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Innovation Labs and Their Link to Business Growth

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Innovation is absolutely essential to the growth of any organization. It was Albert Einstein himself who said that anyone who continue to do what they have always done will never get anything other than what they already have. Innovation is also not something only large organizations need to think about or even have the capacity to do. While it is certainly true that those with the bigger budgets also have the bigger innovation labs, some of which are actually purpose-built, even the smallest organization in the world can have a semblance of an innovation lab.In fact, all organizations must focus on this.

Innovation Labs Are Key to the Success of an Organization

Businesses with huge budgets sometimes have a full innovation department or even separate innovation labs. Google is an example of this, but so is Microsoft, IBM, Facebook, and so on. It is certainly true that the small mom and pop store down the road does not have the capacity to build a department of this size or to invest as much money into developing ideas that are most likely going to be pipe dreams. However, every business can put at least some time aside for people to come together and think innovatively, coming up with new ideas that can drive the organization forward.  whether this is done in a separate building somewhere and Silicon Valley or around a desk in a corner shop makes no difference.

All organizations, no matter what size they are, should make innovation of priority. Running innovation workshops is an ideal way to do this. Unfortunately, in corporate environments, there is still a lack of space and place for innovation. The main resource that has to be allocated however, is time. People need to have time outside of their regular workload to come up with ideas, and this is not something that should be done as an afterthought. It is something that will actually drive the success of the business as a whole. That is worth making time for.

It is heartening to see that more and more companies are now taking part in innovation training. This shows that they truly are interested in the potential and the creativity that each of their employees can bring. It recognizes that individuals have their own sets of competencies, processes, talents, knowledge, and more. By focusing on innovation, a business starts to take a holistic approach towards generating more profits. It also starts to develop a true vision in terms of where the business wants to go and how it will get there.

Innovation is difficult. Embracing innovation itself is already a form of innovation. It means changing an existing culture and that is perhaps the most difficult thing to do in any business. Again, it doesn’t matter how old that business is, what size it is, what its budget is, or where it ranks on the Fortune 500 list. Doing things differently, which is what innovation is, is always difficult. But equally, it is an absolute necessity.

Smart Ways for Entrepreneurial Minded People to Make Great Money

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By nature, entrepreneurs looks for great investments that can make them money both in the short run and over time. This need to succeed is what ultimately fuels them toward success. Many examples of serial successful entrepreneurs exist today. People like Mark Cuban, Reed Hastings and Elon Musk are great examples of how the best ones perform. They are invested in dozens of companies in different industries, all of which have the potential to turn a great profit.

An entrepreneur must be discerning and gain an understanding of the business and industry in which the investment will be made. Not all investments are good ones and to be able to determine which one is a good one will determine the fate of the entrepreneur’s investment.

With this is mind here are some smart investment ideas for entrepreneurs to consider.

Trading Binary Options

The stock market is at record highs, pricing out many who would like to participate and worrying those who are in already about whether they should expect the market to continue its lofty heights or come crashing down to reality. As a result, it has become increasingly hard for many to jump in even though they are attracted to it.

One way to take advantage of a hot market at a fraction of the price is to trade options. Options can be purchased at a fraction of the cost of buying the stock outright, and can prove to be more beneficial when the movements of the stock reflect the direction of the option. The options market can get complicated and convoluted, but a simple way for entrepreneurial minded people to get involved is to set up a binary options account at a company like Binary.com.

Binary options are attractive because of their simplicity. The investor must essentially only guess whether something specific will or will not happen. As an example, a binary option may be as simple as whether the share price of a company will be above $30 on December 4th at 9:30 am. If the share price is $33 at the appointed time, the option automatically exercises and the option holder gets a predetermined amount of cash. Entrepreneurial types can manage their own option accounts. Like with all trading involving stocks, there is a risk that the investor will lose some or all of his money, so caution should be exercised. But the simplicity, low cost, and high income potential of binary options make it a great business for entrepreneurial minded people.

Investing in Technology Start-ups

The technology boom is in full effect right now and it seems like anything that is tech is seeing its fortunes rise. Companies like Facebook, Snapchat, AirBnB, Jet.com, Google and Amazon have made their investors and entrepreneurial founders billions of dollars and each week a new company seems to emerge and become a high flyer. Pick a known company in the industry and there is a story about its sky high valuations and stock price and tales of how it has made many millionaires.

But even though this is what we are seeing on CNBC and Fox Money all the time, the truth is that like with any industry, there are many more losers than winners in tech, and picking a winning start-up in the technology industry is a science and an art.

The science part is getting to understand the start-up’s management, products, potential and industry. These factors will give you a strong fundamental understanding of the factors needed to determine the potential of the start-up but they will not give you the full picture.

Entrepreneurs must also have a good gut feel about the particular company and their guts can often be the intangible factor that makes the investment attractive. The gut can tell you that the timing is right, and that the rationale behind why the company is launching its products and services resonates with the marketplace. This combination of factors will get you much further down the road toward making a great decision, but in the end, it will still require a leap of faith on the part of the entrepreneur.

Take your time and do your research, and good luck investing.

Recognize Your Employees if You Want Them to Innovate

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There is something really special about innovators, something that sets them apart from others. According to expert, what makes them special is that they are explorers and, if you want to use that passion to your advantage, you need to learn how to unlock it. Having innovation management software for businesses in place is only the start of that.

You must learn, first of all, to recognize who they are. A true explorer is the individual who loves change, and who will volunteer to make changes, believing that they will create something positive. You can recognize them, therefore, by finding the people who do that. But that is only half of the job. The second part is that you show them that you appreciate what they do.

A recent study completed at Harvard University by Professor Teresa Amabile showed just how important official recognition is. In fact, she says that innovative cultures are also cultures in which efforts are recognized. People love to be told they did well, be that in public or in private. And, when they are, innovation levels automatically increase as well. When people are recognized for their efforts, they are motivated intrinsically. Providing prizes or financial rewards only motivates extrinsically. Yet being intrinsically motivated is far more enduring.

How to Recognize Your Innovators

Once you have identified your innovators and explorers, you need to be ready to recognize them in a way that they appreciate. Some things to think about include:

  • Having a platform available. You should have regular meetings where people can talk about what they have done and how they intend to innovate. Make it clear that the sessions are all about sharing, and about recognizing efforts.
  • Peer to peer recognition should be encouraged across the board. An innovation award program works, but this is usually managed by a senior. Instead, you should get peers to recognize each other, which is far more appreciated in real life. Not just that, peer to peer recognition can happen at any moment, rather than once a year, at the office party.
  • Make sure that you recognize people whenever they make an innovation. Don’t wait until you have a place in your diary that you have dedicated to celebrating innovation, but do it as and when things happen. This makes it look genuine and has the greatest impact.

Recognition is said to be part of what is called the “innovation formula”. There are many other elements involved in that formula, but this is one of the biggest ones. People will be keen to try innovation for the first time, but unless their efforts are rewarded in a way other than a prize here and there, they will quickly stop their efforts. Innovative employees are engaged employees, and engaged employees are more productive employees. These are the people that genuinely care about the organization and will therefore go the extra mile for the business as a whole as well. The cumulative effect of this is tremendous.