For most companies, whether they know it or not, innovation is their lifeblood. Whether a highly technical company or a “mom and pop,” solving problems quickly and thoroughly leads to longevity. The opposite is also true. Taking too long to solve a problem can be the bane of a company’s existence and ultimately lead to a proverbial “grand closing.”

Discovering ways to solve problems is called INNOVATION and some of the best ways to boost it in an organization are as simple as:

1. Acknowledging challenges and opportunities
2. Establishing open lines of communication
3. Building a highly capable team
4. Providing resources
5. Recognizing impact

Every company has challenges and opportunities.

Being able to acknowledge challenges and opportunities is the art and the science behind innovation. The art of acknowledging challenges creates a culture where everyone feels supported in their day-to-day responsibilities. The science in taking action to meet challenges and opportunities head-on creates a sense of community where everyone can buy-in to the possible solutions and outcomes. How can there be solutions for challenges no one wants to acknowledge? Open acknowledgement of what affects the daily environment also opens the floor for innovative and creative solutions.

Nothing will be simplified without establishing open lines of communication.

Even when the challenges and opportunities are acknowledged, the culture has to be open to promote collaboration. A culture without openness will make it difficult to spark innovation. Open lines of communication provide for brainstorming and idea forming sessions where a vast array of ideas come together. As ideas are shared and everyone feels free to contribute, the flow of what “could be” and “how” can be achieved much faster as more ideas and contributors are considering the solution. Without open lines of communication, innovation is stagnant if not non-existent. The ability to talk through an opportunity or challenge with like minds seeking the same objective can lead to innovative problem solving. Open communications also include the ability to brainstorm in a safe space. This is so that ideas can be workshopped even if they are ultimately rejected. Moreover, rejected ideas can lead to accepted ideas along a different path.

Building a highly capable team leads to trust during the process of innovation.

The baseline for innovation is the team. Having a team of highly capable individuals adds value to the exercise of innovation because each individual is a trusted and valuable addition to the problem solving process. Each member of the team already understands and has bought in to the process of finding an innovative solution to any challenge or opportunity the company is facing. The lines of communication between a highly capable team are open and flowing and the ideas abound in highly collaborative environments. Solutions are achieved much faster where there is trust in the process and the team. Elevating the culture of collaboration is another result of acknowledging the current climate and where there is collaboration, innovation is soon to follow. Two or more heads are better than one when establishing an approach, process or new take on a company’s journey to problem-solve.

Providing resources is the best way to show support and encourage innovation.

This exercise is akin to “putting your money where your mouth is” but in the corporate environment. Facilitating innovation is as important as everything listed here if not more. Expecting a capable team to communicate regarding a known list of challenges and opportunities to figure out how to execute on solutions is a non-starter if there are no or improper resources. Whether it is a manual, an innovation subject matter expert (SME) or an internal process or procedure, serendipity of innovation must be supported.

Rewarding the impact of innovation is the key to it becoming a staple in any organization.

Recognition is the key to repetition. The more behaviors are recognized and rewarded the more those behaviors will be repeated. Creating a rewards and recognition program for innovation within a company leads to valuable outcomes. The expectation of valuable outcomes will be a steady and dependable daily practice.

As simple as this is, many companies miss these marks and wonder why and what can be done to spark innovation. It always is and always will be that in life the smallest and most simple things have the greatest impact.