How to Manage the Innovation Process with Your Team

Innovation is the driving force of modern companies. The winds of change are blowing faster, and inflexible trees will eventually be toppled. In an era of dynamic market and technological changes, the ability to effectively manage the innovation process becomes key to achieving a competitive advantage. Regardless of the industry, companies that can systematically introduce new ideas, products, and services achieve business success. Why? Because they respond to changes more quickly and better meet the evolving needs of customers.

1. Innovation — Definition

What is innovation?

It can be defined as the process of introducing new, improved ideas, products, services, or methods that differ from existing solutions and — at least in theory — bring added value.

Business innovation can cover various areas, such as technology, work organization, marketing, or business models.

Let’s go through a few examples.

• Innovation in the sales department could mean taking a technological step forward and replacing Excel spreadsheets with a full-fledged CRM system — one that allows for better control of the entire process and, consequently, increases sales.

• Innovation in marketing could involve improving data collection methods and increasing the ratio of actions based on collected information rather than intuition. For example, a company blog supported by SEO tools could significantly increase traffic. However, innovation is such a broad term that it can be less literal — carrying out a comprehensive rebranding and discovering the “new version of the company” also falls within the definition, as long as it’s backed by actions.

• Innovation in customer service could be a new ticketing system, but it could also involve drawing conclusions from the current situation and introducing a standardized script for support staff, for instance.

• Innovation in project management could be a new task management system — such as TastyTask. Each process can be broken down into smaller stages, assigned to specific people, prioritized, and updated accordingly.

Source: Task management software TastyTask, tastytask.com

2. Resistance to Innovation Will Always Be Present

The biggest enemy of innovation is… the human factor.

Every change in mechanics causes fear. For business owners and management, innovation understood as the introduction of significant changes can simply lead to financial losses. Not every innovation yields good results, so every idea must first be thoroughly analyzed and discussed.

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On a smaller scale, in an individual team, innovation can cause employee reluctance because it requires them to change established solutions, usually involving learning new tools and implementing new processes. If project management has been based on agreements made via the company communicator for years, and the company enforces the use of a specially designed and adapted tool, the “transition phase” can be difficult.

The long-term goal is to introduce a culture of innovation throughout the organization — an environment where new ideas, whether from management or regular specialists, are desirable. In such an environment, new concepts compete with each other, are evaluated, analyzed, and implemented, which ultimately leads to the continuous development of the company at every level of its functioning.

3. How to Introduce Innovations in the Team?

A few tips:

• Promote open communication: Regular meetings where employees can freely share their ideas are key to success. These meetings shouldn’t just be PR facades — they need to be a space for actual information exchange and valuable feedback.

• Clearly communicate not just what is being changed but, most importantly, why it is being changed. You need to — like a skilled salesperson — sell the idea to your team. “The new tool will generate some work at the beginning, but in the long run, we’ll be able to waste less time on unnecessary, repetitive tasks” sounds quite different from: “We have a new tool, we’re implementing it from tomorrow, get ready.”

• Accept that mistakes are part of the process: Innovation always involves risk, and every tool, before it’s perfected, will cause a few bigger or smaller setbacks. Make sure your team understands that failures are a natural part of the creative process and serve as learning experiences — and, more importantly, as a leader, you must treat such mistakes as the “fixed cost” of changing for the better.

4. Organizations Fall Behind if They Stand Still

Managing the innovation process is not only a challenge but also a great opportunity for company growth. Create an organizational culture that fosters innovation, define a clear process, use appropriate tools, engage the team, and regularly analyze and optimize activities. You’ll notice how significantly you can increase your ability to introduce new, valuable products and services to the market. Innovation is the foundation in business, where the only constant is change — so it’s worth managing it consciously and strategically.