How would you make innovation a part of the company’s values and culture permanently?

Executive Summary

I’m a middle management for one the largest U.S. manufacturers of luxury vehicles and trucks. I lead a cross-functional group responsible for the IoT innovation project implementation and the submission of a plan that will enable innovation at the organization. After successfully implementing the project, it is now time for recommendations for future proofing the company’s processes, structures, and culture of innovation.

Firstly, to support continuous innovation, I recommend making innovation a permanent part of the company’s values and culture. It is possible to promote a culture that encourages experimentation, encourages employees to exchange ideas and provides resources for innovation. In addition, I suggest setting up an innovation team as well as a clearly articulated innovation strategy.

To support continual innovation, I also recommend certain organizational structures and processes, such as the creation of an innovation council or setting up an incubator. While the innovation council will be responsible to guide the strategy for innovation, the innovation lab will be responsible for testing new ideas and implementation.

Organizational resistance to innovation is one of my top concerns. This could be due to a lack in resources or a poor understanding of its benefits. For this reason, I suggest educating employees about the importance and providing funds to help them overcome their resistance.

Overall, the above recommendations if implemented successfully, would help in futureproofing the company’s processes, structures, and culture of innovation.