Eureka Ranch
At Centennial we believe that one of the key ways to both engage and retain your employees, is to create a culture known for INNOVATION. It also happens to be one of the only ways to ‘Win’ in today’s global economy. Products and services are changing so rapidly, that in order to stay relevant you must to all you can to be innovative.
Employees want to be with a company who cultivates ideas and has a constant commitment to delivering the best to their customers.
We were are a recent Goering Center event that we thought was extremely relevant for our client’s. We encourage you to read this and really think about how to best implement the 6C’s of Innovation.
The 6 C’s of Innovation
Taken from notes at the Goering Center Innovation Seminar – with experts Steve Bebko, TechSolve, Inc. and Maggie Nichols, Eureka Ranch. Also there were panelists, Bernard A. Bosse, Jr. of The Cleaning Technologies Group, Laurie Thomas of Michelman and Gary Gottenbusch of Servatii Pastry Shops.
1. Changing the Culture – are you creating a culture of innovation, of making your employees realize how valuable they are to your company and believing in them to have new ideas, believing in their passions and promoting their creativity and uniqueness?
2. Capturing Diversity of Thought – make sure you take time to hear from ALL the departments and from a variety of people in your company – you will be amazed what leaders will emerge in your organization!
3. Create Sessions –take time to have these sessions – it is up to you as a leader to help people think through things and to get all ideas out on the table. Explore all areas of the stimulus – think through technology, think through the market and what competition is doing, what do customers say, what are the trends and what is coming next.
4. Communicate and have a Continuous stream of ideas – it is important to keep these ideas flowing and coming constantly – it is hard to teach people that it is ok if their ideas fail. Go through the DEATH THREAT concept – ID the barriers and decide whether or not you can over come them or if you need to kill the project.
5. Challenge & Commercialize– FAIL FAST/FAIL CHEAP – it is ok to have ideas that fail, just make sure you keep thinking of ideas, keep innovating. It is important that the leadership recognizes failure too – thank your employees for having the courage to participate. Having a great idea is GREAT – but taking it to market is a whole other challenge.
6. Clear vision – have clarity before you go in to development and before you deliver!
In what ways does your company seek to innovate?
Subscribe to Centennial, Inc.’s Leadership & Talent Blog by Email
