Innovation is a true miracle cure for economic crises. After almost all crises, innovative companies flourished. This mindset can be trained.
Again and again the image of the Great Depression of 1929 haunts the media. But did the whole world really stand still at that time? Not really. In this “vacuum period” around 1929, some groundbreaking inventions were invented, such as the quartz clock, the nozzle drive, the automatic transmission or the electric guitar. 1929 is also the founding date of one of the largest consumer goods groups in the world: Unilever.
Could this spirit of innovation start a revival in times of crisis?
Every crisis is an opportunity and entrepreneurs always recognize opportunities. I believe that a lot will happen through Corona - I say optimistically.
Suffering increases
The fact is that in many companies the pressure to innovate increases when it comes to survival. On the one hand, innovation is something that everyone strives for, but at the same time changes are also frightening. We are reluctant to take risks, after all we have a lot to lose - an explanation for why we act more innovatively when the pressure increases. Many companies are in conflict: on the one hand, there is growing awareness that innovation is a necessity, on the other hand, due to the uncertainty that means change, it is often only tolerated instead of actively being spurred on and used. Innovations are the life we still have ahead of us.
A surge in creativity
In times of crisis, people increasingly relate to each other. This level of relationship is essential for innovation. When people come together and create something together, a lot can arise. Companies like Apple support this theory. Without Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs would have failed as well as Larry Page at Google without Sergey Brin and even behind the supposedly "lonely wolves" like Jack Ma, Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg were co-founders and supporters. When things go downhill economically, people become more creative again and there is more networking.
Break out of thought patterns
Creativity that you can learn. Every person solves countless small and large problems and challenges in their everyday life and thus acts creatively in this sense. Children are born creatively, but this ability is gradually removed from them. In order to train your own innovative spirit, it makes sense to break out of conventional thinking patterns in everyday life, for example when playing. In the game you can vary your own behavior, try yourself, take new perspectives and leave your own comfort zone without any greater risk.
Creativity is measurable like intelligence. Around 5% of the population manage to get something new faster. And it's a lot about the framework. There are many innovation inhibitors in companies, such as a non-existent error culture or a boss as an innovation brake. If you want to train your brain to be creative, you have to break the rules. So innovation doesn't happen at the push of a button, it has to be worked on. as a first and decisive step towards an innovation mindset, I therefore advise:
"Innovation should be demystified, it should be taken away from the threatening but also the exaggerated."