John Adair's 100 Greatest Ideas for Effective Leadership

Idea 65: Making your organization good at innovation

Your organization itself has to provide an environment in which creativity and innovation can flourish.

The five hallmarks of organizations that are good at innovation (and are not just paying lip service to it) are:

1. Top-level commitment.
2. Flexible in organizational structure.
3. Tolerant of failure (and not risk averse).
4. Encouraging of teamwork and innovation.
5. Good at open and constructive communication.

Managing innovation… [is a] challenge to management… especially top management, and a touchstone of its competence.

Peter Drucker

Organizations need to work at the main ingredients for success in managing innovation and apply themselves to the five hallmarks listed above.

Top-level commitment ...