What are barriers and enablers for innovation? The two terms pretty much define themselves. A barrier refers to something that is going to stop you or guard you. An enabler is something that is going to assist or help you. In business management or the running of an organization, innovation has to be at the forefront. Each business wants to gain market share and remain relevant. Business Management Project Solutions believes that in this day and age, innovation is the cornerstone of any company.
There are various barriers, which can prevent you from growing your business and being innovative. Some of these barriers can be decision based or process based. Think of your business and the various processes it has to follow. Now you see that a slight change in the way you perform your daily functions (processes), can enhance the service delivery turnaround times (SLA) – you encounter a barrier by you employees not being receptive to the changes you want to make. You may find that a barrier could the legality/compliance of the process you want to follow. You may find that your employee has this wonderful idea that can work if only some help and guidance is provided, just to find out that the line manager they report to was not open minded and shot down their idea. One of the biggest barriers today is funding of innovative ideas.
With that said, enablers are merely the reverse (positive) side of barriers. Enablers would be your management teams actually listening to the people on the ground. Enablers take the time to see the bigger picture and motivate their staff to be more creative. Remember a happy employee means a happy customer. You innovate not just to make your job easier but to be more productive. More productivity mean better turnaround times a more services. Enablers would be receiving support regardless if your idea requires funding or not.
Here at Business Management Project Solutions, we strive to use your barriers as enablers. We look at cost effective ways to increase revenue in your business by simply enhancing the processes or streamlining your business. We want to help enable your business to be above the rest. Stay tuned for the next two blogs to follow where we will identify a few of these barriers and enablers.
Food for Thought: There is no such thing as a stupid idea. Sometimes the craziest ideas bring in big rewards.