How companies can encourage innovation
Many workers admit they are not living up to their creative potential. Workplace experts say there are ways to narrow this 'creativity gap.'
from the October 15, 2007 edition
Page 3 of 3
Bob Johnson, a project manager at Lebanese American University in New York, says, "In some cases, when an employer says, 'Be creative,' what that employer really means is, 'Do it the way we've always done it.' Other times it means, 'Tweak what we've been doing ever so slightly.' Other times it means, 'Go forth and create! Do what you want to do. We might want to change it some or we might want you to go back to the drawing board. And we might actually like what you've done and run with it.' "
For innovative thinkers, Kustka offers this advice: "Whatever you're trying to do, don't just say, 'This is a great idea.' Say, 'Let me tell you what this idea adds in value to the company.' "
Kustka is optimistic that the current generation of young workers, the Millennials, will encourage innovation. "They're much more driven by quality of life and job content," he says. "They're more inclined to challenge the status quo."
Women are key contributors
Two other factors – a rise in entrepreneurship and more women in business – also promote innovation, says Vicki Donlan, author of "Her Turn: Why It's Time for Women to Lead in America." Many women tell her they left a corporate job because they lacked opportunities to use their creativity.
"Entrepreneurship, which is growing particularly with women, gives you an opportunity to use all your creativity," she says. "Smaller companies tend to allow for more creativity, and women are the leaders in small business. The creative economy is coming as more women move into their own businesses and are given the opportunity for leadership in larger corporations."
Academic settings also benefit from innovation. "The public image of a university is that it's a hotbed of rich, different ideas, and it is," says Michael Ray Smith, professor of mass communication at Campbell University in Buies Creek, N.C. "However, there's a strong organizational culture as well. If you don't work hard at being creative, you ... fade into the dominant thinking."
Professor Smith often eats lunch with people he doesn't ordinarily see, including those in the university's pharmacy school and divinity school. "I hang out with people who see the world differently. It helps us be better thinkers and better people."
Emphasizing the need for those "better thinkers," Tom Monahan, who gives his title as "head creative-thinking coach" at Before & After, a consulting firm in Providence, R.I., says, "I haven't come across an industry that doesn't see the value of resourceful thinkers and keeping a creative edge. The human factor is still the primary asset of companies today."
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