The Art and Science of Innovation

Innovation’s Forgotten Side

What comes to mind when you think about innovation?

The imagery surrounding the topic is often a light bulb, shining bright with the current of a creative idea. When we think about innovation, most think of the “light bulb” side of the process – the flashes of new ideas. We wonder what winning idea the creative minds will think of next!

While this accurately highlights the creative side of the innovation equation, it’s misrepresentative of the entire innovation process and leaves room for confusion about what it takes to build a mature innovation culture at your organization.

What people don’t typically think about is the importance of a systematic process to evaluate and act on your ideas. Manufacturing ideas is actually relatively easy – the hard part is knowing what to do with them.

The Art and Science of Innovation

The magic, from an innovation standpoint, happens when you bring design thinking and a systematic process together. Research suggests that having structure actually enhances what you get out of your creative process. It’s the art of science of innovation that leads to the most creative results.

There will always be a constant push-pull between creativity and structure, but the reality is that both are needed for the other to thrive.

The key is to find a balance.

Need help?

Wondering how you add structure to your innovation process? Through our experiences working with different industries and types of organizations, we’ve learned to help companies build a structured innovation process that turns creativity into tangible outcomes. If you’re interested in learning more about how Credera can help you, please reach out to us at findoutmore@credera.com.

• Innovation Development
• Innovation Strategy
• Innovation Acceleration