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2.
Find an article or website that provides guidelines for developing an innovative

organization. What do you think of the advice given? Compare the advice you find to the
advice your classmates find.
https://www.harvardbusiness.org/five-steps-to-implementing-innovation/
This article provided valuable information in regards to developing an innovative organization. It

defined the core of innovation as being a way to problem solve and create value in new ways. I
found great meaning in the author’s identification of small initiatives that are generated from
individual contributors and frontline leaders who are positioned with the customer and
understand their desires from a consumer perspective. Through customer feedback, inefficient
processes can be overhauled and lead to sustained organizational success. Emphasis was placed
on employee-driven innovation. While every innovation is unique, there are certain strategies
and skills that will address a range of projects at various levels of the organization. The article
suggested five guidelines for developing innovation:
1. Identifying opportunities for innovation (problems that need solving, areas of opportunity, and
exploration from various angles).
2. Prioritization of opportunities (understand limitations of time and resources, narrow down to

two or three ideas, test targeted experiments).
3. Testing of potential innovations (modest scope, progressively shift to more complex

experiments with involvement from more users).
4. Build support network for the innovation (consideration for all stakeholders with an approach
tailored to the associated benefit that can be received from each).
5. Learn from the innovation efforts (learn from innovations and don’t overthink failure).
The advice shared in this article was simple and yet profound. It emphasized that innovation
doesn’t have to be splashy or game changing. From the perspective of the consumer wants and
desires, there are many opportunities for innovation. I think to my time as a corporate trainer for
a restaurant group. Initially we were training using a manual developed by the organizational
leaders who sit behind a desk and have little understanding about the processes and best practices
for the details of the shift (from a server, hostess, and kitchen staff perspective). Their ideals
helped to define the corporate perspective and goals; however, they did not capture a realistic
view of the processes and systems that should be in place. They did not explore various
disciplines before writing the material. Furthermore, each new store opening provided deeper
insights into best practices that needed to be integrated into the manual. Therefore, the training
team provided continuous evaluation and provided a more innovative approach. We each
contributed to revamping the training guidelines and procedures from the viewpoint of the
server, hostess, and kitchen staff. Incorporating these perspectives helped to address many
challenges and provided a valuable training mechanism to promote consistent service and
customer satisfaction.
The five guidelines for innovation set forth in this article really seemed to be common sense
strategies. I found great value in the emphasis of the core of innovation being problem solving
and linking individual contributions based on consumer perspectives. Perhaps this is why we
continuously see surveys generated by companies that we have recently visited. Consumer
feedback can drive problem-solving and thus drive innovation. This ideology makes the first step
of determining problems and opportunities a little less overwhelming. Most employees who are
working closely with consumers have feedback which would provide valuable meaning to this
endeavor. The prioritization, testing, and building a support network seem to be realistic steps to
developing the innovation. Budgets are limited so this provides practical exploration and
discovery mechanisms. Also, the stakeholders are emphasized as giving consideration to all of
the key players and supporters of the innovation. The broader the perspective, the broader the
support and furthering of idea patterns. Lastly, the positive play on failure was a sign of a
creative thinker. With innovation, there will be failure of a product; however, it is important to
realize the struggles and build upon them in the next innovation. A failed attempt is the
foundation for something greater and provides opportunity for learning and growing. Overall,
this article provided a practical approach to innovation that many managers could easily
implement into the innovation strategies of the organization.

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2.

Find an article or website that provides guidelines for developing an innovative

This article provided valuable information in regards to developing an innovative organization. It

2. Prioritization of opportunities (understand limitations of time and resources, narrow down to

3. Testing of potential innovations (modest scope, progressively shift to more complex

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