ARTICLE ARCHIVES If
you see an article you'd like to share (or perhaps you've even written
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to tell us. We are trying to keep our focus on innovation and creativity
as it exists in workplace cultures, leaders and employees, and the
relationships between them all. The Power of Ordinary Practices Business innovation is not dependent on creative people Oct.
9, 2006 -- American companies continue to grapple with staying competitive
in the global economy. Increasingly, companies and business gurus are
citing innovation as the key to sustaining American business' strength.
What's not clear is what it means for a company to be innovative. How
can firms foster innovation? Can organizations cope with the changes
necessary to produce advancements? (Read
entire article) INNOVATION:
ITS NOT AN OPTION No longer. Particularly in business—where advances in information technology have created a global marketplace of unceasing, real-time activity—change leapfrogs change, and woe to those who can't keep pace. The business whose innovative light bulb is not burning brightly and burning all the time risks being flattened by savvier, more aggressive competitors. Innovate
or die is the new credo, and it is being embraced broadly and fervently.
Companies of all sizes spend more every year to come up with
new and better products or new and better ways of doing business. However,
far less clear than business's commitment to innovation is whether the
commitment and the expenditures are paying off. (click
to
read entire article) THE LINK BETWEEN MOTIVATION AND INNOVATION By Don Jacobson from GovLeaders.org The U.S. Army's top leadership recently did a very smart thing: They listened to one of their enlisted men. After returning from the war in Afghanistan, Master Sergeant Rudy Romero sent a long, insightful email to a former commanding officer about the suitability of the equipment that the Army provides to GIs. The recipient forwarded the message to a few colleagues who forwarded it to a few more until, ultimately, it reached the Army's most senior enlisted soldier and the Army Chief of Staff. They took Romero's insights seriously and, as a result, the Army is now making numerous changes to equipment design and procurement. Every government agency (and every large organization for that matter) has a number of front-line employees, like Romero, who have a gift for identifying better ways of doing things. Just about everyone else has good ideas from time to time as well. The question is, does management encourage everyone to contribute their ideas and then implement the best ones? (click to read entire article)
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