The Tata Group is well known for their innovative products such as the $2,000 Tata Nano car as well as many others. This post on BusinessWeek shares with us their strategy on how the 117-year old Indian powerhouse has continued to innovate time after time.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has created the Tata Group Innovation Forum (TGIF) which consists of a 12 member panel including top CEOs from some of the independently run companies as well as other senior executives. This is one of the ways the group shares and inspires best practices. Leaders also focused on implementing and knowing how to move forward with ideas, no matter if it was a disruptive idea or an incremental one. Knowing whom to go with ideas is very crucial. Managers within TCS are properly trained on how to direct an employee's ideas.
The company also trains its employees to think creatively and to always keep improvement on their minds. The company dedicated 5 hours of the employee's work week for personal time, which includes developing a skill or an idea.
What's your company doing to keep an innovation culture alive?