I have said it before — your employees are your most powerful competitive advantage.

I am talking about more than just their skills and expertise, though those are obviously highly advantageous as well. It is their ability to think outside of the box and bring fresh ideas to the table that fuels innovation.

In today’s fast-paced marketplace, standing still is not an option. Organizations that fail to innovate risk falling behind in their industry or worse, becoming obsolete. Though simply changing a product or service is not enough. We live in a time of transformational innovation — not mere change but game-changing digital disruption. Business model innovation is crucial in this context, as companies must adapt their strategies to stay competitive.

New business models are essential for companies to thrive in changing market environments.

This type of innovation — the truly revolutionary innovation and technology that places your organization leaps and bounds ahead of your competition — only occurs when innovation is at the forefront of everyone’s mind at your organization.

This includes everyone from the CEO and upper management to the entry-level workers. You are all on a team aiming at the same goal, which is significance.

When every employee, regardless of their role or department, is encouraged to think critically, creatively, and contribute their skills and ideas to the innovation process, not only does this foster a culture of collaboration with happier, more engaged workers but it also brings about revolutionary new products and operational processes.

This is not an easy thing to do. Creating an organization-wide culture of innovation where each employee is empowered to pursue an innovative mindset and united Futureview takes work. But this work is by far worth the effort!

An empowering innovation process

Organizations have different departments such as sales, marketing, and finance because different workers have different skills, perspectives, and expertise.

When you foster a culture of innovation within your workforce, you create a common goal where employees are encouraged to mesh their different perspectives to form unique and transformative ideas.

This both creates a more unified company structure while breaking down silos and encouraging cross-departmental and cross-functional collaboration where ideas can flow freely. When innovation is everyone’s responsibility, problem-solving becomes a collective effort. This also reinforces a team environment that shows employees that you care about their innovative ideas.

Employees who feel empowered to contribute to this collective effort are also more engaged and satisfied with their work. They feel a sense of ownership and participation in the organization’s success and are more likely to remain at an organization that values their input. Essentially, this means that an employee feels confident in the vitality of the organization they work for.

In turn, organizations are able to keep their most valued workers. Without question, fostering a culture of technological innovation as well as other types of innovation is a win-win, allowing you to fully grasp your true competitive advantage.

How to foster an organization-wide culture of innovation

An organizational culture that fosters a pervasive mindset toward organization-wide innovation does not just occur by itself. It requires upper management and business leaders to build an environment where employees feel safe and encouraged to pursue their ideas.

It is not easy, but if done well, you will have true strategic power at your fingertips.

Here is how you effectively foster a culture of organization-wide innovation.

Create a common language of anticipation

Similar to having the right culture, truly revolutionary innovation does not fall out of thin air. It requires forethought and idea generation on your customer base, their needs and desires, as well as the market. It requires being Anticipatory in nature overall.

In my Anticipatory Organization Model, I encourage businesses both big and small to look to the future, to use Hard Trend future certainties and Soft Trend future possibilities to foresee disruption before it occurs. This is how they effectively become the disruptor instead of the disrupted.

For a truly innovative organizational culture, C-suite executives and other business leaders need to encourage the same mindset in their employees. This has the dual benefit of creating a common language between employees and in giving them the foresight to anticipate challenges and opportunities before they arise.

By equipping your employees with the ability to distinguish between Hard Trends and Soft Trends, you empower them to preactively solve disruptions and innovate with confidence.

Implement an Innovation Hour

Google, a tech giant when it comes to technological innovation and digital disruption, encourages employees to spend 20% of their days on pursuing their own ideas and managing a portfolio of innovation initiatives. One of the most prominent innovations to come out of this time dedication is Gmail.

In the mid-1990s, 3M instituted what it referred to as a “15% culture,” where employees can focus their attention on building and testing their own ideas 15% of the time. This concept is still inspiring new innovations at 3M today.

The concept of dedicating a certain percentage of time each day to innovation at the employee level is still a novel one to many organizations, especially at smaller startups that are still trying to get a foothold in their industry. However, the benefits are undeniable.

Innovation is not something that can be approached as a one-and-done process. For an organization to continuously grow and stay ahead of the competition, managers need to promote continuous innovation. This is much easer with a team. By dedicating time each and every day to pursuing new ideas organization-wide, fresh ideas are constantly being generated, tested, and refined. These are ideas that lead to breakthroughs that drive the organization into the future.

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Incentivize Disruptive Innovation

Employees need to feel that their efforts are recognized and their input is valued. By creating a system that rewards innovative thinking and contributions to the organization, you encourage a culture where your workers are motivated to go above and beyond. They have a voice in an organization that fosters a culture of innovation.

While incentivizing innovation boosts morale, it also signals to your team that their creativity and initiative are not only appreciated but also critical to the organization’s success. When employees know that their own innovative ideas and efforts are appreciated and rewarded, they are more inclined to take action, collaborate with others, and see that their role in the organization is necessary.

While a financial reward system is one way to incentivize employees, remember that rewards can vary. Some organizations give additional time off to those with innovations that prove to be a success, for example. Some organizations use the ability to work from home or reward employees with a flexible work schedule, while others give public recognition and support to implement the innovation.

Adobe hosts a two-day innovation workshop called Adobe Kickstart. This is where employees are given $1,000 to build prototypes and test their ideas. If the idea is approved by upper management, they then get funding and the freedom to pursue their new idea in full.

Disrupt entire industries with successful innovation

For truly transformational innovation, it is critical that organizations foster a culture where technological innovation, creativity, and experimentation are pervasive mindsets across every department.

This means embedding innovation into the very fabric of the organization. You do not want just to create change but develop groundbreaking ideas that transform the face of whole industries.

Understanding niche markets is also essential. Identifying the target market segment, whether it be luxury goods or specialized apps, helps align resources and capabilities with the appropriate market scale to ensure successful product delivery and expansion.

You need to empower your employees, from upper management to those on the front lines of the organization, to explore new ideas, challenge the status quo, and use their Anticipatory Mindset to take calculated risks.

When experimentation and creativity become the norm, rather than the exception, you position your organization to exceed the pace with change, putting yourself at the forefront of transformation.