For many companies, innovation is their lifeblood. Without innovation, it is difficult to remain competitive in a rapidly changing marketplace. But sometimes it can seem like we’re always chasing after the next best thing instead of recognizing what we’ve accomplished. I know a lot of managers would tell me that there isn’t time to stop and smell the roses. And to some extent I agree. I believe that unless and until continuous improvement is instilled as a way of life in an organization there is a risk of stagnation. Just because a product is good doesn’t mean it can’t be great. And just because a product is good doesn’t mean it will still be in demand two, five, or ten years from now. Savvy leaders know to encourage innovation in the workplace. The cautionary tale is not to innovate for the sake of innovation. It’s always important to maintain best practices and processes and not sacrifice product quality and control in the search for something new or better.
It can be exhausting to always be expected to be on the verge of the next best thing. Creativity doesn’t always flow easily, which is why it is important for leaders to put in place certain processes to aid innovation. Good leaders encourage teams and divisions to share best practices. A leader can encourage healthy competition within an organization and still stress the importance of sharing new processes, ideas, and/or technologies that will help others in the organization to improve their performance. Good leaders also see the value in sharing best practices with others in the industry. They are secure enough in their products and services to know that sharing a best practice with the competition can be mutually advantageous. Mike recognized this during his career as captain of Benfold. At first, he focused on making Benfold the best damn ship in the Navy. He later realized that he wanted the U.S. Navy to be the best damn Navy in the world, which meant sharing best practices with other captains.
Good leaders can formalize innovation by challenging the status quo and raising expectations on a semi-regular basis. They can also recognize the benefit of taking calculated risks. There is no guarantee that a new process or technique will succeed the first time. In fact, those of you involved in software development would likely assure us that it’s more likely to fail than succeed. But every failure teaches us something new. Every failure is, in itself, an innovation. I believe that a workplace culture should encourage innovation and allow for failure. It should also celebrate the efforts of its employees towards improving products and services. And, finally, innovation should be viewed as a means to an end and not the end itself.
