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| FROWN
on the barriers to innovation |
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Everyone
knows the importance of innovation or has his/her
own concept of what it means. However, not everyone
practises innovative thinking. Why is this so?
What are the obstacles to innovative thinking?
Well, when it
comes to innovation, there are some “barriers” you
should FROWN on:
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| Course
participants at Service Quality Centre
find that activating creativity can
be a fun-filled learning experience. |
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1.
Fear of failure — All
too often, we are caught up with the mundane affairs
of work. The
fear of failure causes us to focus only on doing
what we do best, what we are familiar with, and
what leads to recognised paths to success. Soon,
methods of working become stale, but everyone
is comfortable. So how do we overcome this barrier?
To do so, we need to look at new ventures and
trying
out new ideas as learning experiences rather
than in terms of success and failure.
2. Rigidity — We are often bound by rigid
policies and regulations. However, in this dynamic
world that we live in today, customers’ needs
are constantly changing. So we need to challenge
norms and policies that no longer apply today,
so as to remain relevant and to meet customers’ needs.
3. Thinking there is only
one right solution — What
is one plus one? Is your answer two? This question
was posed by an interviewer to some potential candidates
for an accountancy position. The person who was
finally offered the job answered simply, “Anything
you want it to be.” We can learn from this
incident. When it comes to making decisions,
we need to realise that there may be more than
one
right answer. There may be many possible answers
of which only one is the best or
the most practical solution. So when you are faced
with challenges, generate as many solutions as
possible and write them down. Weigh
the consequences, choose one solution and keep
the rest. Archive ideas may one day serve as solutions
to other problems.
4. Wrong assumptions — Jack
and Jill were lying on the floor with puddles
of water and broken
glass around them. What happened? Did you guess
correctly that Jack and Jill are goldfish? This
story can teach us a good lesson about making
wrong assumptions. Sometimes we make assumptions
due
to our experience and prejudices. However, when
facing a challenge, we need to be objective.
We need to follow the facts and not our assumptions.
5. Negative thinking — Have you ever heard
a newscaster announce this over television: “We
have good news today! All 142,336 planes landed
safely at airports around the world…”?
I doubt so. We do not listen enough to positive
words. Negative thinking can slowly affect our
lives. So stop thinking negatively and be positive.
You can start today by hanging around positive
people.
In conclusion, be aware of and frown on the barriers
to innovative thinking. You will also positively
affect those in your circles when you think big,
think differently and think innovatively. |
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By
Service Quality Centre Pte Ltd
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Dare to try
out new ideas |
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Be
flexible and adaptable |
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Find
multiple solutions to a problem |
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Be
objective — follow facts
not assumptions |
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Think
positive thoughts |
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Hang
around positive people |
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