Innovation Begins with "I"

Kimberly Douglas • September 4, 2019

Everyone has the ability to be creative.



"Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless." ~ Jamie Paolinetti

One of the most frequent questions I am asked related to innovation is, "How can we develop a culture of innovation in our organization?"

In my experience, the company must first recognize that everyone has the capacity and capability for creativity within them . To inspire organizational innovation, you must begin at the individual level.

So, what's holding us back? I have found there are 3 myths that keep companies and individuals from tapping into their true creative potential:

  1. Our definition of creativity. We have a tendency to think that the word "creativity" only applies to artists and musicians. While it's true they may be artistic, they don’t corner the market on creativity. What about using this as your definition...“To be original. To do something no one else would think of.” Now who's creative?
  2. We think of creativity in absolutes – you either have it or you don’t – versus a continuum. When I work with teams to discover their untapped creative potential, I often ask them to remember back to a time in their youth. When you were younger, what came easily to you? What is your own unique brand of creativity? How could you apply that natural talent to a challenge facing your organization today?
  3. The lone creative genius. Consider Thomas Edison, who some think of as the prototypical lone genius. In actuality, he worked with a broad creative team in Menlo Park. He called it "the invention factory” – because they were always working on several different inventions at any one time. Together they were more creative than Edison could have possibly been on his own. Together they found success – and over 400 patents.

Each of you have a critical role to play in creating a culture of innovation. Here are my top two recommendations to get you started:

  1. All of us are smarter than any one of us. When working with my clients, we often use an assessment called the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI) to learn and capitalize on each other's thinking preferences and how they can uniquely contribute to the innovative process. How might you discover the untapped creative potential of each member of your team?
  2. See the world from a different perspective. Marcel Proust said it best: "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes." I use ExperiencePoint's proven learning and development offerings to teach design thinking to my clients. They then use these tools to "see" the unmet needs and desires of their customers, be they internal or external, as well as how to conduct more creative brainstorms and rapidly prototype solutions. How might you use the design thinking approach to see your business through new eyes?

A culture of innovation begins by discovering and fostering individual creativity. FireFly is ready to share our expertise to help you become more innovative today so you can deliver better results tomorrow.

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