Teamwork and collaborative efforts work best with goals in mind. Let’s take a look at some of the key elements of an innovation strategy.
Definition of Innovation
- the introduction of something new
- a new idea, method, or device
When setting out on a road trip most often you have a destination in mind and a thought-out plan on how to get there in a way that aligns with your goals. Teamwork and collaborative efforts work best with the same mindset, by mapping out some key elements you can guide the conversation better and keep your team on track.
Let’s take a look at some of the key elements of an innovation strategy:
1. Define the goal
What is it that you are trying to accomplish? What is your ideal end result? How will this make a difference?
2. Plan actionable ways to achieve the goal
Once you come up with the idea and are ready to execute you need to think critically about what that actually means. Other than coming up with the idea are there other steps you need to take to make it happen, if so what are they?
3. Find value adds along the way
During your innovation session you may come up with additional brilliant ideas that may not be what you are looking for at this time, but they are always good to have in your back pocket.
4. Plan questions to help you guide the discussion
- What is the problem we are trying to solve?
- How can we help people understand?
- What will be a simple explanation of what we are trying to do?
- How will people perceive our idea?
- What are the top 3 negatives that we will combat?
- Is there something out there like this already?
- How can we be different than others who are already in this market?
5. Don’t shut down any ideas in the beginning
When you are in the beginning stages of throwing out ideas, remember to avoid critically thinking about them at this point. If you start giving immediate feedback it might hinder someone from speaking their mind and they could have the winning idea.
6. Filtering
Once you are at a standstill for coming up with ideas then begin to filter them out with some of the standard questions.
- Will this solve the problem?
- Is this doable?
- Is there something already like this in the market?
7. Inviting in new people
Sometimes your team gets stagnant and needs a new personality to shake things up a little, inviting in a new person can sometimes do the trick to shake things up just enough. Sometimes the most unexpected ideas come from unexpected places. Not all creative minds work in a creative position!
8. Take action!
It’s not enough to just come up with ideas but find the top 3 and do some research. See if they truly accomplish the goal you are trying to reach. Come back to the table after you give people some time to mull it over. This also gives time for everyone to think critically and get feedback. No one wants to be the negative Nancy but sometimes that kind of thinking is helpful to address some initial concerns and form ways to overcome them.
Innovation is taking your creativity a step further by putting those ideas into action. Brainstorming can be a daunting task but hopefully, these elements help facilitate the innovation.
Let us know how Hoylu has helped you innovate! Working in Hoylu’s Workspaces is a great way to collaborate. Individuals can work in their own section of the workspace on their ideas but still have an entire team working on one digital canvas that you can access at any time on any device.