6 Potential Roadblocks to Innovation

Does it feel like your efforts in innovation lately have been…lackluster? Are you finding that your team just isn’t coming up with the great ideas you know they can produce? If your business is feeling stale and stagnant, you obviously want to know why, so you can make changes. Innovation efforts aren’t always simple and easy—and there are definitely some roadblocks that can come up along the way. Don’t get discouraged if you run into any of these common problems—you just have to be determined to prevent and work through them whenever possible!

1. Groupthink
   Groupthink is an infamous killer of innovative ideas. It occurs when everyone makes the unspoken decision to simply follow along with what the group thinks. If the most outspoken member of the group proposes an idea, and no one is willing to challenge them, the environment can quickly slide into the trap of groupthink, which stymies innovation and may prevent some of the best ideas from being presented.
   The Solution: Think about having someone play the role of “Devil’s Advocate” at each meeting. This person’s job will be to question and challenge the ideas provided. Since this will be an expected occurrence, it will allow everyone to think critically and develop their own unique entrepreneurial skills. This role should be rotated at every meeting.
2. Burnout
   If you’re firing on all cylinders all the time, burnout is inevitable—and it can easily be the death of creative thought. Creativity is an absolutely essential component in the innovation process, and teams need the opportunity to clear their minds and access creativity in their own way. Some people can’t come up with their best ideas at their desk—and plenty of rest is necessary for optimal performance and productivity.
   The Solution: Give your team a little breathing room. If your company is condoning an environment of overworking employees, it may be time to take a step back and address that problem. Try to ensure everyone gets adequate time off for rest and relaxation—even solutions like allowing people to telecommute part of the time can help get creative juices flowing. People who work from home report 25% lower stress levels, and show 76% more loyalty to their companies—perfect conditions for encouraging innovation.
3. Lack of Resources
   Sometimes, it’s not the lack of inspiration that’s blocking innovation—it’s the cold hard cash or lack of manpower. When innovation teams lack resources, it can be very difficult to get any new ideas off that grounds and into the implementation stage.
   The Solution: Try to emphasize the importance of innovation within the company, and lobby for increased resources. There are creative workarounds you can use (like looking to different departments for new ideas), but the bottom line is that innovation is important, and should have adequate funding and personnel to turn ideas into revenue.
4. Insufficient Trust
   Trust is an important component in any business initiative, but it is especially essential in innovation efforts. When there isn’t enough trust among team members and the organization as a whole, the riskier ideas never see the light of day. It’s not safe to fail when there isn’t any trust that failure will be accepted as a normal part of the innovation process. Sometimes, the riskiest ideas end up being the best—and innovation efforts suffer without them.
   The Solution: Encourage people to get out of their comfort zone. Make it clear that failure is a normal part of the process, and they won’t be punished for it.
5. Stopping at Ideas
   Ideas are great, but they have to be backed up with action by inspired and engaged employees. Some of the best process management techniques are only as good as the action that’s take afterward. Letting good ideas die in the pipeline is a common innovation pitfall that should be avoided.
   The Solution: Have a process in place for moving ideas down the pipeline. People should see that their ideas will be taken seriously, and will be implemented if they’re a good fit for the organization.
6. Preferential Treatment
   Unfortunately, some managers aren’t able to see the value in seeking out diverse opinions. Sometimes, preferential treatment can get in the way of innovation—managers prioritizing the ideas of just a few people, and not encouraging others to speak up. This can happen in either a dedicated innovation team, or when seeking input from the entire company. Of course, fewer ideas with decreased diversity can spell trouble for long-term innovation.
   The Solution: Hire a diverse workforce, and ensure that everyone contributes. In meetings, don’t just wait for the most outspoken person to propose an idea—have several people prepare to present, then have everyone else give both positive and constructive feedback on the ideas presented. It’s important that everyone gets a chance to contribute—and that ideas are vetted carefully.

Lessons from Apple on Why Aesthetic Innovation is Important

It’s pretty much impossible to argue with Apple’s success. It’s one of the most valuable companies in the world, and has maintained dominance for its reputation as an innovative company that produces top-of-the-line hardware. Because of its products and brand reputation, Apple has gained a cult following that will buy nearly every new product that emerges, year after year. So why, even with the high price tag, are so many consumers willing to shell out for every new gadget that comes along? While the quality and durability of the products do play a role, that theory doesn’t align with the trend of upgrading every year or two. Combined with the overall quality of the product and the brand’s image, Apple’s innovative designs are an important factor in the company’s success. Let’s take a look at why looks matter so much to this tech giant.

The Aesthetic Factor

There’s a lot of good-looking hardware out there, but most people agree that Apple has most of the competition beat—and has often been the inspiration for other manufacturers. Its sleek and simple designs are impressively minimalist, while staying high-quality and highly functional. Everything from chargers to earbuds is carefully designed to look good while doing its job—and the company manages to do this by limiting and perfecting the products it offers before release.

Independence Allows for Design Control

One of the factors that has always set Apple apart from other computer manufacturers has been its independence. It creates all the hardware it needs, rather than buying different parts from independent manufacturers. This allows the company to be free of the limitations imposed by third party hardware that might influence design—and it allows Apple to maintain control of how everything looks and functions. This is an appealing idea—it’s why bitcoin started after all. Bitcoin isn’t dependent on banks or governments, allowing it to stay independent, without its value tied to a competitor. This consistency and control is just one of the reasons Apple has stayed so profitable over the years.

Branded Design

Everything that Apple produces is branded. It’s all created to maintain consistency and simplicity across devices, whether it’s the iPhone, iPad, or MacBook. The operating systems support the aesthetic by making the icons, dock, and other design features colorful and design-minded. This consistency in branding helps people get comfortable with the hardware quickly and encourage loyalty—a tactic that has worked and grown into an incredible following worldwide. The aesthetics of the products embody Apple and its values—reinforcing trust and acting as a status symbol for buyers.

Designing for Pain Points

Though it may seem like a small aesthetic decision, many of Apples designs emphasize a streamlined button system. The beauty of the products is in this simplicity, and customers get the signal that it’s a sleek and minimalist product that anyone can learn to use quickly. It’s also a sharp contrast to the polar opposite of the industry—gaming laptops and mice with lots of different buttons that are targeted to another demographic altogether. Keeping the design simple doesn’t prevent Apple from working to solve their customers’ pain points. Take the trackpad, for example. Nearly every other company uses a trackpad with a sensor pad plus one or more buttons. Apple streamlines the trackpad into a clickable sensor pad that’s more user-friendly and works well as a mouse substitute. The single button design of the iconic iPhone is similarly simple, yet functional—users are able to switch between tasks with ease.

Achieving the Impossible

Some of Apple’s greatest achievements have seemed almost impossible. The first iPhone. The MacBook Air, an engineering marvel. Apple has always dominated by doing what others couldn’t—and succeeding. The design process at the company can be lengthy, and the aesthetics of the next cutting-edge technology are as important as the hardware itself. Remember the first ads for the MacBook Air? The photos showed the computer fitting into a standard yellow envelope, showcasing the aesthetic genius of the product and relying on the company’s reputation for great hardware to do the rest.

The Mastermind

Much of Apple’s success in the last few decades rode on founder Steve Jobs’ tireless innovation and dedication. Indeed, now that someone else is at the helm and the direction of the company has changed somewhat, stock prices have dropped, despite the continued popularity of the products. That’s not to say that Apple isn’t continuing in its grand tradition of aesthetic innovation, but it will need to continually acknowledge that innovation built the company, and must be maintained to ensure ongoing success. We can’t all be the next Steve Jobs, but maybe we can learn something from his approach: that form matters, but only when that form is also backed by substance.

Ways to Exercise Your Creative Muscles

Feeling like you’re stuck in a creative rut? Creativity works a lot like a muscle—you have to exercise it for it to work properly. Once you get stuck in a cycle of routine, it’s easy to feel like you’ve lost your creativity. Maybe you’re not contributing innovative ideas during team meetings anymore, or maybe you just feel like you’re doing the same thing every single day. Whatever is making you feel uncreative, you don’t have to live with it. All it means is that it’s time to exercise your creative muscles more than you have been! Here are some ways you can stay sharp, innovative, and creative.

Make Time for Creativity

Like anything else, you need to dedicate time to exercising your creative muscles and working on creative projects. These days, everyone seems to be constantly busy and frazzled, which should give us even more reason to slow down and focus on one thing at a time. If you’re finding you have trouble coming up with new ideas for whatever you’re working on, then use your creativity time to work on some creativity exercises. Make this time every day if you can—whether it’s at work or at home. You don’t have to carve out an hour or two—even ten minutes a day can help you exercise your creative muscles.

Do Unrelated Creativity Exercises

Trying to figure out a way to make your company more sustainable? Considering new features for a product you’re working on? You don’t have to sit down and directly brainstorm on these problems to get the creativity flowing. In fact, this can be a counterproductive activity when you’re encountering a creative block, because you’ll put too much pressure on yourself. Instead, try some basic creativity exercises that are designed to spark your innovation. Many of these exercises don’t take more than a few minutes, and they can be very helpful for getting you out of your own head and into your creative project.

Clear Your Head

We spend so much of our time purposefully blocking out the world around us. Nearly everyone you see riding the bus or subway is wearing headphones, tailoring the environment to their own tastes and blocking out the sights and sounds around them. Clearing your head can help you make better observations and think more creatively. Try taking a walk, and don’t bring your phone. Give yourself some time to clear your head and observe the world around you. You may just find that inspiration strikes in the most unexpected moments.

Observe Your Own Patterns

You can’t rely on your “muse” to give you the answers. You can develop and exercise your creativity, which can yield much better results than just waiting for inspiration to strike. Start observing when you’re most creative. What time of day inspires you? Does your second cup of coffee make it easier to conjure up innovative thought? Everyone is different, so it’s important to recognize your own patterns and plan your creativity exercises for those moments.

Don’t Judge Yourself

When you’re exercising your creative muscles, don’t judge your efforts. Let your thoughts out with no filter. There will be time for a filter when you’re ready to show your ideas to other people, like your coworkers. But when you’re trying to get creativity flowing, it’s all too easy to sabotage your efforts by judging yourself, telling yourself your ideas are stupid, or feeling like you’re not creative. Your inner critic can be very harsh, so you should get into the habit of telling it to pipe down while you’re generating creative thoughts.

Talk with Your Peers

Creative people often bounce ideas off each other, and it’s a great way to get inspiration for your next big idea. Connect with creative colleagues and friends and have a chat or try some creativity exercises together. The more diverse your peers are, the more likely it is that innovation will come from these meetings and everyone will benefit from different perspectives.

Creativity in the Workplace

Innovation and creativity are key for business growth, but it’s easy to let creative muscles go slack in an office setting. By making time for creativity every day, you can contribute positively to your organization, and keep your mind open to new possibilities. Remember—you don’t have to be an artist to be creative—you just need to let your mind wander, play, and explore.

Ways to Exercise Your Creative Muscles

Feeling like you’re stuck in a creative rut? Creativity works a lot like a muscle—you have to exercise it for it to work properly. Once you get stuck in a cycle of routine, it’s easy to feel like you’ve lost your creativity. Maybe you’re not contributing innovative ideas during team meetings anymore, or maybe you just feel like you’re doing the same thing every single day. Whatever is making you feel uncreative, you don’t have to live with it. All it means is that it’s time to exercise your creative muscles more than you have been! Here are some ways you can stay sharp, innovative, and creative.

Make Time for Creativity

Like anything else, you need to dedicate time to exercising your creative muscles and working on creative projects. These days, everyone seems to be constantly busy and frazzled, which should give us even more reason to slow down and focus on one thing at a time. If you’re finding you have trouble coming up with new ideas for whatever you’re working on, then use your creativity time to work on some creativity exercises. Make this time every day if you can—whether it’s at work or at home. You don’t have to carve out an hour or two—even ten minutes a day can help you exercise your creative muscles.

Do Unrelated Creativity Exercises

Trying to figure out a way to make your company more sustainable? Considering new features for a product you’re working on? You don’t have to sit down and directly brainstorm on these problems to get the creativity flowing. In fact, this can be a counterproductive activity when you’re encountering a creative block, because you’ll put too much pressure on yourself. Instead, try some basic creativity exercises that are designed to spark your innovation. Many of these exercises don’t take more than a few minutes, and they can be very helpful for getting you out of your own head and into your creative project.

Clear Your Head

We spend so much of our time purposefully blocking out the world around us. Nearly everyone you see riding the bus or subway is wearing headphones, tailoring the environment to their own tastes and blocking out the sights and sounds around them. Clearing your head can help you make better observations and think more creatively. Try taking a walk, and don’t bring your phone. Give yourself some time to clear your head and observe the world around you. You may just find that inspiration strikes in the most unexpected moments.

Observe Your Own Patterns

You can’t rely on your “muse” to give you the answers. You can develop and exercise your creativity, which can yield much better results than just waiting for inspiration to strike. Start observing when you’re most creative. What time of day inspires you? Does your second cup of coffee make it easier to conjure up innovative thought? Everyone is different, so it’s important to recognize your own patterns and plan your creativity exercises for those moments.

Don’t Judge Yourself

When you’re exercising your creative muscles, don’t judge your efforts. Let your thoughts out with no filter. There will be time for a filter when you’re ready to show your ideas to other people, like your coworkers. But when you’re trying to get creativity flowing, it’s all too easy to sabotage your efforts by judging yourself, telling yourself your ideas are stupid, or feeling like you’re not creative. Your inner critic can be very harsh, so you should get into the habit of telling it to pipe down while you’re generating creative thoughts.

Talk with Your Peers

Creative people often bounce ideas off each other, and it’s a great way to get inspiration for your next big idea. Connect with creative colleagues and friends and have a chat or try some creativity exercises together. The more diverse your peers are, the more likely it is that innovation will come from these meetings and everyone will benefit from different perspectives.

Creativity in the Workplace

Innovation and creativity are key for business growth, but it’s easy to let creative muscles go slack in an office setting. By making time for creativity every day, you can contribute positively to your organization, and keep your mind open to new possibilities. Remember—you don’t have to be an artist to be creative—you just need to let your mind wander, play, and explore.

Optimizing Meetings to Maximize Individual Brainstorming Time

Are you overwhelmed by unnecessary meetings? We’ve all been there: one more meeting, and you feel like you’re going to scream. You’ve been trying to make some real progress on your creative project, but the constant meetings have really been cutting into your individual brainstorming time. If you feel like the number of meetings you’ve been attending is cutting into your productivity, you’re not imagining it. One study estimated that employees are attending up to 62 meetings a month, and about half of those meetings are unnecessary. Most people are scheduled for too many meetings that don’t accomplish much of anything except wasting time. That’s not to say that meetings can’t be valuable for innovation—they definitely can be. The key is streamlining and minimizing meetings for maximum impact while allowing employees ample time to focus on their own projects and brainstorming. Follow these simple steps to keep your meetings as effective (and necessary) as possible, so you can get back to work faster.

Benefits of Meetings

Before you start to revamp your meeting strategy, it’s important to remember why we have meetings in the first place: to share information and ideas. While many people view creative inspiration as a solitary activity, many of the best ideas are generated in a collaborative setting. Meetings can be a great way to brainstorm as a group, evaluate new ideas, or discuss how to implement a new idea. When they are well-moderated, well-planned, and efficient, people should come away inspired, not stressed about losing an hour and accomplishing very little.

Look at Your Calendar

First, take stock of how many hours of the week are occupied with meetings. Could those meetings be condensed into fewer, longer sessions? Can some be cut entirely? Look for opportunities within your calendar—it’s a great way to gain insight and choose which meetings require re-evaluation. Meeting frequency is also important to consider—repetitive, frequent meetings could be reduced while accomplishing the same goals.

Record Meeting Efficiency

To get an idea of how wasteful your current meeting system is, it’s a good idea to start recording each meeting (someone taking the minutes should be sufficient) in order to see how long each meeting lasts, and how much of that time is productive. It’s helpful to do this for a few weeks, to get a larger sample size. That way, you can spot trends and focus streamlining efforts.

Create a Plan for Each Meeting

Before the meeting, the moderator should prepare a plan for the meeting, and make others aware of it in advance. This way, everyone knows the ground rules when they walk in, and no time is wasted with questions about process. If the meeting is intended to generate or critique ideas, make sure a concrete format is provided to prevent chaos or one person dominating the meeting. Getting input from everyone and avoiding groupthink are key to a successful meeting.

Curate the Attendees

Have you ever attended a meeting that was absolutely irrelevant to you? Instead of inviting everyone to every single meeting, it’s better to curate the invitations to include only people who can provide or receive value. Everyone else’s time is better spent focusing on their own work!

Focus on Value

Above all, make sure that any time spent in meetings is valuable to the participants and the business. If it isn’t, it’s time to make a change. Many teams function completely remotely, with no in-person meetings at all, and maybe the occasional video chat meeting or conference call, so why can’t teams who work in an office together? Less is more when it comes to meetings, and their value is in the content, not the frequency.

Respect the Creative Process

Restructuring meetings isn’t just about spending less time physically in the conference room. It’s also about giving people the time they need to focus and brainstorm on their own. It’s very difficult to get into the creative zone with constant distractions, and breaking up the day too much can reduce the creative output of the team as a whole. Everyone needs to be on board with the need to reduce and streamline meetings for the initiative to be successful, particularly management. Respect the creative process and give creative employees the time they need to do what they do best: come up with game-changing breakthroughs that will make your company stand out.

Considering International Expansion? Get Ready To Think Outside Your Comfort Zone

Globalization is great for business: it opens up new markets and allows businesses to bring in revenue and talent from all over the world. However, the first steps into international expansion can be fraught with growing pains, forcing companies to waste time and money on efforts that don’t gain any traction in foreign markets. To avoid this, company leaders have to get ready to embrace change and innovation outside their normal comfort zone. Here’s why it’s important to get comfortable with discomfort when you’re considering international expansion.

Failure is Part of the Process

The recent sale of British cereal company Weetabix from its Chinese owner to the American giant Post Holdings may be the company admitting defeat in the Chinese market, but it provides valuable lessons for businesses: failure is part of the process, and not all markets will measure up to expectations. The idea behind expanding into the Chinese market was solid: there are more middle-class Chinese people who are more apt to buy Western brands. Unfortunately for Weetabix in China, it wasn’t enough to change long-standing cultural preferences for savory breakfasts. You can plan and set goals based on a logical set of assumptions, but sometimes the reality plays out very differently—that’s just the nature of business. The good news? These failures can help inform future decision-making.

The Challenges of Different Tastes

Your comfort zone is shaped by your cultural identity, which is one of the reasons successfully breaking into foreign markets can be difficult. When Weetabix failed to catch on in China, it wasn’t that the company didn’t know what it was doing—its’s just that its core product wasn’t suited to the needs and tastes of the market’s culture. However, had the company thought more outside its comfort zone, it might have tried different tactics—suggesting savory or hot preparations, instead of the traditional Weetabix breakfast that had been so successful in Britain. Candy manufacturer Kit-Kat has done this in the past, offering different flavors like green tea in Asian markets. On the other hand, Weetabix’s sales in other countries, like Kenya and Mexico show that innovation takes many forms, and can be very successful—the company adapted the package sizes to account for different shopping habits, rather than different tastes, which has resulted in more success than in the Chinese market. Localization is key to long-term international success, especially if you’re manufacturing in the region, but this takes innovative thinking and strategic implementation.

Goals—and Flexibility are Important

Goals are an important part of any growth or expansion plan, but we occasionally tend to forget something: they’re supposed to be challenging. You don’t want to set impossible goals for yourself, but a goal should challenge you to think creatively, to force you to find the best approach to reaching those goals. Project managers have seen great success (up to 70%) in meeting goals by using SMART goal-setting, which encourages accountability and helps teams reach goals together. Setting goals in international expansion is key, because it allows you to make an educated guess about your brand’s performance abroad, then check your progress and performance over time, so you can make changes if needed.

Hone Your Focus

It’s exciting to begin the process of choosing and entering a new market, but it’s important to keep focus on just one thing at a time. You only get one chance to launch to a market and population, and first impressions hold a lot of power. Don’t dilute your efforts by trying to expand too quickly—innovation can only succeed if you have focus and strategy. By focusing on your goals and being willing to think outside your comfort zone, your chances of succeeding in your bid for international expansion will improve.

Are Introverts More Innovative than Extroverts?

The assumption that an introvert is insecure or antisocial can do a major disservice to that person - and to your company. To truly innovate and grow your business, it's important to utilize all of the skills that your employees can contribute in their own way. Look around you—how many of your colleagues are introverts? Would you classify yourself as an introvert? As a species, we love to classify people and put them into boxes. “Extroverts” are thought to love social interactions, thriving on communication and often charming others with their charisma and exuberance. “Introverts” are thought to recharge on alone time, preferring a quiet night into an evening on the town. Introverts are usually classified as shy, anti-social, and meek—often with negative connotations. This kind of classification does introverts a disservice, portraying them as difficult to work with, and ignoring the contributions introverts make every day to the companies they work for.

The business world caters to extroverts, and often keeps introverted employees from reaching their full potential. Introverts make great leaders and are often excellent communicators, yet they are rarely given roles with these requirements. Businesses who would like to cultivate innovation and growth within their organizations should seek to utilize the talents of all their employees—and should consider how best to let introverts contribute to these goals. One positive quality that is often associated with introverts is creativity—many people believe that introverts are more creative and innovative than their extroverted peers. But is this really true?

Innovation is Individual

While it’s true that introverts are often very creative, this doesn’t mean that they are automatically more innovative than extroverts. Carving out alone time is something most introverts prioritize, which does lend itself to creative breakthroughs and new ideas, but that’s not necessary for innovative thought. It’s important to realize that innovation is individual, and you should not make assumptions or put your employees into predetermined categories when it comes to innovative thought. The best way to find out who is most innovative? Ask for ideas—from everyone. Not everyone on your team will come up with a revolutionary new process or system, but you should give both introverts and extroverts a chance to contribute to your organization’s innovation initiatives.

Giving Introverts a Chance to Shine

Having trouble encouraging your introverted team members to speak up? Change your approach! Instead of asking people to speak during a meeting (which can be intimidating), allow for some private brainstorming time, and ask how each person would prefer to communicate their ideas. If you work in an open-plan office, this might mean giving your team members use of meeting rooms for some time each week where they can exercise their creativity uninterrupted. It’s important to get feedback from your team and create systems for brainstorming, submitting, and vetting ideas that work for the team as a whole. Just as younger generations learn and work differently than the ones that came before them, different people thrive under different circumstances and using a dynamic approach to engage your team as individuals will yield overall better results in your innovation efforts.

Flexibility: Key to Unlocking Innovation

Since people are so individual, it doesn’t make sense to use just one approach to innovation brainstorming. In order to give all your employees a chance to impress with innovative ideas and cutting-edge concepts, you’ll need to be flexible and offer multiple opportunities. Don’t make all your meetings based on everyone throwing out ideas verbally—try other exercises sometimes. Have everyone submit their ideas on paper and have a process for vetting those ideas. Try virtual collaboration, and allow some flexibility in your employees’ working hours if you can—this will allow everyone to work when they’re feeling most energized and creative.
Remember, when you’re trying to encourage innovation, you can’t remain stagnant in your thinking, in your business model, or even the way you conduct your meetings. Stay flexible, and do your best to accommodate different thinking styles so everyone can contribute to your company’s success—whether they identify as introverts or extroverts.

5 Industries with the Most Innovative Companies

Have you ever wondered where great ideas come from? If your company has ever stalled for the lack of innovation, then you’ve probably thought about it from time to time. Innovative ideas can come from nothing, or from a long process of brainstorming and debate, but it always seems like some industries are consistently coming out with the best new products and processes, while others lag far behind. This isn’t your imagination; some industries are moving much more quickly than others. But which industries are the most innovative, and what sets them apart?

1. Automotive
   Forbes’ most recent number one innovative company on its list (though there is debate about the methodology of this analysis) is Tesla Motors, leading manufacturer of electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles. The automotive industry has seen incredible innovation in the last few years, ever since autonomous vehicles arrived on the scene, and automakers started examining alternatives to fossil fuels to power cars. At the 2017 CES show, new models of autonomous vehicles arrived on the floor, ready to take the steering out of our hands.
2. Technology
   The tech industry has been growing nonstop over in the last few decades, and it shows no signs of slowing down. Companies are competing with one another to develop the coolest new gadgets, from the next smartphone to smart drones that can improve mapping. There is a lot of money in the tech industry, and even as manufacturing costs go down, well-funded companies have the ability to innovate the next big product in tech, like augmented reality and IoT (Internet of Things) devices.
3. Pharmaceutical
   New drugs are always emerging on the market, and for good reason: everyone wants better drugs with fewer side effects. The pharmaceutical industry is a big business, and the research and development side of the industry is constantly coming up with new formulas that are (at least usually) improvements on their predecessors. Spending $140 billion per year on R&D and releasing many new drugs each year, the pharmaceutical industry is always innovating, and files many, many patents per year. In 2014, the industry filed 12% more patents than it did in 2013!
4. Healthcare
   In the healthcare industry, people’s lives are on the line, and researchers are always innovating to improve treatments and outcomes for patients. Working closely with other industries, like pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology researchers, companies in the healthcare industry develop new medical devices, processes, and treatments that help people live healthier lives.
5. Biotechnology
   Biotechnology is based on innovation, so it’s not surprising that this industry makes the list. It contributes to many other industries, including agriculture, healthcare, manufacturing, and aquatics, making the field versatile and highly innovative. One challenge the industry faces, however, is public opinion. While public opinion on some areas of biotechnology is very positive (cloning a person’s cells for use in medical procedures has a 91% approval rating), other applications of the industry are viewed negatively (only 37% believe genetically modified food is safe). As time goes on, public opinion does evolve, but distrust from the public has been a stumbling block for innovation past a certain point.

Why are These Industries So Far Ahead?

There are several factors that could be in play to explain why some industries are way ahead of others in innovation. One factor is that a large number of new businesses are being created in these industries—tech startups are growing quickly (and many are failing fast). These businesses have innovation baked into their culture from the time they’re founded, and they have to innovate to survive—it’s a tough business. Healthcare organizations, pharmaceutical, and biotech firms have some intense motivation to innovate: their products help people live healthier lives. While it might seem that treatments for some health problems develop slowly, there are new breakthroughs every day in these industries. Of course, all business is, at its core, fueled by two main objectives: solve problems for the consumer and out-innovate the competition to fuel more consistent and rapid growth. Other industries don’t have to change as quickly, since their products and services don’t become obsolete as quickly.

Promoting Innovation in Your Organization

While your company might not be coming out with the next autonomous vehicle, you don’t have to be in one of these 5 industries to make innovation a priority at your organization. If you haven’t given much thought to innovation in the past, start small. Organize brainstorming sessions to solve your customers’ biggest problems. Start making innovation a priority in your organization, and the great ideas will follow.

6 Pitfalls to Avoid in Innovation Development

Before investing in your company’s innovation development, it’s important to develop a strategy for collecting and evaluating ideas. Having guidelines in place to thoroughly vet ideas, value diverse opinions, prioritize scalable and sustainable results, and other areas of innovation management can set you up for success over the long term. So you’ve decided to invest in innovation development. Great! Innovation is always good. Isn’t it? It is, if it’s managed well. After all, not all ideas are going to become the company’s next big priority—only a select number of ideas will make it past the drawing board. Getting caught up in the excitement of innovation development can be exciting, but it’s important to take a step back and become aware of the potential pitfalls of innovation development. By being aware of these pitfalls before they occur, you can avoid many of the problems that come along with innovation efforts. Here are 6 pitfalls to be aware of so your team can practice productive innovation.

1. Not having a system for finding and vetting ideas
Ideas are great—when they leave the room and are actually given a chance to grow and develop. If you’re all fired up to start fielding ideas from your team members, first make sure you have some systems in place. First, make sure you have a venue for submitting ideas—whether that’s in a structured meeting, brainstorming session, or other forum. Then, you’ll need to have a system for vetting ideas, or you risk great ideas slipping through the cracks and mediocre ideas rising to the top.

2. Only valuing certain opinions
As much as we try to avoid favoritism in business, it does exist. And unfortunately, that can lead to some team members’ opinions and ideas being valued over everyone else’s. Make sure that everyone has the opportunity and encouragement to explore and submit their own ideas to the group. Diverse opinions lead to greater innovation, and it’s very important to make sure that you get ideas coming from different perspectives and backgrounds.

3. Forgetting to thoroughly evaluate ideas
It’s easy to get up in the “high” of an idea that seems great—on the surface. Unfortunately, while some ideas may look great at first glance, they may be impractical, unsustainable, or simply not aligned with the company’s goals. Once an idea has gotten past initial vetting, it should be further evaluated to weigh the risks and benefits of successful implementation. This won’t prevent failure of some of these initiatives, but it should improve chances for success overall.

4. Prioritizing short-term results
Innovation, while based on ideas that can come out of the blue, isn’t a short term growth solution. It takes time to develop innovation initiatives, and the results of implementation can’t be analyzed a day later. Patience is a necessary element of any innovation development, and initiatives need to be given time to build up steam and produce real results. Prioritizing short-term results and increased revenue immediately just sets innovation development up for failure.

5. Relying on groupthink
We all want everyone to get along—and we all want everyone to agree that our ideas are great. Unfortunately, this can snowball into “groupthink,” a phenomenon which occurs when members of a group simply agree to promote harmony in the group and to fit in, not because they really do agree with the others. There are several tactics that can be used to fight groupthink, including requiring everyone to submit both positive and negative feedback for ideas and appointing a “devil’s advocate” for each meeting, who is assigned to ask difficult questions and challenge others who submit ideas. Groupthink kills innovation, so it’s important to nip it in the bud quickly. Project managers should think ahead and prevent groupthink before it starts, ideally. It may be a comfortable way to operate, but innovation is all about productive discomfort!

6. Focusing on one type of innovation
It’s not very innovative to just think about one kind of innovation, is it? Of course, it’s not productive to jump around constantly and think about innovative ideas for growth, product development, customer service, and marketing in rapid fire, but if you ONLY focus on innovation for, say, marketing, that leaves a lot of opportunity on the table. Prioritize your goals for your innovation efforts, and make sure to put some time and energy into different innovation types for more balanced growth.

How Employee Diversity Promotes Business Innovation

Lack of diversity among employees hurts a company’s ability to innovate and remain competitive. Diversity - both inherent and acquired - naturally drives innovation through team members’ different abilities to spot gaps, solutions, and opportunities; to avoid groupthink; and to reach clients and customers who were inaccessible before. It’s an interesting phenomenon: the vast majority of people agree that diversity is good for businesses. And yet, so many organizations struggle with hiring a more gender and ethnically-diverse workforce. Even age tends to be fairly consistent, especially in new tech startups, which often hire mostly young people. Hiring managers just aren’t making diversity a priority, and we find ourselves reading statistics like those in Google’s diversity reports: two percent of the company’s employees are African-American, three percent are Hispanic, and under a third of all employees are women. Those aren’t uncommon numbers within the tech industry, and many other industries have similar problems. This lack of diversity doesn’t just reflect poorly on companies from a social perspective, it hurts their innovation and competitiveness in the market. Time and time again we’ve seen examples that show diversity promotes innovation, revenue, and employee retention. But how?

Inherent vs. acquired diversity

There are two types of diversity: inherent and acquired. Inherent are the diverse traits you’re born with: like race/ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation. Acquired diversity refers to the perspectives you gain throughout life. A study found that companies with “two-dimensional diversity” (that is, with leaders who have at least three different inherent and three different acquired diverse traits) were overall more successful and innovative. They were 45 percent more likely to grow their market share year by year, and 70 percent more likely to expand and grow into new markets. Seventy-eight percent of companies surveyed needed to work on their two-dimensional diversity in their leadership, to ensure their employees’ voices were heard. It is unequivocal that leaders have emotional intelligence to ensure that all voices are heard from the correct perspective.

Diversity promotes a range of opinions and insights

What drives innovation? Having a range of opinions and insights based on diverse perspectives. Diversity ensures that some team members will spot gaps, solutions, and opportunities the company may otherwise ignore. Differences in age, cultural experiences, and opinions help teams avoid groupthink, and ensure that nothing is overlooked. After all, if a business has the potential to tap into another market, doesn’t it make sense to bring on employees who identify with those demographics? People who can identify with the mindset of those customers and help overcome obstacles in gaining ground in these new markets? Of course it does—this is how to effectively market and bring products to potential clients that weren’t accessible before.

Leadership’s impact on diversity and innovation

Even if a company has diversity in their workforce overall, diversity in leadership is often less prevalent than in organizations overall. This is a problem, because employees with diverse ideas may not have leaders who will endorse and push for their team’s ideas to be heard and used in the organization. White men’s ideas are still favored over others’, partially thanks to a lack of diversity in upper management. Companies that wish to become more diverse and drive innovation should look to increasing the diversity in the leadership team first, to avoid great ideas slipping through the cracks.

Impacting the bottom line

It’s clear that companies prioritizing and implementing diversity initiatives simply do better financially. Companies with high racial and ethnic diversity were found to be more likely to outperform non-diverse companies by 35 percent, and companies with gender diversity were 15 percent more likely to outperform. Those two factors combined can give businesses a serious competitive edge. Diversity also encourages collaboration, and helps retain top talent—all important for long-term growth of a business.

An obvious impact

The data speaks clearly: diversity matters, no matter what industry an organization is in. Businesses often say they prioritize hiring a diverse team, but never actually follow through. Be the difference and get some diversity in your office—it’s not just the right thing to do, but it will have an obvious impact on your business’s finances and innovation, and help you gain a competitive edge. Every startup has big dreams. Every startup wants to become a “unicorn” (valued at over $1 billion and under 10 years old), but only 1.28 percent of startups ever gain that status. Want to become one of those unicorns? Make sure you’re hiring a diverse and dedicated workforce to ensure ongoing innovation. It won’t guarantee you success, but it will help drive innovation and growth you need to work toward your dreams.

5 Most Influential Innovators of the 21st Century

Ever since the beginning of mankind, there has always been someone who pushes the human race forward, such as the cavemen who learn how to make fire or the Native American Indians who sharpened stones to create weapons. With the advancement of technology in the 21st century these innovators: Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Sheryl Sandberg, Mark Zuckerberg and Sheila Lirio Marcelo are creating new ways to travel, interact with others and access professionals for help.

Elon Musk

Elon Musk was born in South Africa in 1971. He spent his childhood there and developed an interest in computers. He taught himself how to program and made his first software sale at the age of 12. Since then Musk has developed several companies and is working on ways to change transportation on Earth and in space. He is most famously known for his companies Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, or SpaceX and Tesla Motors. SpaceX was founded with the intention of building spacecraft for commercial space travel. In 2012, SpaceX launched spacecraft Dragon. It attached to the International Space Station, exchanged cargo payloads, and returned safely to Earth. Dragon has since delivered cargo multiple times and will soon carry crew as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. SpaceX is currently developing the world’s most powerful rocket as well as working towards one of its key goal–developing reusable rockets. This will transform space exploration by delivering highly reliable vehicles at radically reduced costs.

Tesla Motors is dedicated to producing fully-autonomous electric cars of the future. In 2008, the Tesla Roadster was launched. It achieved a range of 245 miles per charge on its lithium ion battery, setting a new standard for electric mobility. In 2012, Tesla launched Model S, the world’s first premium electric sedan. It is built from the ground up to be 100 percent electric and was named Motor Trend’s 2013 Car of the Year. Musk acquired SolarCity Corp. in August 2016 and said this about the deal. “Solar and storage are at their best when they’re combined. As one company, Tesla and SolarCity can create fully integrated residential, commercial and grid-scale products that improve the way that energy is generated, stored and consumed.”

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs was born in San Francisco, California in 1955. Jobs and his adopted father worked on electronics in the family garage. A hobby that would later help him launch Apple Computer with co-founder Steve Wozniak in 1976. Jobs and Wozniak are one of the few people in the world credited with revolutionizing the personal computer industry. After a few successful computers, Jobs and the executives of Apple Computer disagreed on the founder’s vision and he was quickly phased out of his own company. In 1986, Jobs purchased an animation company that would later become known as Pixar Animation Studios. With his vision and confidence in the company, he invested in $50 million of his own money. Pixar released hit after hit starting with the movie Toy Story. The studio merged with Disney in 2006, making Jobs the largest shareholder. 

Jobs would return to Apple as CEO, in 1997, where he would go on to create an empire and brand that consumers crave. Apple has introduced revolutionary products which have dictated the evolution of modern technology. After the first generation iPod was released in 2001, Jobs realized there was a need for a legal way to download music and iTunes was born. The iTunes store was an instant success, selling one million songs in its first week and has since reshaped the entire music industry. After releases of the iPhone and iPad, Apple ushered in the App Store, which created a new era of mobile software, and iCloud, which allow users to sync email, documents and media across all platforms. In a Newsweek article Jobs said, “If I look at myself and ask, ‘What am I best at and what do I enjoy most doing?’ I think what I’m best at is creating sort of new innovative products.” Even though Jobs died of pancreatic cancer in 2011, his legacy lives on in the Apple brand and their products.

Sheryl Sandberg

Sheryl Sandberg was born in Washington D.C. in 1969. She graduated from the Harvard Business School with her M.B.A degree. Sandberg then worked as chief of staff in the Treasury department during the Clinton administration. After her work in the government was done she moved to Silicon Valley, where she has become one of the top executives in the country. She is ranked on Fortune’s list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business and as one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. In 2001, Sandberg signed with Google as the vice president of global online sales and operations. She was responsible for managing online sales of advertising and publishing products. In 2008, she left Google and joined Facebook as the company’s COO. Sandberg oversees Facebook’s business operations, specifically helping Facebook scale its operations and expand its global footprint. She also became the first female on the company’s board of directors.

One of the most influential things Sandberg has done is become an author. In 2013, she wrote Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead which has sold millions of copies and inspired a global community group, LeanIn.org. Sandberg founded the group to support women to reach their ambitions and create a better world for everyone. Lean In supports women by encouraging open exchange of ideas and information and has a growing library of free online lectures on topics like leadership and communication.

Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg was born in 1984 in White Plains, New York. He became interested in computers at an early age. While at Harvard University, Zuckerberg continued to develop software and with three friends created a site that allowed users to create profiles, upload photos, and communicate with others. They called it The Facebook and they built the business out of a dorm room until June 2004 when Zuckerberg dropped out of college to work on Facebook full time. Facebook created a new way for people to stay in touch and communicate. It is easier to talk to people vacationing in other countries. Facebook also changed the way people obtain their news giving people the ability to share stories and videos. Facebook has created a whole generation that finds all their sources of news and entertainment online. Time named him Person of the Year in 2010 and he landed on the Fortune 500 in May 2013, the youngest CEO on the list. While Facebook has continued to change the way people interact with others and get their news, Zuckerberg has started giving his millions to several philanthropic causes. His first in 2010 gave $100 million to Newark, New Jersey’s public school system. In September 2016, he and his wife announced they would invest at least three billion dollars into scientific research to help cure, prevent and manage all diseases.

Sheila Lirio Marcelo

Sheila Lirio Marcelo was born and raised in the Philippines, but her family relocated to the United States in 1977. Marcelo balanced earning her M.B.A. and Juris Doctor degree at Harvard University while raising two young boys. Marcelo’s passion for technology and its ability to help people solve real problems gave her the idea to develop Care.com. Marcelo was caring for her children as well as her parents at an early age. She was challenged to find quality care and knew that she was not alone. In 2006, she founded Care.com and it quickly became the world’s largest online destination for finding and managing family care, with 22 million members in 19 countries. Care.com allows families to search for, connect with and select caregivers in a low-cost reliable way. With the growth of Care.com, Marcelo has received numerous accolades, including Top 10 Women Entrepreneurs from Fortune and the Filipino Heritage Award from President Benigno Aquino III of the Philippines. The world is changing with advancements in technology, medicine and the development of new products. These five innovators are only a few of the people that have helped the advancement and make the world a better place to live for generations to come. Who will be on the next list of the most influential innovators? Only time will tell.

Creativity is Key: Tips on Avoiding Groupthink

It’s awesome when everyone agrees, isn’t it? Yes—and no. Most of us have, at some point, fallen into the trap of groupthink to avoid conflict and promote harmony in a group, whether at school, work, or on a committee. Groupthink has its perks: everyone feels comfortable, and there’s no risk of tension among members. It’s safe. Easy. Unfortunately, it can also kills creativity and innovation. Creativity is a key component of business growth, no matter what industry you’re part of. Nobody likes conflict—but nobody likes a stale, stagnating business, either. So how can you prevent groupthink, and make your office a safe environment for innovation and creative thought? Here are 9 tips to get you started.

1. Make diversity a priority
You can’t have creative, innovative thought with an office full of people who have the same perspectives. Many offices struggle with diversity, but it’s actually one of the best decisions a company can make to help avoid groupthink and promote innovation. Diversity in ethnicity, age, gender, and disability helps everyone work more constructively, and promotes creative ideas.

2. Provide structure
You can’t have creative, innovative thought with an office full of people who have the same perspectives.
Having a formal plan in place for preventing groupthink and evaluating ideas might seem like overkill, but it’s actually very helpful in promoting innovation. You’ll have a structure to the meetings that will help keep them on track, but you’ll have enough safeguards built in to prevent everyone from agreeing constantly. Having a structure for feedback, monitoring signs of groupthink, and breaking out of any ruts will be key to keeping the creativity flowing.

3. Don’t discourage debate
You can’t make changes without debate, and innovative thinking will inevitable cause some discomfort that turns into debate. That’s good! Groupthink thrives when there’s no conflict, and shaking things up with new ideas is sure to turn into a debate sooner or later. Moderate these debates so they don’t get out of hand—but don’t shut them down unless it’s necessary. Encouraging dissent is one of the key principles of avoiding groupthink.

4. Collect—and use—anonymous suggestions
Got a suggestion box? If it’s sitting in the corner, gathering dust, bring it back to life! Review the suggestions on a regular basis, and go over them in meetings. If your team sees that the suggestions are actually being considered, they’ll feel better about submitting feedback. Anonymous feedback often provides some of the most honest and innovative ideas, so don’t rule out polls and other methods for collecting suggestions!

5. Have everyone give feedback (positive and critical)
If you allow the meeting to take a normal (groupthink) course of action, it’s easy for your team to just agree with any idea put forth by their colleagues. Instead, try having everyone write down at least one piece of positive feedback, and one piece of critical feedback to contribute to each idea. That way, your team will have to think critically about the problem, instead of just going along with what everyone else has to say. You can have team members submit their thoughts anonymously, or have everyone contribute to the discussion, then and there.

6. Bring in an “outsider”
Having different personalities on the team is important for avoiding groupthink, but over time, we all tend to fall into the same patterns. Consider bringing in an “outsider” to help evaluate team ideas. This outsider could be a member of another team, or an outside consultant, but the key is to bring in someone who has a fresh perspective and isn’t worried about disagreeing with the normal group.

7. Step back
As a leader, your voice is heard in nearly every workplace scenario. During the brainstorming phase, it may be better for you to step back and allow your team to contribute. Some people will become intimidated, preferring to agree with authority, rather than pitch their own ideas. Cede the floor, and wait for creative ideas to emerge.

8. Choose a devil’s advocate
Nobody wants to be the bad guy—but what if there was always a bad guy in your meetings—randomly chosen? Consider having your team draw straws to see who the random “devil’s advocate” of the meeting will be. This person’s responsibility is to look at each idea from a critical perspective. What questions do the ideas bring up? Your devil’s advocate is free to bring them up, with no fear of hurting any feelings.

9. Don’t let anything fester
It’s important to keep dissent healthy, and avoid stirring up any major conflict. Before you dismiss the meeting, work through anything that might have gotten too heated. As a leader, heading off true conflict in the workplace should be one of your major priorities. Creativity can stir up emotions like jealousy, discomfort, and rivalries, so keep an eye on any discussion that gets out of hand—and work on it after the meeting.

Scaling: How to Slay the Entrepreneurial Dragon

If you’re reading this, then you probably know the feeling - You’ve reached a certain point in your company’s growth where everything is looking good: you have the right people, the right product, and everyone is happy. Then, you realize that this comfort isn’t going to last forever. Scaling up is a scary step, because it’s easy to be too ambitious and undermine the progress you’ve already made. As the founder of your company, you are responsible for the vision, management, and structure of the business—not the day to day work that keeps the company running. With this in mind, how do you scale and not fail? Don’t worry—we’ve pulled together the essentials of successfully scaling your business.

The 4 S’s of scaling

How do you start scaling? Every product or service will have its own process, but the basics of scaling a business largely stay the same. When planning your first steps, consider these four basic “S’s” of scaling to help you get started:

Simplify - The more complex your scaling process is, the more likely it is to fail. Focus on your mission: your ultimate goals for the organization, and concentrate your energy on how to scale up around that mission. Simplification also means finding ways to make your business leaner and more efficient—saving time, money, and resources. Implement strategies that will be easy to update later on to avoid headaches and disorganization.

Strategize - What’s the overall plan for your scaling efforts? Planning a strategy is important, but you don’t want it to be too complicated. Zach Cutler of Cutler PR sums up how simple the overall strategy should be: “Create a one-page strategic plan… Everything the business needs to succeed should fit on one piece of paper.”
The strategic plan should include specific goals for each quarter and year, the company’s values and mission, and the strengths and weaknesses you have to work with.

Systemize - Scaling your business will rely on successful systems. Systems require repeatable processes that will allow your team to implement your strategic initiatives. What can you delegate, and how? Once you’ve determined what your team can do, you can build the system that will allow them to follow procedures autonomously. Test the automation systems extensively before rolling them out to the team as a whole—they will take quite a bit of refinement before they truly become repeatable and consistent.

Solutions - There will be challenges that come up while you’re scaling your business. Don’t let yourself focus on the negativity—focus on creating solutions and improving your business through the learning experience that challenges present. Your team can help you brainstorm solutions to your problems, engaging them in the process and helping everyone understand the importance of overcoming obstacles. Inaction is fatal to scaling—face challenges head on and move on.

Essential roles in the scaling process

Your team will be essential in the scaling process so you’ll want to consider appointing some people to special roles throughout the task. Being a successful leader during the scaling process means leaving much of the work to those you trust, and focusing on the bigger picture. Fast Company recommends forming the following roles for scaling up successfully:

1. “Steering” group
The Steering Group is made up of individuals who are not involved with the day-to-day work of running the company (such as board members). This group will guide the big picture and help shape the strategy of the scaling process on an ongoing basis.

2. Collaborative leadership team
These team members are your senior staff who collaborate well. They will organize the scaling efforts on the ground, orchestrating practical implementation within the organization and putting the scaling plan into action. These managers will discuss ways to approach challenges that arise and ensure initiatives get carried out.

3. Chief information office/Chief knowledge officer
This team member should be an executive who has strategic leadership skills and can facilitate knowledge sharing and utilize technology to help the business scale.
Aside from these roles, everyone in the company should be a part of the scaling process. Keeping your workforce engaged and invested in major changes is key to successful scaling. Empower your employees to be part of the process, and encourage creative solutions to problems that come up.

Stay lean

Though it might be tempting to fall into the trap of spending a lot of money during the scaling process, it’s easy for spending to get out of hand. Any spending you do should contribute toward your mission and goals. Wise spending will help you weather any tough times that may come up. Frugal companies tend to be much more successful in the long run than organizations that spend on lavish extras. Calculated risks and shrewd money management will serve you well while slaying the entrepreneurial dragon.

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