Innovate or perish, that’s the message facing any organisation today. You already know this but what are you actually doing about it? Success in the long run needs an applied creative organisational climate. Generated are ideas on how to brainstorm, inspire new product or services, view PR, marketing and merchandising methods.

“Innovate or die” has been a battle cry in the business world since the heady days of the dot-com boom. Back in those days, there was plenty of money to fund think-tankish initiatives while core operations kept running. There was a festival feel to those days, a celebration of human ingenuity and the amazing things it has brought forth through the ages. Any company that didn’t join in the fun was lacking in vision, out of step, and doomed to stagnate.

Innovate or perish, that’s the message facing any organisation today. You already know this but what are you actually doing about it? Success in the long run needs an applied creative organisational climate. Generated are ideas on how to brainstorm, inspire new product or services, view PR, marketing and merchandising methods.

“Innovate or die” has been a battle cry in the business world since the heady days of the dot-com boom. Back in those days, there was plenty of money to fund think-tankish initiatives while core operations kept running. There was a festival feel to those days, a celebration of human ingenuity and the amazing things it has brought forth through the ages. Any company that didn’t join in the fun was lacking in vision, out of step, and doomed to stagnate.

Times have changed, and the funds available for special projects focused on innovation have dried up in most companies. But the need for innovation is as great as ever, possibly greater than ever before. Part of the bottom line business equation for competitive success is “increase revenue, decrease costs,” and innovative thinking can impact both factors.

The path to effective innovation in today’s companies is not the formation of special programs and initiatives intended to foster innovation “on the side” of core operations. Today’s path leads straight into those core operations. Innovation must exist in the firm’s foundation, it must be part of every work day in every department.
Fostering an innovative culture is easier said than done, especially if innovation is being fostered in a well-established firm as opposed to a relative start up.

How does a company make innovation important to its employees within the day-to-day realities of running a profitable business? How does innovation stop being something everyone talks about and start being something that is just part of how everyone works?

In this keynote, Anne McKevitt will discuss innovation in the context of today’s realities and how this element can become part of “business as usual” for your organisation. Among the topics considered are:

Forces that oppose innovation. As an organisation grows, changes, and becomes more complex, barriers arise that strain the culture of creativity that is so vital to success.

Assessing your current “innovation quotient.” There are indicators that can help you determine where you are on the spectrum.

Getting the right measure of innovation in your business . Innovation is another business tool to be applied appropriately.

Turning your people into innovators. Fostering an innovative culture means having and hiring people who can think out of the box.

Anne will draw examples from companies well-known for their innovative cultures as well as other lesser-known but successful enterprises.