Building Trust in Innovation Practices
Darcy have taken this momentum to cement a powerful force for innovation, identifying needs, posing solutions, and leveraging an innovation framework to pursue the best opportunities.
This example illustrates several traits of an innovative culture. Among these are that innovation should be recognized and celebrated, and there are business justifications for it. Even a modest idea may be a steppingstone to even greater inventions and discoveries that become competitive advantages, enhanced efficiencies, and new opportunities.
Further, the inventor likely invested personal time and energy, persevering through various challenges, and maintaining a sense of purpose and motivation, so there is an opportunity to boost employee morale and invest in their momentum for invention. All told, there are different potential results, several of which were mentioned, including patents or trade secrets, expanded technology scope and pivots, pilots, positive press, and both career and company growth.
Another takeaway to note from the tale is innovation partners and teams. A trusted partner or even a small group, like-minded innovators with diverse backgrounds, insights, and skillsets, eager participants in brainstorming, prototyping, and troubleshooting, fellow ideators who bring either a grounded level-headed thought process or wild outside of the box thinking when one or the other is required. Just having someone to talk through an idea or problem can go a long way in the innovation process.
The example also illustrates, sometimes innovation partners find each other, perhaps as friends, teammates, or through random happenstance. Leaders can also help facilitate these types of relationships by understanding individual and team preferences and dynamics for innovation.
An innovation framework recognizes, on the people side, there are many roles that can compose an ecosystem for innovation. There are countless voices who can contribute to the innovation process, from those who understand existing needs and opportunities, those who can provide insights, solutions, or direct support, those who can provide perspectives on end users, IP and legal considerations, and business value, and still many others.
Another aspect of nurturing a culture of innovation is developing ways to fund such activities. This may be as simple as allocating a budget. How this is achieved varies by company. A successful framework accounts for how a company can provide financial support to innovation activities. It recognizes funding for ideas is essential and, in industries like A & D, understands different colors of money 3 are required. People who can help facilitate the allocation and management of funds, know what types of funds can be applied to support different activities, and prevent or fix
3 https:// asc. army. mil / web / news-understanding-acquisition-the-colors-of-money /
Journal of Innovation 117