HEADS UP!
Heads Up! A weekly update on the world of innovation brought to you by Innovation University, a best practices program of the Innovation Network.
Supporting Innovation
Companies striving for innovation come face to face with
the problem of making time to innovate on top of employees' "real
work." Add to that pressure cooker--family needs, work travel and
feeling unappreciated by their employers-- and you have a recipe for
stressed, over-worked employees who may not have the energy to contribute
their best efforts and ideas.
We are constantly looking for ways that companies can support innovation
efforts so that they are not just an additional burden for already stretched
employees. Cargill is a good example. (http://www.cargill.com)
Cargill created a position for an Innovation Manager whose role it is
to facilitate innovation within the company. Others like, Enron Corp.,
(http://www.enron.com), add innovation
to the job description of people who are likely innovation champions,
like Enron's IU Fellows, Sarah Palmer and Marie Hejka. Still others,
like Sodexho Marriott Services (http://www.sodexhomarriott.com)
publicly recognize and commit to applying employees' innovations throughout
the company.
One Innovation University (IU) Sponsor has just launched a successful
innovation initiative inside a large company. Morale is high, people
are excited about change, but they lack time to think in the press of
getting their jobs done.
What other suggestions or models might help this innovator support innovation
within his company?
Please reply to support@thinksmart.com
We'll compile the responses and send them out soon.
We learn about examples like Cargill, Enron and Sodexho Marriott Services
through site visits to innovative companies and from the stories shared
by our IU Fellows and Sponsors.
The next IU meeting will be held in Silicon Valley, January 23-26. Don't
miss site visits to One Workplace (visit www.oneworkplace.com)
and the revolutionary new Palo Alto SBA/venture capital/entrepreneurial
center. Contact Andrea Woodward at 805-967-4893 or awoodward@thinksmart.com
for more information.
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| Andrea Woodward |
E-mail: andrea@thinksmart.com PHONE: 805-563-1438
Join the Innovation University Fellowship Group
Call Ruth Ann Hattori at 303-604-1981 or e-mail andrea@thinksmart.com for more information.
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