Learn tips to maintain the ability to innovate

Innovation is essential for a company to stand out in its market segment. Below we will present tips on how to enhance and maintain this capacity for innovation within the company.

1. Mature the ideas

So that your ideas are always accepted, learn to mature them, register them and evaluate their possible potential. If necessary, delve deeper into the research before showing it to someone else. Your chances of approval will be much greater through this care. Innovation projects also need to mature.

A first idea that appears in your mind will not necessarily be ready to win the world. Having patience is crucial so that the sketch created in your mind can be better delineated, arriving at more satisfactory answers. The more you can think about something, the more you can identify areas for improvement.

2. Abandon specialization

A specialist tends to seek solutions that are already known, based on the experience he has, moving away from innovation. To allow your mind to innovate, study other disciplines, get out of your comfort zone , read other books, see what is not obvious to you.

Living with people from different areas of expertise can be a way to deepen your knowledge of other topics. By learning about something different, you expand your horizon and can find solutions that you had not thought of. Don’t underestimate the positive impact new knowledge can have on your creative life.

3. Value the collective

To increase the chances of developing innovative solutions, it is important to share knowledge in the work environment, making your intellectual library available to colleagues. For this, it is always necessary to remember to give credit to everyone who was part of the creation of the innovative solution.

Otherwise, you may suffer knowledge bullying, becoming purposely deprived of the knowledge surrounding the company. Crediting colleagues for their contributions is ethical and encourages greater exchange of information. Team work tends to be richer because it has contributions from different perspectives.

4. Be authentic

Changes generate insecurities in professionals. However, companies are already saturated with standard behaviors and resistant to change. The most modern and innovative organizations look for irreverent people who are not afraid to be daring. Boldness is not the same as inconsequence, being daring means doing things in a different way, but one that generates good results.

Of course, we cannot always be sure that a bold action will bring the expected result, but we can take some precautions. In short, boldness means changing the way things are done in order to reach positive results in other ways. Those who dare to be bold become more authentic.

5. Have paper and pen always at hand

In a context where we write everything down on our smartphone, it seems strange to suggest the use of paper and pen, doesn’t it? However, if you want to make your ideas more innovative, you should trust this tip. When we write or even scribble schematics in the form of drawings, we give shape to our ideas.

The most innovative ideas tend to be, for the most part, farther from reality. When you give physical form to your ideas in your notebook, you can see them in a more applicable light. So, always keep a notebook and pen in your purse or pocket and don’t hesitate to write down what crosses your mind.

6. Learn from your mistakes

One of the attitudes that most hinder creativity and, consequently, innovation, is to avoid mistakes at all costs. In order not to make mistakes, people start to deviate from paths that may be potentially less satisfying. When you do that, the person loses the opportunity to live an innovative experience.

Furthermore, it is important to demystify the error, as it is from it that we learn the most relevant lessons for our lives. When faced with a difficulty, move on and if it goes wrong, analyze what could have been done differently. Turn each mistake into a step to reach a higher level of knowledge.

7. Be softer on self-criticism

Self-criticism is an essential process for maturing, as it allows you to absorb and assimilate other people’s criticism more easily. It also makes it possible to deepen self- knowledge, as you look at your actions, keeping emotions away from judgment. It became evident how important self- criticism is, right?

It is really a relevant process, but one that must be practiced in the right measure. Being harshly critical of yourself does not necessarily contribute to this process of personal growth. The focus should not be on discrediting yourself, but on finding what can be improved.

The ideal is to analyze your ideas and projects, trying to identify what can be improved and what is already at the right point. Thus, it is possible to enhance what is good and correct what needs to be modified.

In short, self-criticism helps in the development of more innovative ideas, as long as it is done strategically with a focus on improvement. Innovation is also synonymous with constant improvement.