Talk through all the options that stem from that, and all the opportunities that might present. If you see an idea that fits this description, you can let it simmer a bit. That one piece of the puzzle was enough to perhaps change the future of food - even though these farms will have additional challenges requiring more innovation.Ĭoming up with a new idea that might seem outlandish or unattainable can actually lead to ideas that are doable and inspired. Conceived in the 1970s, this trend toward indoor, controlled-environment agriculture became possible, as the New York Times reported, thanks to LED light prices dropping nearly 95 percent between 20. However, these sessions should be about all the things you can dream up rather than what might be the most rational and logical direction in which to make change. Not everything you come up with can be implemented, of course. Nothing is off the table and nothing is too wild to consider. Your innovation idea sessions should be a brainstorming space. Asking the right questions and the right follow-up questions is key. Having it on a whiteboard visible to everyone allows one idea to springboard to others.Īnd make sure that you have a facilitator that can keep the energy of the session going. Make sure that you have somebody getting all the ideas down. However, it’s still best if it has a “retreat” sort of feel to it, as free-flowing and freeform as it possibly can. You don’t have to find a separate location to do something. I recommend taking time out once a month to hold a session that is dedicated exclusively to idea generation. Having a specific time and place in which innovation is encouraged is a key to making it happen. It can be hard to be innovative just out of the blue.
If your company is trying to make innovation more central to all you do, here are some tips for how to inspire innovation in your company.
Innovation, important as it is to this growth and change, needs to be nurtured, cultivated, and encouraged in your employees. It’s merely when the real work begins, in determining how a product can improve and thinking about those next changes. While getting the first version of a product to market is exhilarating, it’s not when the work ends. It represents your best shot at thriving and growing and helping you keep innovation a top priority. And for tech companies, figuring out what those changes need to be and making them happen is paramount. As the saying goes, the only thing constant is change, and that’s absolutely true at tech companies.