Determining innovation opportunities

- One of the things I love most about innovation is what it's like to actually do it. I love seeking out and finding exciting opportunities and problems to solve, being creative, taking smart risks and constantly learning. It feels like what all works should be like. But for so many of us, the work that we do on a day-to-day basis, doesn't always feel creative and exciting. It's for this reason that taking on innovative work plays an important role in helping us find meaning in what we do and getting excited about our work. Not only can it be more fun and meaningful, learning to innovate can prepare you for the future. Actually, this type of work is what many of us should expect, because jobs are changing to require the skills and behaviors for innovation. That's why more than half of CEOs today say that innovation is a top priority. You don't have to look far to figure out why. There are so many examples of great companies that have thought they would never fail, but who did fail. Whether airlines or department stores, they didn't keep up with external pressures. And these pressures are accelerating. Your company must respond and quickly or risk becoming irrelevant. For example, take an online news source who is once a powerful newspaper, but now is struggling, they should consider three pressures or there'll be left behind. The first pressure is shifting customer preferences. People aren't reading newspapers or even news websites, nearly as much as they used to. Second emerging competition. News outlets compete with other information providers, but also with all the other ways we're spending our time online, since subscription and advertising dollars, go to where the eyeballs are. Third and last, the pressure of emerging technology. This news outlet will need to master new platforms like apps, podcasts, and social media to be successful. Even what you're watching right now on LinkedIn Learning is an example of a company responding to external pressures. I'm not in a studio or on a SAT where courses are usually recorded. Because of the pandemic I'm talking to you from a house where LinkedIn has introduced a new, innovative way to produce instructive videos. Hey, LinkedIn crew. It's critical to acknowledge the pressures your organization faces. So you can then take the necessary steps to respond. Now, I'm going to ask you a few questions about your organization. Feel free to pause the video and write down your responses. Okay at your organization, how are your customers' preferences changing? Are there competitors emerging that threaten your future? What new technologies are impacting the way you work or the way your customers get value? Use these responses to help others at organization see the imperative for innovation. And practice looking through this lens before introducing something new of value. Innovation isn't just an idea in our heads. It requires putting real things into the world. And these new things can take many shapes. Products, services, and even ways of working. It might take the shape of recording a learning course remotely or something else of value. And while looking through an innovation lens can help your organization, the real reward is that it gives you critical skills, no matter where you go in the future.