People Strategies: Minor innovations important for business success

Linda Bower is a speaker, executive coach and human performance improvement consultant who lives in Rogersville.

There are always sticky problems lurking deep inside of companies. They are the problems that stay with a company as people come and go.

Companies can be chronically crippled by things like low employee morale, poor budgeting practices, undefined company visions and frequently rotating executives. Businesses unconsciously resist growth by relying on past successes for too long and cherishing the perspective of a chosen few who always seem to say what executives want to hear.

Most employees in these companies will let a huge white elephant sit in the middle of a conference table without anyone saying that it doesn't belong there. And they will let it sit for a long time.

Redefining innovation

There is a refreshing approach to freeing companies of debilitating business problems. The resources to do it are right under their noses.

Being innovative does not have to stay within the realm of brilliant people, accidents or the fantastic.

It is something we do naturally. We can learn to do it better, and we can do it every day at work.

William Miller, an author, lecturer and educator, has broadened the definition of innovation through his extensive research on the topic.

He found that most people, when they think of innovation, imagine an idea like putting a man on the moon. Incremental solutions, Miller says, "are just as important to approaching business problems as the big ideas. In fact, they are often easier to implement in organizations."

Companies open new avenues to employees by adopting both breakthrough and incremental approaches to chronic and short-term business problems. When a company decides it wants to become more innovative, it should look to its people first for the most relevant ideas.

Miller discovered that people have personal preferences for how to create new ideas.

Through Wilson Learning Worldwide, a global human performance improvement company, he was able to validate a self-assessment survey that measured the degree to which people use each of four innovation styles: visioning, exploring, experimenting and modifying.

Innovation styles

Two of the innovation styles visioning and exploring inspire breakthrough solutions.

Those who prefer to think in terms of experimenting and modifying, tend to create incremental solutions.

Think about yourself and the way you like to approach solving problems when you read the description of each style. Which styles click with you? Do any repel you?

Visioning style These people are idealistic. They prefer to start with a blank sheet of paper when approaching a problem or idea.

They tend to search for insights that lead them to decisions about their long-term goals; they find innovations that fulfill those goals. They ask people to consider, "What can we realistically imagine as the ideal long-term solution?"

Exploring style These people like to discover things. They also tend to start from a blank sheet of paper. They search for insights that challenge conventional assumptions.

They find innovations that are based on new assumptions and perceptions. They sometimes imagine new ideas by asking, "What metaphors can we use to challenge habitual thinking and assumptions?"

Experimenting style A synonym for this style is to combine. These are people who look for facts first, paying special attention to what information still needs to be gathered.

They find innovations that can be tested and learned from, with input from many sources. They want to know, "Why don't we combine and test from what already exists?"

Modifying style A synonym for this style is to build. These people look for facts as well. They find innovations that actively build and improve on what has been done in the past. These people ask, "What can we adapt to improve on what has worked in the past?"

One of the most exciting things about Miller's articulation of innovation styles is that people can begin to choose how they want to be creative for a given situation. They do not have to stay with their preference.

When faced with poor budgeting practices, for example, the idea to scratch the whole system and start over would probably not go over very well. Incremental solutions would be a better place to begin. A team could put itself into the mindset of those who prefer the experimenting or modifying style to generate new ideas.

Once a company decides to stop hiding from its problems, it can begin to solve them.

It can solve them by encouraging employees to become more creative and to put their innovative ideas into action.