Every time I go to the Google home page, I am amazed. When the search engine first launched, the home page was amazingly simple: a box to type in what you were looking for and a couple of buttons to submit your search. As the company has grown from an unknown startup to the world's second most valuable brand, according to Forbes, the home page has stayed virtually the same. It's still basically a text box with two buttons. It's one of the hallmark business examples of where less is truly more.

According to innovation futurist Daniel Burrus, the formal process of management implies strict direction and control—two dynamics that can stifle innovation. In a recent article, Burrus explains how having less formality in place may actually increase both the amount and quality of innovation in an organization, as we explain in this issue of Promotional Consultant Today.

"Organizations that actively encourage a culture of innovation," Burrus writes, "have a much better chance of becoming an industry leader and creating game-changing products and services. But the same can also occur at companies that, in effect, take a more hands-off approach, allowing employees to lead the charge to innovate without overly intrusive direction or oversight."

What does a hands-off culture of innovation look like? Burrus offers three elements that need to be present:

  1. Autonomy. Giving talented employees the freedom to do their jobs without overbearing management control can provide a comfort level to explore new ideas and instill creativity in approaching problems.
  2. Collaboration. Employees cooperate because they are required to, but that is not the same thing as collaboration. Collaboration happens when employees choose to work together because they recognize how true collaboration benefits everyone involved.
  3. Reward. In order to foster innovation in all areas of the business, you have to make it worth their while. Rewarding innovation with financial, time or other incentives can create the innovative environment.

Daniel Burrus is a futurist on innovation and the author of seven books, including New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller Flash Foresight and international bestseller Technotrends.