A leader's guide to creating an innovation culture

Abstract

Purpose

Advising top management how to find the right balance between corporate creativity and efficiency in order to turn innovation into commercial reality.

Design/methodology/approach

The author interviewed senior corporate managers and reviewed the literature.

Findings

Inventiveness is required in everything that is done by the company, not just in marketing or in new product development. A key factor in boosting innovativeness is establishing the right organizational climate to nurture the creative potential of employees and make use of their knowledge of customers, competitors, and processes. When leveraging the best innovation practices of other companies look to their philosophy and values.

Research limitations/implications

More interviews and a study to determine long‐term success factors would be advisable.

Practical implications

Key practices: place people and ideas at the heart of management philosophy; give people room to grow, to try and learn from mistakes; build a strong sense of openness and trust and community; and facilitate the internal mobility of talent.

Originality/value

The author advises innovation leaders on steps they can take to strike the right balance between corporate creativity and efficiency.

Citation

Leavy, B. (2005), "A leader's guide to creating an innovation culture", Strategy & Leadership, Vol. 33 No. 4, pp. 38-45. https://doi.org/10.1108/10878570510608031