Redefining Innovation: Moving Beyond the Creativity Paradigm

The challenge repeatedly mentioned by innovation managers and directors, as well as commercial managers in organisations, is that innovation is still mostly viewed as merely creativity. While creativity and design thinking are certainly crucial to tackling problems, identifying opportunities and ensuring proposed solutions can impact customers and stakeholders, this perspective is too narrow. Innovation largely involves implementing ideas, investing in them and constantly improving them. Having a mindset focused on continuous improvement is vital to the innovation journey.
So have a think about your organisation. Does it largely think innovation equals creativity, or does it have a more holistic view? And how are you helping your colleagues to be able to see innovation as relevant to them in their day-to-day roles?