A strong innovation culture proves beneficial for success in the modern business world. Businesses, big or small, need to embrace change by unlocking the benefits of innovation to remain competitive and relevant in today's ever-changing world. Establishing an innovation culture is an empowerment to entrepreneurship.
In the corporate world, how do we stay on top of the game? How do we continue to be successful and competitive? Numerous business executives have come to the realization that cultivating an innovative culture within their organizations is crucial. They are actively establishing an atmosphere that encourages innovation and creativity.
A Few Real Examples
For a better understanding of what innovation culture looks like in reality, let’s take a tour around a few companies that prove to be standing examples of these cultures.
Starting from one of our recent exclusive interactions with ViewSonic, one of the leading IT companies in Asia since 1987, shed light on its way of fostering a culture of innovation through Eko Handoko Wijaya, the company’s country manager.
ViewSonic
According to Wijaya, “Our company tries to apply global direction with a local touch.” He observed that the Indonesian market is quite unique. People question why Indonesia still carries sub-products or solutions, but he believes that the difference in demand is the reason.
At ViewSonic, Wijaya highlighted, "We train our team with global direction and knowledge and transfer the same to local customers.”
He adds, "For instance, in Indonesia’s education sector, we explain to local customers how the sector collaborates, integrates, and interactive lesson learning platform. We talk to teachers or educators through face-to-face interactions or seminars, offering ideas or solutions with only minimal changes to the ecosystem. This helps them trust the transition and this is what we do in Indonesia today which has been proving as a successful strategy. Through this smooth transition, customers can adopt new technologies.
Pixar
It is one of the most popular creative companies that is successful in the cinema industry, particularly in the animation field. It maintains its culture despite rapid change happening every day and has managed to ace creativity without compromising on quality. This is largely thanks to upholding a number of key principles and practices in the ever-changing times. It is said that the company does exercise ample freedom but also balances the bar for performance extremely high.
Since 2004, Google has promoted a 20 percent project system. One day a week, or twenty percent of the employee's time, can be allocated to personal pursuits as part of this project. The intention is for workers to be more productive by providing them with the tools they require and a more creative work environment. Consequently, Google has developed some of its most popular goods and services, such as AdSense and Gmail.
Toyota
Toyota's Strategic Innovation Lab seeks to use collaborations and inventiveness to test out novel business concepts. It chooses collaborators and collaborates with them to create a minimal viable product (MVP). With the goal of eventually bringing ideas to market, the partners evaluate ideas through use cases in order to illustrate them.
Microsoft
Microsoft frequently hosts hackathons to inspire staff members to develop creative solutions. Teams are given a specific challenge during the hackathon, along with tools and direction. Microsoft provides a platform for sharing and experimenting with ideas. Additionally, by doing this, the business may encourage its staff to think creatively and innovatively, which will optimize its offerings.
Tesla
Another outstanding example of a company that never stops pushing the envelope and innovating is Tesla, which also has a very strong innovation-oriented culture. Many workers view the organization as a challenging, yet really fulfilling, place to work with smart coworkers and a wonderful atmosphere. Nonetheless, it appears that almost as many people truly detest the organization due to its high standards, where almost everyone is expected to go above and above the call of duty. Many people appear to find that rather unpleasant, especially those working on the front lines of the firm. This proves that truly innovative workplace cultures aren't a picture-perfect paradise with all the best things in life. They are undoubtedly not the best option for everyone, but they do have significant advantages.
What We Can Learn
Companies need to support employee creativity, interact with external innovators, and make innovation investments. They will thus have a competitive advantage over their counterparts as a result of this. Companies can achieve a competitive advantage and significant organizational change by implementing the appropriate tactics and making the commitment to cultivate an innovative culture.
Open Communication
Companies can gain access to varied viewpoints on a problem or challenge by promoting open communication among diverse personnel and stakeholders. As a result, corporations are more willing to collaborate with startups, and teams feel more empowered, which may lead to more creative ideas.
Note Your Industry Peers
By exchanging ideas and learning from peers in the sector, companies can acquire a competitive advantage and best practices. They apply what they've learned about what works and what doesn't to their own tactics. Companies that foster growth and learning tend to attract more people. Companies may attract top people and maintain their competitiveness in the labor market by cultivating an innovative culture. Employee happiness can also be increased by an innovative culture since it gives workers the impression that their ideas are valued. It motivates people to take charge and look for fresh chances.
Lineout Goals and Outcomes
Since innovation culture emphasizes results, institutions are encouraged to specify their objectives and expected results precisely. To accomplish the company's goals, standards are created and strategies are developed. Additionally, innovation teams that possess a strong innovation culture are capable of questioning the status quo and coming up with innovative ideas to boost revenue, push through changes that are required, and enhance the overall well-being of the company.
Benefit from Diversity
Diverse backgrounds, perspectives, voices, and levels of skill are brought together by diversity. Bringing them together entails creating unique goods and services, looking at problems from multiple angles, and avoiding certain prejudices that could impede development. Establishing an innovation culture will provide entrepreneurs with more than just a new pool of ideas. Additionally, they will become more adept at solving problems and making decisions, which will lead to lively debates, decisions, initiatives, and other innovation-related activities.