Innovation is to startups as fuel is to an engine.
There is no question that innovation is at the heart of this type of business and is the entire point of venturing into an entrepreneurial arena.
However, driving innovation in a business is no easy task. It's not just about brainstorming and coming up with bold ideas; you need marketing strategies. True innovation is possible when it is embedded into the DNA of a startup.
In practical terms, this means building a startup culture where innovation is a part of one’s work life. And not just at the level of management but for every employee, no matter what their role is.
So, the big question is: how do you create a culture of innovation in a startup?
And that's what we answer in this post. Here are some of the key insights that lead to true cultural change and make game-changing new products and services possible.
Optimize your location
There’s no question that your environment influences your beliefs, personality, lifestyle, work ethic, and behavior.
It stands to reason that where you situated your startup will play a role in how innovative your company and your people are.
If you can, set up your business in a location that is geared for innovation and empowering small business growth.
Tech parks or hubs are good examples of locations that support Innovation and new business growth. Here, there is a free flow of information between businesses, governmental organizations, and individuals to support creativity and technological development.
Even traditional and large businesses in such places play an active role in garnering new ideas.
Take, for example, Helsinki in Finland or Silicon Valley in California. These are places that have ecosystems dedicated to tech companies. They encourage entrepreneurship through accelerators, networking, and funding opportunities.
And while not everyone can simply pack up and move to these places, you should think seriously about your location. Even working in a coworking space can make a difference to your culture and help support innovation, so open your mind to ways to leverage our location.
Embed Innovation into Your Company Culture
From day one, strive to create a workplace that encourages out-of-the-box thinking and problem-solving.
Do this by:
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Involving all team members in the decision-making process
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Encouraging open communication
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Providing a safe space for ideas to flourish.
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Add innovation goals to your mission, vision, and values
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Set up a decision tree that includes innovation as a framework that guides our decision-making process
Consider Google as an example. Its mission "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful" encourages innovation.
This mission, along with its value of "Focus on the user and all else will follow," fosters a culture where employees constantly innovate to provide the best user experience.
Google also emphasizes '10x thinking'—where employees are encouraged to strive for solutions that are ten times better than what exists.
These examples show how innovation is a core part of Google even when it is a giant in the tech industry and should be stumbling the bigger it grows.
There is transformative power in adding innovation to your culture via the mission, vision, and values. So, don’t knock down the impact of these company elements.
Reward Experiments, Mistakes, and Risks
By its very nature, innovation = risks.
And it’s painful how few leaders seem to get that.
If you want to drive innovation in your company, you have to tolerate risks, mistakes, and experiments at the very least.
But if you want to take creativity to the next level, reward people for thinking outside the box, even if the outcomes are negative.
The minute you start punishing people for coloring outside the lines is the minute you burn creativity to a crisp.
Make sure you celebrate small wins and embrace losses. And as importantly, be the leader who exemplifies risk-taking and innovation to your team.
Be open, do different things, and share your losses and pains. When you embrace this mindset, you’ll create a safe space for innovation in your business.
Promote Diversity and Inclusivity
Diversity and inclusivity are crucial components of an innovative culture.
A diverse team brings fresh perspectives, experiences, and ideas to the table as opposed to a team where too much similarity leads to biases and tunnel vision. It’s worth noting that more and more studies are able to quantify the link between diversity and growth - and this isn’t something to be ignored.
Also, inclusivity is important. Being actively inclusive means ensuring that all team members feel valued and heard.
By creating an environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts and contributing to the company's growth, you are more likely to hear interesting new ideas. And also, you’ll hear it when you might be heading the wrong way.
If you want to create diversity and inclusivity, you should create a welcoming and inclusive hiring process. Also, it provides diversity training for employees and fosters an open-minded environment that embraces differences.
This not only leads to a more innovative culture but also attracts top talent from different backgrounds. In increase your company's potential for growth.
Promote Learning
Creativity and innovation seldom come from nothing. More often than not, they are the results of taking a different spin on what already exists. Innovation also comes about from combining different knowledge, techniques, ideas, or subjects.
The takeaway is that if you want to promote innovation, promote learning.
Encourage a ‘growth mindset’ in your people, where you share how we can all grow to change ourselves and our ways of thinking.
And to reinforce this message, offering learning options and training. This could look like subscriptions to platforms like Udemy and Coursera. Or your own in-house online courses, training modules, and certifications.
And why not invest in having trainers, coaches, and experts come into the office to teach and support your staff?
Learning builds knowledge in your business overall, but what’s even more powerful is that it drives innovation.
Support Flexible Work With Tools
No matter how much you promote innovation in your business, it won’t matter unless you back it up with practical and supporting work experiences.
I mean that your tools, workflows, processes, language, company culture, and everything else MUST enable innovation.
Here’s how:
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Subscribe to collaboration and communication tools. We use Slack, Asana, and other platforms that allow communication, task tracking, and more on mobile and desktops.
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Allow asynchronous work. Working at specific times can be very limiting for creative people. When you allow people to work asynchronously, you create freedom, flexibility, and the experience of going at one’s own pace. This is powerful for people to find the best time and way to work for them.
These are a few ways to support innovation practically and allow everyone to move and work in a flexible, creative way.
Final Thoughts: Lead Your Team
In the end, be the leader your company and team need. If you want to be innovative, embody this trait in your actions, words, and mindset.
Asking your company why they aren’t being creative is meaningless if you’re micromanaging and stifling people as they do their regular work.
Instead, be open with your goals and respond positively to your employees and team members when they share ideas. Also, celebrate mistakes. They’re the stepping stone to creativity.
I hope you found these tips on driving innovation useful. Go ahead and apply these ideas to your business and see real changes take place.