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Ah, innovation! It’s the talent in an entrepreneur‘s eyes, the passion in their belly, and the wind that helps a startup take off. But here’s the thing: true innovation doesn’t just look to the future, it also considers looking around. Imagine a world where ideas are like bees, buzzing from field to field, exchanging pollen as they travel, creating a blooming landscape of interconnected innovation.
Let us take a closer look at the concept of cross-pollination for innovation, where differences within a field are not merely accepted but become the preferred mode of operation.
So before we dive in, let me make something clear: this is not your typical “go against the flow” sermon. No. We get to the heart of walk-the-talk, hands-on entrepreneurship to make innovation the backbone of your business. And we don’t just mean any kind of innovation, we mean the kind of innovation that makes you think, “Why didn’t I think of that before?”
Now, as we embark on this journey of exploration and discovery with full faith as partners in shaping the future, the following list is what I call the Ten Commandments of Interaction that will spark innovation.
Related: How to Transform Workplace Culture with Interactions
1. Celebrating the Renaissance Spirit
The one and only Renaissance man, Leonardo da Vinci, didn’t engage in art and science just for fun. He understood that the world is interconnected. The key here is to create a Renaissance team. Encourage your team members to pursue side hustles, hobbies, and other interests. A programmer who is also a photographer can bring a unique feel to UI design. A DJ or a side hustle marketer can provide a bird’s-eye view of consumer behavior. Diversity of thought and experience is where innovative ideas can thrive.
2. Industry experience session
One day each month, dive deep into an industry completely different from your own. If you’re in tech, switch to hospitality. If you’re in finance, see what’s going on in healthcare. Host workshops where team members can share ideas and think together about how to apply them to projects. Such sessions will become your innovation incubator.
3. “What if?” Workshop
Surprises are the birth of inventions, aren’t they? Hold frequent “what if” workshops, where the only rule is that there are no wrong ideas. What if we copied the fast food model to personal finance? The next time you design a software interface, what if we made it more like a theme park map? This is where we encourage dreaming about flying in the blue sky and work backwards to see if there are practical applications.
4. Mentorship across industries
Launch a mentorship program with other industry experts. This can be casual coffee talks or more structured mastermind sessions. The aim is to provide an opportunity to discuss ideas, problems, and solutions that will drive innovation. Mentors in the fashion sector can help tech entrepreneurs understand that aesthetics are just as important as functionality.
5. Remix Techniques
They say there’s no such thing as original, and it’s true. Innovating in this case means taking an old idea and recombining it. Ask your team to combine two seemingly unrelated things. It’s like a food fusion business model (Thai tacos anyone?).
Related: Great minds think differently — 3 ways to drive true innovation through diversity
6. Learn from your mistakes
Fear of failure is the biggest enemy of innovation. Establish a culture that views failure as a stepping stone to success. Discuss failures and the lessons learned from them. When your team becomes comfortable with failure, they’re more likely to take risks that lead to extraordinary progress.
7. External idea incubators
Ideation doesn’t have to be confined to the office premises. Attend hackathons, industry meetups, and innovation centers. These are places where you can observe how people outside your circle come up with ideas and solutions. Plus, they’re a great way to find potential collaborators and future teammates.
8. Customer collaboration
Your customers are a goldmine of fresh ideas. You can leverage this customer input through creating forums, surveys, and innovation labs where your customers can provide their ideas and feedback on new products and services. The benefit goes beyond simply analysing what the market wants; it also fosters a sense of belonging and inclusion.
9. Sabbatical Leave Policy
Google’s “‘20% of the time“This policy shows how much employees can benefit from having the freedom to develop their own projects. No matter how much time you can spare – a few hours a week or a year-long vacation every few years – go for it! Sometimes these breaks from normal activities are the source of the company’s most innovative ideas.
10. The World’s Eyes
Innovation knows no boundaries. So who’s to stop it? Look to the world for inspiration. How do other countries solve business problems? What’s trending abroad these days? If you weren’t taught to look at the world as a whole, you might miss some solutions.
Related: 5 Key Ways to Create a Culture of Innovation
Innovation is a team-based game, not an individual sport. The diversity of humanity is a colorful and intense dance of thoughts, feelings and perspectives. Through nurturing this cross-pollination, we don’t just sow the seeds of innovation, we revitalize an entire habitat of creativity and progress. Join forces with unknown people and watch your enterprise blossom into a truly innovative entity. The world is open like an oyster, and the pearl of innovation is the cross-pollination within. Together we make it shine.