How to Get Into The Idea Doing Phase

Step 1: Empower Your Employees

Most employees will innovate if you give them the freedom to do so. Numerous companies fall into the trap of employing highly-skilled individuals and then confining innovation and decision-making to a handful of top-level individuals. 

At Atlassian, for example, employees receive 24 hours to work on anything they want. Many progressive organizations follow similar models. The reason for this is that employees should work on their ideas while the concepts are still fresh in their mind - thereby also helping to create a sense of ownership and accountability. This will give intrapreneurs the impetus to follow through and take ideas through the different phases of the innovation process and to their logical outcomes.

Step 2: Do Not Judge too Early

From an employee’s perspective, there is nothing worse than having a great idea shut down prematurely. As an employer, you must give an employee behind an idea enough time to analyze its feasibility, desirability, viability and contextuality. Once the data has been collected, you can then evaluate the idea (not the person). Otherwise, teams are always in the ideation phase, without ever moving beyond it.

Research also shows that 79% of employees quit because of a lack of appreciation. Giving them ownership and subsequently praising successes (if deserved), can transform company-wide response to the innovation management process and increase overall idea submission.

Step 3: Embrace the “Day One” Philosophy

In a letter to shareholders, Jeff Bezos stated in 2016 that: “Staying in Day 1 requires you to experiment patiently, accept failures, plant seeds, protect saplings, and double down when you see customer delight”. While this is a simple concept, the fact remains that companies must continuously be proactive and experimental.

This constant curiosity creates a company-wide buy-in to innovation while ensuring that all employees are always on the look out for the next big idea. When combined with the right frameworks, tools and innovation processes, experimentation becomes a part of the company's DNA.

Step 4: Accept Failure

Even the world’s most innovative companies experience innovation failures. In many ways, failure can be a stepping stone towards future success. Early failures help to teach valuable lessons while simultaneously saving resources that could otherwise have been wasted on a moonshot project. 

Unfortunately, many employees fear failure and the repercussions that come from it. As an employer, creating psychological safety where employees understand that failure should be embraced instead of feared, is vital. If nothing else, it enables them to acknowledge failure far sooner on in the innovation process.

Step 5: Try Again

When a person enters the idea doing phase only to find that their idea didn’t work, they may become hesitant to execute their future ideas. The key is to encourage them to try again with a new concept. After all, they now have more experience and knowledge to ensure that they will not make the same mistakes as before.

An iterative approach is often needed for success. Whether an employee finds a new solution as a shoot-off from the old idea or works on something entirely new: it doesn’t matter. The fact that they have a new idea which they will analyze, will strengthen your team’s position.

Step 6: Provide Support to Employees

A company-wide approach to innovation yields more ideas. However, it’s not enough to simply make innovation accessible through innovation programs or opportunities to submit their ideas. The most successful organizations also harness both internal and external experts to support the innovation process and empower employees to further their ideas.

When employees have people that support them in the process, and who are genuinely interested and involved in the idea execution process, this can encourage them to take action and execute their ideas.

Step 7: Celebrate Action

Ultimately, employees should understand that they are encouraged to "take the leap". Your encouragement to them to innovate will give them another incentive to do so. In addition to celebrating the big idea or success, you should acknowledge all creative and active steps that contributed to the journey.

On the flip side, anecdotal reports illustrate the correlation between burnout and diminished innovation. Hence, neglecting to acknowledge good work can result in the loss of progress made through your innovation management approach.

Ensuring that ideas are effectively executed requires employees to receive the necessary encouragement and support in the process. innovators should feel that they have the buy-in of the organization, and particularly of leadership, to further pursue those ideas that have made it to the final phase of the innovation process. By creating an environment where innovation and risk-taking is nurtured, failures are embraced as learning opportunities, and taking action is ultimately celebrate, innovation will flourish.