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Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is an excerpt of a current article from the blog of Dave Wendland, VP, strategic relations at Hamacher Resource Group. The article first appeared on Forbes.com.
“In the last six months alone, we’ve probably experienced 10 years’ worth of change,” Allan Thygesen, president, Americas, Google.
The a-ha moment about this statement, recently made in a blog entry, was simply that stagnation is not a viable option in light of unprecedented industry dynamics and that a commitment to innovation is imperative.
That’s at least according to a recent virtual roundtable I hosted with a group of retail supply chain executives on the topic of innovation and how organizations are thinking outside the box to foster creativity in light of working-from-home (WFH) limitations.
From delayed launches to expansions put on hold, COVID-19 has caused many organizations to scrap plenty of plans. In fact, many have shifted from planning for the future to putting out immediate fires — thus putting innovation at risk.
Yet, I’m also seeing a number of companies muscling through these uncertain times and announcing major directional shifts.
The roundtable participants agreed on a series of critical questions every organization should be asking while planning their strategy meetings for the coming year as they initiate steps to foster creative collaboration among staff, even if they aren’t in the same room:
- Has your organization created a culture of innovation?
- What breakthrough inspiration has affected your business?
- Does a volatile time like we are currently in the midst of make it more or less difficult to be creative?
- What are some of the ways you have overcome obstacles or bolstered inventive thinking?
- What are you waiting for? In other words, rethink readiness.