Fostering Creativity and Innovation

Overview:

In today's world, business as usual can put you out of business. As global competition sweeps the world's markets, corporate margins are being severely impacted. The risks of entering new markets are higher than in the past, and sufficient additional margins to compensate for these risks are not usually present. This leaves organizations the options of either tinkering around the edges of existing product lines through cost reduction, reengineering and outsourcing, or investing in new (and more risky) products and services. To make the latter choice, however, an organization has to be able to trust in the creativity and innovation of its workforce.

Such a reliance on creativity is impeded by a lack of confidence in the future. Flattened organizations, increased workloads, and tighter performance measurement systems all tend to squeeze out creativity, as they represent imposition of a uniform corporate culture throughout the company. Downsizing also casts a long shadow, and risk taking is often weighed against corporate and personal security. There is no time to reflect; time is a scarce resource. Too often, there is no chance to be creative or pursue more than one idea.

The situation is often compounded by a lack of leadership. For many managers in many organizations, the most difficult part of doing business is the human side. They know how to put together the financial projections. They know how to build the product. They can even manage the technology, more or less. But the difficult problems, the really intractable threats to the organization, almost invariably come down to the human nature of business endeavors and management’s ability to deal with the challenges involved.

It helps that current pressures in the marketplace have caused managers to reassess their skepticism about the value of creativity. In fact, the focus of 21st century business will be the transformation of the workplace into a culture that brings out the innovative and collaborative thinking of everyone at every level. To thrive in this environment, organizations will need to tap the energy, commitment and imagination of every employee. They will have to create a climate where creativity is seen not as an unmanageable luxury but a manageable necessity.

Contents:

This seminar will provide informative answers to the following questions:

• How should you differentiate between the terms "creativity" and "innovation"?
• What role do creativity and innovation play in driving and/or facilitating organizational change within major companies?
• What are the attributes of a consistently innovative organization?
• How should you develop and maintain a corporate culture that fosters creativity and innovation?
• How can you heighten the feeling of employee ownership for the innovation process?
• What role can training and other learning interventions play in promoting creativity and innovation?
• How should you measure the creativity and innovation of your workforce?
• How should creativity and innovation be rewarded and recognized?
• What are the critical success factors in creating an innovative mindset within the workforce?