Some apps exist which are ideal to spark off business innovation within organizations. The first one of these which is a free app is Unstuck. This one helps the user move in the right direction using series of prompts and tips to form a plan. Then there is Brainsparker which involves over two hundred prompts, images, quotes, words and suggestions for creative exercises. The Brainstomer aids writers in their search for words, plots, characters and storylines by Gamification of the content. Inflow can help plot ideas for non-linear thinkers. Finally there is Oflow which is an idea organizer and helps taking notes in one place before exporting the content to email, Evernote or social media.

Business innovation is no longer an option, but something organizations need to regularly execute in order to simply survive. However, ideating innovations without actually implementing them is of no practical use. Innovations fall within three broad categories. First of all there exist the “Big Ideas” which are groundbreaking innovations to disrupt the market. Then there are “People Aspects” which look into ways to get the best out of existing personnel and to excel at the art of talent management 1 Finally there is the “Process” which looks into various ways to actually implement the good ideas. The process must involve steps- ideate, align, repeat. In this way, the ideas get aligned to the actual work environment.

Global healthcare giant Sanofi is one organization known for its business innovation and its constant surge to give best results. Dr. Tal Rapke who is the Innovation Director at Sanofi says that for the firm, the biggest challenge is not the external environment or competitors, but the company structure itself. Due to the largeness of the firm, communication structures have become complicated and it is difficult to implement innovations without hassle. However, Dr. Rapke himself is a believer in the startup culture and in lean management principles. The idea is to start early, so failures can be detected at an early stage and rectifications can be made accordingly. However, corporate training programmes aimed at innovation often fail primarily due to the focus on short term gains and this has got to change. The design thinking approach has now been integrated and it is a much more holistic look at operations than earlier models.