Businesses, Innovations And A Dwindling Economy

It is disheartening that daily we read more news of businesses dwindling or even folding up and throwing many primary and secondary employees back into the labour market. And many of them have several dependents whose welfare is affected by these unsavoury developments. Although there are also stories of organisations prospering, they are often too insignificant to provide encouragement and comfort.

Yes, the blame always goes to the harsh economic climate and unfavourable policies that serve as disincentive to growth and development. But if business managers can also look inwards and discover some little things they are not doing very right or not doing at all, maybe a few of the organisations could be saved despite the very adverse circumstances they are operating in.

I therefore have few words to volunteer to business owners, which may look simple, but if considered and adopted may create a few success stories.

Let me start with a couple of posers. As a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in a country with a population of over 200 million, how are you nurturing a workplace culture where innovation is more than a catchphrase? What if your team was able to drive in 25% revenue increase as a result of a new idea that was birthed?

Creating a culture of innovation in your organization is an exceedingly necessary lifestyle because without innovation, your company will experience a silent decline and gradually fade into oblivion.

Who else has the unique ability to set the pace for innovation that will refine the structure of your organization if not you, the CEO?

Innovation in an organization begins from the very top – wherein sits the visionary and pioneer of the company. It is more than just generating ideas on how to start and grow the company; it goes deep into committing to continuous improvement, making changes, taking calculated risk, and constant purpose alignment. These become evident in the organization’s idea launches, products, services and even customer acquisition and experience.

It is therefore the role of the CEO to instill a culture of innovation in his organization by communicating clearly and consistently to his team the vision for the company, for the growth of the team and for innovation among all staff. You are to charge your team with the responsibility of creative thinking at all times.

Before I show you practical strategies for you to build a culture of innovation in your organization, let me show you, in simple points, why you must think INNOVATION.

• To stay competitive and future-proof your organization.
• To attract and retain top talents talented professionals are only drawn to organizations where innovation is the rule of the game.
• To boost profitability, resilience and long-term growth against market tides and disruptions due to changing times.
• For the sake of fostering team creativity, engagement, productivity and job satisfaction.
• To set a legacy of forward-thinking.

Finally, ponder these five practical strategies for building the culture of innovation which are very essential in pushing the growth of your business.

• Provide upskilling opportunities for your team through workshops and boot camps.
• Dedicate resources for experimentation, giving your team the freedom to explore new concepts, without a focus on profit-making and immediate success.
• Offer incentives and special “INNOVATOR’S REWARD” to members of your team who provide creative out-of-the-box ideas and solutions in the company.
• Make innovation-tests top of the list for your HR during interview processes.

Lead by example by embedding innovation into your everyday exercises in the company. Surprise your team! Do something exciting that they’d never have imagined that you would.

For instance, stand at the entrance of the company’s building and wait for your team to get to the office, hand each of them a beautifully wrapped parcel and say to them, “I value you in this company. Thanks for working with me at [your company’s name]. I believe in your innovative abilities.” Practice innovation daily and see the effect it has on your team.

In conclusion, as the visioner and leader of the establishment, your department is INNOVATION and the responsibility lies, first, on you, to turn innovation into an organization-mantra. Great leaders create leading innovators, not followers. Every month, set aside a day or two to reflect on your company’s vision and brainstorm on innovative ways to execute the vision in the new month. Challenge your team to think up the next groundbreaking idea, together create wonders and see the new results that would pour in.

Let’s see more businesses flourish than fold up the state of the economy.

Ejinkeonye-Christian, a certified life coach, and business educator, is the CEO of Phebeon Consulting and Media Solutions Ltd, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria (+234(0)708-048-0510; [email protected])