Innovate, Create, Differentiate

Have you used your imagination today?

Doodled on a dry-erase board?

Looked for animals in the clouds?

Pictured yourself relaxing on a sandy beach?

For individuals living in cubicles five days a week, taking time to daydream may seem a little out of reach. However, there are companies that encourage and reward creative thought and, as a result, reap the benefits of having more innovative, energetic cultures.

Company cultures of this type are capable of producing higher-quality products and delivering outstanding customer service, which sharpens the competitive edge of the organization and inevitably enhances bottom-line performance.

It isn’t easy for companies to shed their conventional skin. That’s where CMOE’s decades of management-coaching experience comes into play. A few brainstorming sessions does not equate to organizational transformation.

To create a truly innovative culture, the team’s collective mindset must shift across the entire organization.

CMOE assists organizations through this process by helping our clients understand the resources and commitment required for organizational transformation to be successful, as well as how to ensure that the solution put in place drives immediate results and long-term profitability.

“The world leaders in innovation and creativity will also be the world leaders in everything else.” —Harold R. McAlindon

So what is innovation, really? The word innovate comes from a French word “innovacyon,” meaning “renewal” or “new way of doing things.”

At its core, Innovation is the ability to incrementally or boldly change and improve your products, processes, or solutions in ways that create distinctive value for your customers and competitive advantage for you and your team.

Innovation doesn’t end after the completion of a project or close with the fiscal year; it is an ongoing process that should be a key part of every company’s mission, every leader’s vision, and every individual’s performance.

CMOE’s Leading Innovation workshop is an interactive educational experience designed to help leaders approach innovation in a proactive way.

For a company to be truly innovative, its leaders must learn how to unlock discretionary performance and empower creative thought.

It’s crucial for leaders to acknowledge that the seemingly impossible can be achieved simply because someone believes in an idea.

Individuals being managed by leaders who support out-of-the-box thinking have a better chance of crafting original, meaningful content or developing groundbreaking products that solve big problems for their customers. Leaders can show their support for innovation in many different, often simple, ways:

• idea boards
• comfy brainstorming zones
• “innovative-thought-of-the-day” boxes
• improvement forums
• inspirational quotes
• innovation awards

When asked to identify the world’s most innovative companies, most people name high-tech and consumer-electronics companies like Google, Apple, or Tesla—but it’s important to remember that innovation can exist in any industry.

Consider the Amazons, Facebooks, Whole Foods, and Under Armours of the world. Wherever there are opportunities to streamline, improve, or become more effective, innovation can be found.

Imagine the possibilities if more companies and their leaders shared this mantra: Embrace foreign elements that force new thought and don’t be afraid to chart a route off course—innovate, create, differentiate.

Are you interested in amping up the level of innovation in your company? At CMOE, we want to help. You can learn more about our innovation workshops and the many products and services we offer by visiting our website. We look forward to hearing from you!