colgate-Palmolive is well-known recognized for its many household products that have transformed the American home. Within their organization, they’ve implemented innovation as an internal value and have welcomed it within the organization in its entirety, reshaping how they conduct business. They share their history of innovation to inform customers and inspire employees while embracing open innovation to source new ideas from all stakeholders.
Here are five steps that companies like Colgate-Palmolive use that can help guide you and your organization in the right direction.
Deep Diving Into Five Steps
- Prepare to Adapt Organizational Culture
With the core of innovation being the culture of an organization, this is one of the first places an organization must look. Begin to change the organization’s view and mindset when it comes to introducing innovation and adapting to change. Make this a critical aspect of every team and employee to aid the overall success of the organization across all business practices.
2. Implement Change Management
“The secret sauce or the magic is in change management.”
Change is a concept. However, it’s a concept we sometimes forget to look at from all perspectives. More often than not we’re involved in making changes but forget to also analyze and observe the results of these changes. In business, we must remain aware of everything to see what is happening to judge if these changes are beneficial or detrimental to the organization.
3. Challenge the Status Quo
Just because things are currently working, doesn’t mean they cannot change or be improved. Continuing to challenge our orthodoxies, the status quo, in order to introduce new efficiencies and improve organizational processes is vital to growth.
4. Consistently remain empathetic
Empathy will continue to serve as one of the most important aspects of design thinking. It’s essential that we remember we are not the target user; rather, we must develop products and services from the position of the user. We must also remember we are the natural spotters more connected with humanity and what’s happening around us than others may be.
5. Align to A Central Goal
To work together, we need to stay aligned to a common roadmap and goal. With a common goal, all teams within an organization will have a focused plan that guides day-to-day operations across all departments. Big changes within an organization require individuals across many different teams and levels of leadership.
Final Thoughts
Innovation is a critical part of every business. Only when we begin to adapt and understand the importance of implementing innovation across organizations in their entirety will we begin to overhaul how we handle and conduct business.
Through design thinking, we can remain empathetic and drive innovation and change with ease. In today’s modern society, you no longer need to have a large company with millions of dollars and hundreds of employees to make a difference. All you really need is a team that is willing to adapt their mindset and challenge the status quo to develop something more innovative.
So, ask yourself — are you ready to make a change?
