Sophie Vandebroek, chief technology officer and president of Xerox Innovation Group, shares insights on how your company can successfully innovate.

1. Value the people.

“It’s all about making sure you have amazingly passionate and intelligent and entrepreneurial researchers working in the research lab that then reach out to their partners, be it a university or, of course, the customers,” Vandebroek says. The people working on the projects must believe in the ultimate concept.

It is also critical to create a diverse environment where people from different backgrounds, cultures and places around the world participate in innovating novel products and services because customers are global, she says. To successfully innovate, you must have a diverse group of passionate people.

2. Establish strong partnerships.

Open innovation is key to creating viable products and services for customers, Vandebroek says. “It is extremely critical that the individuals within your company reach out and really capture the bright ideas and find the most knowledgeable, most competent partners to commercialize and to truly bring to market the concepts that will be innovative when our customers see them and want to buy them.”

3. Dream with customers.

While researching innovations, Xerox reaches its customers through customer dreaming sessions. When scientists reach out to their customers so early on, they can truly create novel inventions because they know the customers’ pinpoints, Vandebroek says. The only way a product or service is truly innovative is if it taps into an unmet need or want.

4. Embrace uncertainty.

“As an innovator, you can’t be afraid,” Vandebroek says. “You are working on disruptive technologies that can ultimately disrupt your current lines of business and, hopefully, successfully disrupt other lines of business.” But you are doing it to satisfy customer wants and needs with new products and services. Embracing the whole notion of placing bets — the high-risk concept — will pay off big time.

5. Create an enjoyable work environment.

If you create an environment where it is exciting and fun to work, people will give the most of themselves and their hearts and intellect, Vandebroek says. When people are happy at work, they contribute the best of their abilities and are passionate about their projects, partners and customers.

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