Innovation is all around; tap it to design your future

I am astounded by the level of innovation happening in 2015!

Most people tend to focus on snazzy consumer technology because change is so fast and visible. It makes for exciting news stories.

Actually, the more interesting new thinking is coming in surprising places. We’ve seen community governments producing innovations, from the City Center in Lafayette to the Greeley Unexpected campaign, new biking approaches in Boulder, high-speed fiber in Longmont and mass transit in Fort Collins.

Education is undergoing massive improvement at all levels, from primary schools through college and adult learning. Competitive pressure, national standards and budget limitations have encouraged extraordinary creativity.

I’ve been most excited about the great new thinking in companies. Amazing startups are recognized during regional Startup Weeks and events such as the Blue Ocean Challenge. This month we’ll see awards given for local business innovation at the Quid Novi Festival. (Full disclosure: Small Fish Business Coaching is co-sponsoring these business innovation awards.)

Business incubators, accelerators and co-working spaces are springing up at a tremendous rate. They’re great for startups and entrepreneurs, giving them visibility and resources to grow successful companies.

I’m impressed with what I see with larger companies. Yes, they often can be ponderous and deeply entrenched in processes, but they also can marshal more resources for achieving critical goals.

One technique is to set up a special project that operates outside the normal rules of budgets and reporting structures. Called a “skunkworks organization” or “sandbox project,” this can be a powerful way to bring together diverse viewpoints to solve challenging problems.

Some might ask why it’s necessary to go to such lengths to nurture innovation. Normally, employees’ creativity needs to stay within the bounds of that person’s current organization and goals. This encourages ideas – but only to the extent that they contribute to the current organization. More innovative approaches will be squashed without courageous, visionary sponsorship.

Another approach is to bring in key partners and customers to help remove your blinders. We all understand the world from our limited perspective, and that’s true for organizations as well. Sometimes it’s useful to challenge assumptions and break patterns by seeing things from other points of view.

As a leader, you should spend time outside your normal circles. I’m constantly surprised by practices that are common in one industry but practically unknown in another – even when there would be a great benefit. Some of the world’s greatest inventions have come merely from a fortuitous joining of unrelated areas.

You need to personally connect with other industries and domains through networking, reading, and exploring your social connections. Seek out people who are doing interesting things anywhere on the planet. If you’re unsure where to start, check out the great TED videos online.

Let’s not forget the world of nonprofits. I’ve seen a wide range of fundraising events and mechanisms. For instance, more companies are seeing the value of marrying a for-profit business with a nonprofit side, drawing from the best of both worlds. Yet I’m still surprised at the number of people who could benefit who haven’t investigated the tradeoffs with this structure.

Great innovation happens in many areas. Most people think first about the products and services sold to customers, because that’s most visible. But everything in your business needs improvement: internal processes, key partnerships, marketing approaches, management structures, employee motivation, supply chains …

The possibilities are truly limited only by your imagination.

Carl Dierschow is a Small Fish Business Coach based in Fort Collins. His website is www.smallfish.us.

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