One of the questions I am asked most often is “How do I create innovations?”  Most people asking this question are looking to expand an existing business or launch a new product or service.  I’ve created the acronym IDEA to describe a system for creating and applying innovation in your business.

I – Identify All Innovations. Understand where and how to create innovations – through brainstorming sessions, problem solving exercises and other techniques.  You also need a system to record these innovations.  Even if the recording system merely captures the title or a one sentence description of the innovation – you must capture this information.  Provide a simple way for everyone in the company to record or submit their creative ideas.

D – Develop An Innovation Culture. Get people throughout your organization (including yourself) to make innovation part of their daily thought process.  By providing examples of other innovations and encouraging the submission of creative ideas, your business develops a culture of innovation.  Teach people to look for innovations when solving problems, and think of ways to use that solution to avoid future problems.

E – Evaluate All Innovations. Create an Innovation Review Group to evaluate innovations submitted by company personnel.  This Innovation Review Group should include people with different job functions, such as sales, marketing, product development, etc.  People with different job functions will have different perspectives on the innovations and can help evaluate creative ideas by applying a cost-benefit analysis.

A – Action. Don’t just create lists of innovations – Take Action to implement the innovations that have the most potential value to the company.  Track the results, such as increased income, reduced expenses and customer growth, and share the positive results throughout the company.  These positive results will encourage further innovative thinking and provide additional examples of successful innovation.

Start applying the IDEA system today to position your business as an innovator in your market.