A vast majority of companies on the planet consider themselves innovative. In tech, every company thinks they’re innovative. However, it’s more complicated than that and innovation is relative with varying degrees. Many companies think they are innovative because at one time, they were. The key to innovation, however, is consistency and adaptability so just because you were innovative five years ago doesn’t mean you still are. A lot of companies believe they are innovative because of one thing. For example, they may use cloud computing so they’re innovative. Wrong. It can’t just be one thing you’re doing to follow a trend, innovation is a mindset and approach to all major decisions in your company. It’s also a willingness to take risks and experiment, two things that frighten most C-Level executives. So let’s take a look at some ways you can determine just how innovative your company really is with some short questions.
Does your company do the same thing it did when it was founded? Does it do it the same way?
If the answer is yes and yes to this, you’re likely not innovative unless you started your company a year ago. Most companies start out with a simple product or service they provide but innovation is making sure they are always delivering that product or service in the best way possible both for customers and for the business itself.
Are employees at your company allowed to share ideas with executive leadership?
This is commonplace in Silicon Valley but in most workplaces, employees don’t have an opportunity to pitch ideas to executive leadership. The fewer voices and perspectives, the worse. Your employees are the future executive leadership and are part of generations that think a different way than you so considering their opinion can help drive innovation.
