Innovation and Creativity: Today They Are a Must By Dave Jakielo, CHBME he status quo is no, no, no. Today’s business environment changes by the hour, and you need to be T willing to change right along with it. In days past, experience meant everything, but it certainly does not any more. For continued success, you will need a combination of experience and wisdom. When you have experience, you know what happened in the past, but wisdom allows you to adjust to what will be needed for the future. harry fosdick once said, “the world is moving so fast these days, that the person who says it can’t be done is generally interrupted by someone doing it.” Keep his words in mind as you try to come up with innovative ways to improve your company. remember that you need to be creative or you will perish. standing still is impossible; you are either moving forward or going backwards. if you want to improve your company, one of the fastest ways is to make sure you tap into the collective brainpower of all your employees. today, most companies have four generations making up their workforce, and each generation has their unique perspective. Why not take advantage of the rich blend of experience and wisdom each generation possesses? it is important to keep in mind that innovation and creativity will never occur within an organization that over regulates, over manages, or over controls their employees. You need to encourage and reward input from everyone in the company on an ongoing basis. i find that many managers think it is their sole responsibility to come up with new and innovative ways of improving processes throughout their organization. given how they have so much on their plates, they seem not to have time to develop and implement new ideas. many firms keep doing the same things over and over, and when asked why, they respond with the famous phrase, “because we have always done it that way.” it should not be any one person’s responsibility to be the idea generator. rather, involve as many people as you can. Whatever happened to the idea of brainstorming sessions? You cannot expect input and new ideas from your team if you don’t ask or make time to gather as a group and discuss the challenges that you may be facing. FROM THE road We know it is true that one of us is not as smart as all of us, so tap into your team for creative and innovative ideas. it is important that when someone does make suggestions that you do not automatically shoot them down or they will stop giving you any of their suggestions. some reasons we reject other peoples’ ideas are because: • change is tough; some people may not like it and you just want to keep the peace. • it wasn’t your idea, so you think it will never work or don’t want to give credit. • the learning curve is too tough. • thinking how, if it’s such a good idea, wouldn’t everyone be doing it? • changing a process is risky and you avoid risk at all cost. every day that you show up at work, you should always be asking yourself how you could do things better, faster, and cheaper. if you want to stimulate innovation and creativity, you should set aside thinking time, block out distractions, and concentrate on possible solutions. i recommend a minimum of 30 minutes per day. do not listen to losers; there will always be someone out there trying to tell you why something will not work. try it anyway. also, do not forget about exercise. taking a brisk walk while trying to come up with new ideas or solve challenges works for many folks. it is important that you do not have such a fear of failure that you refuse to try new things. the saddest summary of a life contains three descriptions: could have, might have, should have. it is important to keep in mind that leaders need to realize that their importance to any organization is not judged by how much work they, alone, can accomplish every day. their value skyrockets if they have the ability to accomplish things through others. now get out there and always continue on the road of continuous improvement in processes, products, and (most importantly) in yourself. Dave Jakielo, CHBME, is an international speaker, consultant, executive coach, and author, and is the president of Seminars & Consulting. Sign up for his free weekly success tips at www.Davespeaks.com. Dave can be reached at Dave@Davespeaks.com or (412) 921-0976. 46 hbma billing • november.december.2013
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