Architecting an A-Ha ecosystem

"An A-Ha" moment - for a problem that you have been grappling with for a long time. Interestingly the solution once arrived at, starts to look like a obvious one, and you wonder why you didn't think of it before. Enterprises all over the world are interested in institutionalising this and so wonder "Can we make the A-ha moment repeatable and produce it at will?" Of course, it is not possible to architect these moments, but instead you can architect an ecosystem which can foster these moments.

Depending on your enterprise DNA, there are various steps you can take, we describe some below to pick from.

Maintain inventory of problems – Most organizations miss this step. They might have KM system to capture the knowledge and idea management to capture the ideas but there are few enterprises that maintain a list of problems. This when carefully planned, pays by providing road map for enterprise innovation.

Creativity attracts creativity – Be innovative in how you approach the process of getting your problems solved. Idea boxes may not be the best way to go, instead illustrative challenge definition is one way of telling others that you are looking forward to and are serious about the solutions.

Break hierarchical model of problem solving – A problem does not need to be solved by the lead scientist or by someone who has tendency to come up with ideas. Find ways to democratise the innovation process. However don’t attempt this unless you create a buy in from R&D folks and the management.

Onboard the ‘A-ha’ moment owner - Dare him to expand on the idea and as far as possible and bring him onboard when you take the idea forward. It’s nice to make deserving person feel important. Not only will this add value in rolling out the solution but will also send an immensely positive message to others to ideate for you in the future.

Think about it, how many precious sparks might have faded and how many are about to meet the same fate. The least enterprises can do is to provide an ecosystem which enables a-ha moments to arrive, and assure proper treatment, when they do arrive.

ideaken helps enterprises build this ecosystem of collaborative innovation.

Enterprise Culture & Enterprise Productivity, what is the connection?

Enterprises wanting to improve the productivity will typically show the signs of Six sigma and Lean. Six sigma and Lean are great tools and they produce great results, the only catch is they do so when in the right hands. The real power of these tools is to create the right culture, a culture of measurement and improvement; productivity improvement is the by-product which usually follows.

Similarly, when you want your employees to be innovative, don’t go and ask them to be innovative, create a culture for it, nurture the ecosystem, the results will soon be visible.
An enterprise which is on the path of creating this innovative culture for their employee shows the following signs.

1. They often provide opportunities to employees, which convey that the management trusts the employees.
2. Some of these opportunities are given away to all at the same time irrespective of the levels or grades of the employee.
3. There is a genuine public encouragement displayed and conveyed for every failed attempt in trying to do something new. (and the same for a successful outcome!)
4. These companies have established the connection between employee satisfaction and in providing an opportunity to express the creativity.
5. They are putting up systems and processes in place to actually take the ideas and solutions forward and benefit from it.

There is increasing evidence that an outlet for employee creativity can add to employee satisfaction and the productivity, over and above the employer benefits from implementing the employee ideas and solutions.

More enterprises are joining the league, creating an innovative culture for their employee. In this list of signs and the league, which stage are you in?