TEN SUCCESS-BOOSTING INNOVATIVE TIPS FOR YOUR BUSINESS - Mike Anderson , NSBC Founder and CEO

1. Get your team on board. Have them involved in the entire innovation process, such as solving problems during a meeting and providing a suggestion box. Reward innovation and celebrate success. Appropriate incentives can play a significant role in encouraging staff to think creatively.
2. Make innovation a routine. Schedule an hour or so each week to brainstorm and exercise your and your team’s creativity and establish goals that encourage you to improve your business.
3. Encourage suggestions. Ask or survey your employees, customers and even your suppliers, if they have any suggestions on how you can improve your business.
4. Create a supportive atmosphere in which people feel free to express their ideas without risk of criticism.
5. Encourage risk- taking and experimentation-don’t penalise people who try new ideas that fail. Remember, fear destroys innovation.
6. Stress that people at all levels of the business share responsibility for innovation, so everybody feels involved in taking the business forward. The fewer the layers of decision-making in your business, the more people feel their ideas matter.
7. Look for imagination and creativity when recruiting new employees. Remember that innovative thinkers aren’t always those with the most impressive list of qualifications.
8. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Keep innovation simple by improving your existing products or services, trying out a new marketing strategy, or finding a supplier that is offering you a better rate.
9. Invest in innovation. Purchase technology and equipment that can improve your business operations. Also, invest in developing new products and services.
10. Educate yourself. Continue to learn new skills or information by attending workshops, webinars, conferences, local industry events, and reading everything from blog posts to books.

 https://www.thesmallbusinesssite.co.za/author/mikensbc-org-za/page/2/