A few weeks ago I attended the Enterprise 2.0 Conference in Boston.

One of the standout presentations was by Gentry Underwood of IDEO, a design and innovation consulting firm.

During his presentation, Gentry defined three key principles for creating innovation at an organization. Here’s my take on them.

3 Principles for Creating Innovation

1. Empower people, not ideas. Ideas come and go. They’re cheap. They don’t always fit your organization, your workforce or your current business strategy. The people who generate those ideas, though… they’re priceless.
2. Create a platform that brings people together. Historically, this might have meant things like brainstorming rooms and dedicated “innovation spaces.” In an increasingly global and dispersed workforce, it often means some sort of social media tool.
3. Facilitate and reward participation. More specifically, remove every single microscopic barrier to entry. The biggest problem with creating an innovative culture is adoption, usually because managers don’t support it or it’s integrated into other aspects of a person’s job.