There’s never been a more exciting time to direct IT strategy. Today’s CIOs have the ability not only to manage great minds, but also to drive their organizations’ innovation efforts.
An effective innovation strategy doesn’t hinge on adopting the newest technologies. And the most sought-after new service or tool doesn’t guarantee long-term value to a company or its customers. The key is making sure your company’s culture fully embraces innovative thinking.
This is especially true for an organization’s IT department and its role in driving organizational enhancements that lead to increased growth and productivity. The following are five important ways to support your most important innovation asset – your associates:
Raise your hand if you’ve ever taken just a few moments to admire the tireless and ordered work of ants on the pavement or in your garden. Or if not, then surely you have at some point been kept on the edge of your seat by a wildlife documentary giving a glimpse into the workings of the natural world.
When it comes to innovation, invention and transformation, nature can be excellent place to start. Historically a source of inspiration for many disciplines (witness man’s early attempts to fly using contraptions that imitate birds), in recent times nature has become a growing driver in the design and creation of products in a trend known as bio-mimicry. Today we look at how to bring the best of nature into your business and reveal the top 5 bio-ideas of the past year.
Here’s a mental exercise in unconventional thinking. Let your mind wander to the most absurd frontiers of your future strategic options. Then gradually reel them back until they are just within the realm of possible. Kind of like launching your first shot with your slingshot as far as you possibly can, overshooting the target, and then reducing the tension and closing the distance little by little for each subsequent shot until you are able to hit your mark accurately.
