ABSTRACT

This chapter identifies the role of culture in fostering innovation and the traits needed for an innovative workforce. It evaluates the role of processes and governance in identifying and remaining focused on critical innovation. The chapter discovers the best practices for fostering persistent innovation in complex organizations. Fostering an innovative culture and workforce requires more than a few lofty slogans and constant admonishment to “think differently.” Healthcare creates unique difficulties for creative cultures, however, and innovation leaders must walk a fine line to find success. Innovation, like photography, is the art of exclusion. The unique challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic created for healthcare have brought resiliency to the forefront of every manager’s mind. When measuring an innovation program’s success, it is important to look beyond the traditional key performance indicators (KPI) metrics like Return on Investment or Customer Lifetime Value and instead identify KPIs specific to the development of innovation.