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10 Soft Skills For Business Innovation

The business world is evolving and sometimes Business Innovation is what can set you apart from your competitors. If you want your organization to not just survive but thrive in these changing times, then your team needs to develop skills that will help them keep up. The top 10 soft skills needed for business innovation include creative and critical thinking, observation, adaptability, logical thinking, problem-solving, resourcefulness, being innovative, analytical and have the ability to deal with uncertainty.

Does your team needs training in these soft skills - but has no time to train? In the world of business, time really is money.

  • Have you considered some just-in-time virtual training? 
  • Would your team be open to a colorful and humorous collection of interactive video courses designed to help develop and strengthen valuable business skills?
  • Would you team be open to micro-learning, where each course only takes 15 minutes or less to complete. 
  • Each micro-course consists of several mini-lessons between 2-3 minutes each. Why? Because grouping information like this reduces cognitive load and users are more likely to complete training, enjoy it, and use it at work. 
  • In this short amount of time, your team can learn game-changing skills that will boost both their professional development and the success of your organization. 
  • Next Steps? Take a look and see for yourself. Review each of the 10 mini-lessons below and explore the framework for improving business innovation within your organization.  

#1: Creative thinking skills help to solving problems and and address changes at work.

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Creative thinking in business is the process by which individuals come up with new ideas or new approaches in order to solve problems. Whether it’s inventing a new product or finding ingenious ways to cut costs and improve quality – like a bagless vacuum cleaner, for example – creative thinking underpins development and innovation. And now, more than ever before, the ability to think outside the box is necessary right across organizations, in order to keep pace and push business forward

Thinking creatively will help find solutions. If you’re a business owner, leader, manager, or team member, you strive to understand the concept of creative thinking and the benefits it can bring to businesses.

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The philosophies of history’s great thinkers have been the starting point for much of the innovation we take for granted now. Without them, we might never have had cell phones, computers, or even electricity! See, critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally, to fully understand the logical connection between ideas. In business, critical thinking is vital to keep innovating and stay ahead of the game.

The business world is moving faster than ever before, so the need for critical thinking at every organizational level is growing. But despite this, these skills seem to be lacking. The ability to use critical thinking to drive problem solving and innovation is a sought-after skill, so instilling a critical thinking culture in your business could be a game changer.

#3: Learning to be adaptable to change helps to not only survive, but thrive in the business world.

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Can you think of a ‘Hero to Zero’ company? Forerunners in their field, but when others started offering the same or better, times got hard and they disappeared? But what went wrong for them? Well, they didn’t adapt. Adaptability is a crucial part of innovation. Successful companies constantly adapt to keep ahead of the curve and give customers what they need and want. This gives them the edge over companies which stand still.

In business, being adaptable is the only way to keep moving forward. By getting too comfortable and not adapting to changing markets, businesses fail to keep pace. And in today’s fast-moving world, companies that stand still can fade away very quickly. Because of this, adaptability is vital. Whatever field you work in, if you’re a business owner, leader, or manager, being adaptable starts with you. And if you’re a freelancer, adaptability needs to be your number one skill.

#4: Critical Observation skills can help you spot and prevent workplace issues, and help solve problems that arise.

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Observation is a key component of innovation. By observing how we and other people do things, we will spot opportunities for improvements. The more we observe, the more opportunities we’ll find. And if a problem is spotted, we can work to provide solutions.

In business innovation, becoming a critical observer can help you recognize problems before others do. It allows you to predict obstacles on the horizon. And, by heightening awareness of the unexpected, and plotting and analyzing data, you can provide original solutions to problems that would otherwise be unforeseen.

Whether it’s predicting where supply issues could arise to ensure you’re not caught out, or modeling the ways a global crisis could affect your sales, in business being able to expect the unexpected is a crucial element of progress. Whatever field you work in, the ability to do this can help improve plans and streamline processes.

#5: The ability to drive innovation in the workplace helps to achieve goals that previously seemed unreachable.

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Innovation is everywhere. Whether it’s advancement in tech or private companies achieving the first manned commercial spaceflight to the International Space Station. But in fact, these are only the “end product.” Innovation is the actual process that unearths better solutions to problems and makes improvements to suit ever-changing needs. Driving innovation is about steering the processes and practices of an organization as a whole. This creates a “thinking outside the box” mindset at every level, and keeps businesses building and growing.

In business, innovation is a survival tool. By constantly innovating, companies can stay ahead of the curve, align with the needs of the customer, and buck any negative market trends. If you’re a leader or manager, driving innovation begins with you. By creating an innovation strategy and actively encouraging staff to be intrapreneurs, you can unlock potential at every level of your business.

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#7: Problem-solving strategies can help both you and your team work through challenges faster and more effectively.

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Do you know what the world’s best-selling toy is? No, it’s not some new-fangled, shiny, or high-tech gadget. It’s actually the humble Rubik’s cube! That colorful 3D puzzle with problem-solving at its core. And despite the amount of competition out there, the Rubik’s cube has stood the test of time. See, problem-solving is all about using logic and imagination to make sense of a situation and come up with an intelligent solution. And it’s vital in the business world, too. It encourages you to find fresh perspectives and come up with innovative solutions, so that you can formulate a plan to overcome obstacles and reach your goals. No matter what the problem or need your business may be addressing, creative ideas and fresh approaches can often make the difference between a successful company and one that’s unable to keep up with its competitors.

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What’s your hidden superpower? Creativity? Hawk-like hearing? Maybe the ability to always be barefoot at the exact moment a rogue Lego piece appears on the floor? (Ow, we’ve all been there.) For businesses in the real world, their hidden superpower is analysis. Modern companies the world over are using the power of analysis to become more efficient. A great business analyst increases profit margins and identifies compliance gaps, ultimately paving the way for businesses to beat their competition.

Leaders and business owners in any industry or organization want to better understand the role of business analysis, and harness its power to make them stand out. When it comes to business innovation, the devil is in the details. Ideas can come from anywhere, but only through analysis are you able to spot gaps, find solutions, add value, and continually bring about innovation in your business.

#9: Being Resourceful will allow you to succeed, when in business, you’ll rarely have all of the resources you need at your disposal.

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Ever thrown together a great last-minute meal even though the fridge looked bare? Or winged your way through a successful presentation even though someone dropped out at the last minute? That’s resourcefulness. When applied to the business world, being resourceful is the ability to find and use available resources to solve problems and achieve goals. It’s seeing challenges as opportunities, rather than problems to fix. From delegating and improvising, to thinking on your feet, being resourceful is more than just a skill, it’s a mindset.

It’s the ability to think differently, generate new ideas, and visualize all the possible ways to achieve your desired outcome. When it comes to gaining success in business, there’s no silver bullet. But if anything comes close, it’s resourcefulness. Effective business professionals seek ways to fine-tune their resourcefulness by using ingenuity, common sense, and good judgement to overcome obstacles and achieve success.

#10: Mastering the ability to deal with uncertainty in business can help drive decision making, even when there are unknowns.

Remember being a kid and wishing you had an all-knowing crystal ball? Or wearing out your collection of magic 8 balls only to keep getting the same fate? “Try again later!” Unfortunately, we can’t see into the future. And that’s the thing about dealing with uncertainty. If we knew what was about to happen, would we change our decisions? As businesses, we take risks all the time. Risks are about probabilities that can be reasonably assigned. But uncertainty is trickier – it’s about futures for which a probability can’t be determined. It’s fear of the unknown. And that very fear can prevent us from making bold choices, initiating change, and innovating in our businesses.

Innovation is what drives business forward and allows for growth. But without overcoming uncertainty, innovation can’t happen. If you’re a leader, manager, or business owner, you seek out practical tips to help improve how you tackle uncertainty in the face of everyday business decisions.

Next Steps? Reach out at INFO@DrTinaTalksWork.com or schedule a chat and we can discuss a a virtual training package to help your team increase their business innovation capacity.