Business success is the outcome of a variety of factors that function mutually to create a finished product or service. In a world where only the innovative survive, fostering an innovative culture is imperative. While the specific method varies from one industry or business to the next, the core processes of promoting a creative mindset within your organization remain similar. In fact, looking to an industry outside your primary focus can sometimes lead to the most critical innovation breakthroughs. As such, creating a structural and/or systematic innovation strategy is paramount to breaking new barriers, staying on the cutting edge, and instituting a natural flow of creative energy throughout your organization.
John Kao, author of Jamming, does an excellent job of outlining the connection between improvisation in jazz and the innovation process itself. Kao shows that the commonalities within creativity and jazz point to the importance of the process itself in the creation of new and exciting ideas.
Tim Brown, President and CEO of IDEO, one of the most innovative companies to date, said,