Importance of Innovation and Creativity, Essay Example

A majority of senior organizational leaders lack the expertise in leading and managing established organizations engaged in systematic innovations. When global leaders successfully play their game with a set of policies, it is difficult to engage in different games with different sets of rules. This becomes worse in situations where the rules have not been explained. With the current shifts from the industrial economy towards a knowledge-based economy, there are major changes in the primary nature of key issues from complicated towards being complex. Using experiences and logic, leaders can solve any complicated issue. It simply involves applying, organizing, and simplifying solutions, which have been beneficial in the past similar experiences. On the other hand, complex issues are more of uncertain, ambiguous, and unique opportunities and problems. Global leaders must apply innovative thinking techniques in discovering innovative solutions and gaining insights in the underlying complexities. While experiences may help, they do not provide sustainable and accurate solutions to complex issues (David & Claude, 2011).

An example of a complex issue is the implementation of innovation processes in global organizations. Global leaders are required to apply directly to their organizations exceptional practices acquired from innovative firms such as Google and Apple. This should be attained without complete factoring in their historical contexts and differences. Some leaders are applying common models and innovation goals across the entire firm (David & Claude, 2011). This is implemented in different sections such as operations, accounting, sales and R&D. Global leaders are asked to develop innovative ideas and implement them. These leaders implement training projects, which do not modify practices of the organization such as finance and HR. Global leaders ignore assumptions and behaviors, which do not reflect the organization’s innovation culture. To bridge the knowledge variance, global leaders must understand how to guide innovative teams and individuals and the principles governing innovative thinking. Most people claim that innovative is nothing but a talent and the best way for organizations to be successful is to employ creative workers. The truth is that leaders can learn how to manage and lead innovative teams as well as learn innovative thinking (Marc & Amy, 2010).

References

David, W. & Claude, L. (2011). Innovative Intelligence. Michigan: John Wiley & Sons

Marc, S. & Amy B. (2010). Rethinking Innovation: Insights from the World’s Leading CEOs

California: Fast-Thinking Books.