How to be innovative - with the Six C's of Innovation

Over the years, I’ve come to realize that part of the fuel that fires my passion for my work is my intense curiosity. I’ve also come to realize that thinking differently has become critical to my success.

So it is with you; in a time in which business models, markets, customers, industries and clients are changing at an ever more furious pace, thinking differently about the world around you is a powerful and important personal trait to possess. You also need to ensure that you provide for a culture of creativity within your organization so that it can evolve at a pace that the future demands of it.

That’s why I’d suggest that you think abut instilling a culture of personal and corporate innovation by instill in yousrelf and your team, my “Six-C’s of Innovation.”

• curiosity
  
• creativity and rebellion
  
• collaboration
  
• change
  
• courage
  
• creating excitement every day!
  

Creative organizations fuel a culture of curiosity, and encourage their people to look for trends, signs of change and opportunities everywhere. They know that innovation can come from tension, and that tension can come from people who don't fit the traditional corporate mold. They establish a collaborative culture in which information sharing is expressly encouraged. They also know that success comes from embracing change, not shying away from it. Not only that, but they know that true, real, sustainable success can only come from doing things differently, and that this in and of itself requires courage, because change involves risk.

And last but not least, creative companies create excitement, every day! I don’t know how many surveys I have read which indicate that staff within many an organization are bored by their work. That’s not the way to provide for creativity – it is by doing things differently that you can instill a sense of passion and purpose in even the most routine jobs.

Jack Welch might have come up with Six Sigma - but I think in a world of rapid change that my Six-C's provide a better framework for going forward!