Innovation lost in time?

Lack of freedom can stifle innovation

3M is ranked the third most innovative company on the planet after Google and Apple.

But the leader of the Post-It note initiative, Geoff Nicholson, says they are seeing problems in innovation.

The 3M ambassador suggests some key points to watch out for:

• Don't ask for multi-year plan
• Don't use the process heavy plans to test a new idea
• Do praise new ideas and ask what else a solution could do
• Nurture creativity and new ideas

"... provide the leadership and then people know that they can practise innovation"

He thinks that processes such as six sigma can have unintended consequences. Actually inhibiting innovation. One thing that 3M is doing to try and raise the level of creativity is allowing employees to spend up to 15 percent of work time to conduct research beyond their normal focus areas.

"failure is a learning experience"

He also worries that organizations are worried about failure. In his mind, failure is a way of learning. Learning what works, what doesn't work, and potentially get some ideas on how to improve it.

For more, listen to the interview conducted by ZDNet
http://www.zdnet.com/six-sigma-killed-innovation-in-3m-7000012593/