Little Ideas are the Secret to Big Innovation

Oct 14, 2015 11:00 AM ET

Innovation. It’s one of those buzzy business words you hear in commercials for cars or even vacuum cleaners or perhaps read in full-page ads printed in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. But what does it really mean to innovate in 2015?

It’s not enough anymore for a company or its CEO to say that innovation is a priority. In today’s environment, they must be prepared to back that up with action both internally and externally.

And it’s not just about developing the next big thing. It’s actually about keeping the whole company relevant and healthy. It’s about having the ability to adapt, particularly to a marketplace which is evolving faster than at any other point in history.  It’s about bringing diverse thinkers to the table, sometimes in non-traditional ways, from all levels of stakeholders.

To stay relevant, a company needs to find its unique voice and that happens by first realizing that everyone is starting from the same sets of data.  The key to having a breakthrough in innovation is to find where a company can differentiate itself.  Corporate leaders can begin that process by creating the right healthy environment in which those game changing ideas (whether little or big) have a chance to rise to the surface.

To read more go to Sodexo Insights