How the pandemic drove creativity and innovation. WILLIAM CHILDS, CREATIVE DIRECTOR, KITCHEN MAGIC
Innovation is a messy business. Most companies already know that they need it to survive; many keep plugging along, hoping that the challenges they face will solve themselves. That's not a sustainable strategy. Another challenge with innovation is that it doesn't always follow a predictable pattern, making it hard to replicate. It's also inherently risky in that the results are often hard to track. Last year, we all got to experience what can happen when your world suddenly gets turned upside down. The pandemic forced all of us out of our comfort zones and required us to think differently. Both people and businesses had to rapidly deploy new approaches and strategies while trying to maintain a sense of normalcy, and last year was anything but normal. New York Times Best-Selling Author Steven Johnson, who penned the book, 'Where Good Ideas Come From,' wrote, " If you look at history, innovation doesn't come from giving people incentives; it comes from creating environments where their ideas can connect." Whenever you find yourself facing a challenge where you need to reinvent yourself or the way you do business, you can expect to feel a certain amount of anxiety and frustration. Interestingly, those are the same ingredients needed to spark a creative mindset, which is what you'll 28
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need to solve a challenge when the odds are stacked against you. Visionary leaders know that the solution to these challenging times often can be found by setting up an environment for people to feel comfortable sharing new ideas. Sir Richard Branson, no stranger to creativity and innovation, having started more than 400 companies worldwide, said, "Innovation happens when people are given the freedom to ask questions and the resources and power to find the answers." For any idea to have a chance of surviving, a couple of steps need to happen. First, somebody needs to have the courage to share the idea or thought. Second, there needs to be a clearly defined path on how to bring the idea to life. Third, and probably most important, the team understands that there's a chance the idea may not work. That last step is essential because if the concept fails to generate a result, and remember, most don't, the person that had the original idea should not be made to feel marginalized. The worst thing any leader can do in that situation is to stigmatize a mistake. That's the best way to shut down any future innovation. Instead, you regroup, you learn from it, and you move on. David Kidder, CEO of Bionic, a company that works with other companies to unlock growth mindsets, MyNetworkMag.com
