Innovations can be analyzed so you can evaluate whether they will work at your organization. Here are some questions to ask when you are in the first phase of innovation: gathering ideas.
- Have you established realistic goals for this idea?
- Even if this idea had a positive outcome elsewhere, will it work at your organization?
- Is there a downside to just skipping this innovative idea?
- Are the benefits of the innovation sufficient to justify implementing the innovation?
- Is this innovation necessary because of the introduction of a new technology?
- Do you have the ability to take the ideas of others and adapt them?
Taken from Innovation at Work: Helping New Ideas Succeed, a self-directed course by Mark Briggs at Poynter NewsU.
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Vicki Krueger has worked with The Poynter Institute for more than 20 years in roles from editor to director of interactive learning and her current position as marketing communications manager. She is the author of Cleaning Your Copy: Grammar, Style and More – a self-directed e-learning course that consistently is ranked as one of the most popular courses at Poynter News University. Other work includes producing “Best Newspaper Writing,” the annual collection of the ASNE Distinguished Writing Award winners and finalists, and editing “Aim for the Heart,” a book by Poynter’s Al Tompkins for TV reporters and producers. You can follow her on Twitter at @vkrueger and @newsu.
