Creating An Innovative Culture, For Fun And Profit

“Innovation is creating new value“ --Diana Kander - Speaker, entrepreneur, author, and consultant

Innovation culture refers to the organizational environment and ethos that supports and promotes novelty and originality in ideas, methods, and practices. It is integral to the evolution of companies, regardless of size or field. To cultivate an innovative culture, corporations usually rely on strategies such as encouraging experimentation, facilitating communication, promoting collaborative work environments, and offering training programs for employees to develop new skills.

Some of the world's leading companies owe their success to fostering a strong innovation culture. Google, for instance, encourages a '20% time' policy that allows employees to spend a fifth of their working time on side projects they are passionate about, leading to some of the company's best ideas like Gmail and AdSense. Another example is 3M, a company known for its commitment to innovation through its '15% Culture', wherein employees are given freedom to use 15% of their paid time to chase rainbows and hatch their own ideas, which brought us products like the Post-It note.

Until now, promoting innovation has presented challenges. Resistance to change, the potential for failed initiatives, and reluctance to risk taking have often inhibited the progression of novel ideas. Building an innovation-friendly environment also historically has required significant time and resources, presenting a daunting task for some companies. Furthermore, not all innovative ideas have translated to financial success or acceptance in the marketplace. The Coherence Hasslefree Innovation Program™ (CHIP) addresses these challenges, and makes prioritizing innovation a practical reality by providing one component that not only improves technological effectiveness and efficiency, it also improves the effectiveness and efficiency of human innovators, by reducing noise and stress, while increasing EEG brain coherence, and improving the ability to work in teams.

Human creativity, alertness, and willingness to embrace change have profound impacts on corporate culture. They spark the initial inspiration behind an innovation and help to steer the execution process through perseverance, open-mindedness, and resilience. These qualities form the cornerstone of an innovation culture and empower companies to evolve dynamically.

Neuroscience studies associate electroencephalographic (EEG) brain coherence with innovative thinking. Coherence in the brain signals high levels of integration among various cognitive processes that lead to innovation. Practices such as meditation that improves brain coherence, can also enhance an individual's capacity for innovation.

Innovation has quantifiable financial advantages. Research conducted by McKinsey revealed that firms focused on innovation generate superior returns on investment. A study published in Harvard Business Review highlighted that innovative companies experienced six times the market share and twice the profit of their less innovative peers.

In conclusion, in today's highly competitive business landscape, fostering an innovative culture is imperative for both survival and success. It’s a dynamic process, steeped in both opportunity and challenge. It generally requires investment and tolerance for risk and failure. But, by nurturing creativity, encouraging open dialogue, embracing change, and leveraging new-found scientific understanding, companies can help unlock an exciting world of possibilities and sustained growth.

The Coherence Hasslefree Innovation Program™ (CHIP) has been designed to support the creation of an innovative culture for any company, with the least amount of hassle or risk.