Keeping ideas alive in the office

Innovation is key to keeping any tech company afloat. Your first big innovative idea was what started your business, but to keep it running you have to be constantly iterating and blazing a trail to ensure the ideas never run out. Innovation encourages collaboration within the business and fosters news ideas amongst the team.

Have the ideas stopped flowing in your office? Here are some tips that might encourage your team to always be on the lookout for inspiration and willing to embrace new ideas.

Thinking outside of the box

The most important rule of being an innovator is never stay inside the box. You want your team to embrace their creative side and express themselves however they see fit, no matter how crazy their ideas might be. The last thing you want to do is restrict how innovative your employees are; they may feel that their ideas are too big and therefore keep quiet instead of shouting about them. By encouraging staff to be open, you allow ideas to be shared in the best way.

Feedback from customers

Apart from your team, your customers are your best source of ideas. Their feedback could mean there are issues with the current product or service that need addressing. Whether it’s a minor issue that can be fixed within minutes, or an idea that could change the way your customers use your product or service, it’s important to welcome this feedback and act upon it as quickly as you can. If customers believe their ideas have a genuine impact on your development roadmap, it can make them feel more involved and increase loyalty and retention.

Don’t ignore what’s going on outside

Remember: it’s vital to keep an eye on what’s going on in the outside world; something major may have changed that you have no idea about that could either ruin or support your next big idea. If you ignore trends and external events, it is more likely your business will fall behind whilst your competitors continue to grow.

Try and try again

Did your first innovative idea fail? Did the second and third fail too? Don’t worry! Your next big idea will come; you just can’t give up! Keep thinking of ways to improve your current ideas, or scrap them and move on to the next one. As the author John Steinbeck said, “Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen”.

Have you got any tips on how to keep innovating? Share them with our community in the comments section below!