How Managers Can Foster (or Screw Up) Innovation

“New ideas are a product of being a conscious human being,” Scott Berkun, author of The Myths of Innovation told me in an interview I did with him a few weeks ago. “The question for managers is, will they share them?”

Of course not every new idea will be a homerun, but Berkun says managers should think about how they react to new ideas brought up by employees because that will determine whether an organization can turn into an innovation factory. According to Berkun, one of the most important things a manager can do to foster innovation is to provide his or her employees with cover – in case the idea falls flat on its face – and additional resources. Being asked to do more with the same amount or fewer resources often leads to a road of frustration.

My entire interview with Berkun, as well as additional thoughts on the secret ingredients of innovation are published in my latest article in the May issue of the Greentree Gazette.

If you’re a manager, do you reward creative ideas or shut them down? If you’re an employee, what comes first from your manager when you present new ideas? Praise or criticism?