In business, we hear the word innovation quite often. Innovation has become a buzzword, used in mission statements, core values and promotional materials to try and differentiate who we are.
But what, really, is innovation? Is it being creative and coming up with a thousand new ideas, an art piece or business opportunity? Or is it much more?
Creativity is a component of innovation, of course. But what truly is innovation, and what does it look like in action?
After a decade of research, Dennis Stauffer can help identify what innovation means to you and your company. With the InnovatorMindset® profile, leaders can discover what forms of innovation they understand and support, and what barriers they have to remove. The great thing is that innovation is not a personality trait, but a mindset which we can alter and change permanently, should we choose to.
So what is true innovation? Based on Dennis’s research, there are four components that support and either drive or block innovation. Interestingly, those that rate above 70 in the individual components tend to provide exponential results, yet only 5% of the population is in this group; a 60 puts you in the top 10 percent!
- Your AWARENESS or reality: How clear and aware are you of business surroundings, changes and opportunities?
- Your OPENESS or feedback: How well do you take negative feedback? What do the numbers really say? Do you use feedback to drive innovation?
- Your CREATIVITY or ideas: Do you value your own ideas and the ideas of others? How do you act on them?
- Your BRAVERY or action phase: Innovation tends to swim upstream. Are you brave and bold enough to take the action?
Each of these can be altered, if you choose to. There are three components in each of the four areas that determine your strengths and barriers when it comes to innovation. Each are changeable.
- COGNITIVE: How do you think about knowledge or innovation? Perhaps you think it is important, but something is getting in the way.
- VALUE: Which do you put more value on, existing knowledge or discovering new knowledge and understanding?
- BEHAVIOR: How do you actually behave when innovation opportunities arise? Do you act or retract?
The great thing is that, if innovation is truly part of an organization’s culture, it can drive profit, performance, competitive edge and market dominance. A tool such as the InnovatorMindset® can be a starting point that leads to an awesome future.
Stay tuned for our next post will be on the two competing cycles: “detect/correct” vs “Innovation Cycle.”
For more on the InnovatorMindset® program, contact H. Goerger & Associates Inc., dba AskHG, one of the first to be certified in the nation.
InnovatorMindset® is the property of Dennis Stauffer. www.InnovatorMindset.com
