Fantastic Tavern Lock Inn

I’m looking forward to the Fantastic Tavern Lock Inn on 23/9 – http://thefantastictavern.co.uk/. Which got me to thinking about “innovation”. The word is often bandied about, but what does it really mean? A dictionary would be a good place to start I thought (more thinking??). The noun in-uh-vey-shuh n (see what I did there) means “something new or different introduced”. Not exactly enlightening but, interestingly, the word’s been around since 1540. Which suggests that we’ve been doing it (whatever “it” is) for a while now. Maybe Google can help, then. Why wouldn’t it? It hasn’t let me down yet (something there for the MS posse to get excited about?). How about “Innovation is the creative process that takes us from where we are now to where we want to be”? Hmm, better. Colloquially, the word “innovation” is often synonymous with the output of the process – Dysons, iPads, KnowledgeMill’s email & document management software (couldn’t resist a wee plug there) but it seems there’s more to it than the end result. So why bother? Innovation’s about positive change, making something or someone “better”. Back in the 16th century there was clearly a demand for innovators but today, more than ever, we need innovators. Every business and organisation is trying to deal with the impacts of globalisation, a changing workforce and the fickle, ever-changing aspirations of their clients. It will be the creativity and entrepreneurship of a new generation of innovators who will develop the new products, services and ways of working needed to achieve sales (yes folks, we need to sell stuff) and meet customer expectations. However, such individuals are in short supply. How do we develop, nurture and grow these strange creatures? Could you spot one in the pub? What do they have in common with each other? What can we learn from their experiences? Today, innovation is about much more than new products. It’s about reinventing business processes and building entirely new markets that meet untapped customer needs. It’s about ideas but it’s also about selecting and executing the right ideas and bringing them to market in record time. Most importantly, innovation is about people. Talented, committed collections of like-minded people that share ideas and are energised by their peers. This innovation stuff doesn’t just happen but how do you coordinate without stifling? I’m not a big fan of metrics – “Your department must come up with 7 innovations this year or you’re fired” kind of thing. How about empowering your people – trying carrots rather than sticks? People would kill for a Fantastic Tavern Award wouldn’t they? KnowledgeMill is striving to create an innovative culture – one in which our people can thrive and our business grow. We also recognise that we don’t live and work in a vacuum. Which is why we’ll not only be taking part in the Lock Inn but are delighted to be sponsoring the Effectiveness Award. See you on the 23rd!