Ten days ago, the United States and most of the world celebrated the 50^th anniversary of one of mankind’s greatest achievements, Americans landing and walking on the Moon. This unique accomplishment was the result of an untold stream of innovations that led to two of the crew members of Apollo 11, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, being able to travel to the surface of the Moon, walk on it and return to the Earth safely.

The celebration of this event began during the actual Moon landing when, from the White House, President Richard Nixon talked to the Apollo 11 crew. Then he traveled to the ship in the Pacific Ocean that would pick up the crew after their landing, to welcome them home.

The world also celebrated this achievement while it was occurring with over 600 million people watching the landing on TV, which was 1/5^thof the entire population of the world!

In the United States, 94% of people watching TV when the Moon walk took place were tuned into it. Clearly the entire world was awestruck and mesmerized by the result of the innovations involving the United States space program that produced this crowning triumph.

Once the Apollo 11 crew of Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Michael Collins returned to the United States the celebration continued in New York City in a showering of ticker tape with a parade down Broadway and Park Avenue that was termed as the largest in the city’s history. This was followed by many more parades and honors across the United States.

These celebrations were then caped by a 22-nation, 38-day world tour for the Apollo 11 crew. Clearly, the world was enthralled with this accomplishment of landing people on the Moon and then returning them safely to the Earth.

Celebrating Innovation

In the past two Newsletters we have examined effectively Recognizing and Rewarding innovation. In this edition, we will consider the third leg of encouraging personnel and trying to channel their effort to focus on innovation, via the use of Celebratory Events.

The area of celebrating an organization’s innovation successes—and the individuals and teams that led to them—is a sorely neglected area. Even some of the most innovative companies fail to have regular events to celebrate their innovative achievements.

Ways to Celebrate Innovation Successes

There are various ways to add the element of celebration and fun to an entity’s innovation efforts. Some of the more public options include live events, award ceremonies, and video-recorded broadcasts to the entire company highlighting its innovation successes.

Listed below are various ways to celebrate innovation successes:

1. 1. An Executive or Leader can send an email or a video to the innovation team members
   2. Leadership greeting and thanking all employees as they enter the office on the day of the celebratory announcement
   3. Placing display signs outside the office celebrating the win
   4. Rolling out an actual red carpet for the occasion for the innovation team
   5. Hiring a photographer to take photos of the people involved in the innovation and then publicizing the pictures
   6. Award ceremonies in which the leadership team presents the innovation honor
   7. Announcements in social media
   8. Hosting a happy hour, throwing a party or providing a free lunch for all the company employees to celebrate the occasion
   9. For smaller companies, ordering a cake, cupcakes, or cookies
   10. Decorating the office by hanging banners in your headquarters and local offices
   11. Providing low cost giveaways to all employees including mugs, pins, pens, mouse pads, dinner vouchers, or gift cards
   12. Announcing the breakthrough to business partners, customers, contractors, or the press
   13. Launching an outdoor announcement campaign via billboards or other signage near your major locations
   14. Giving the employees that created the innovation time off to celebrate and relax on their own
   15. Declaring a casual dress day at the office
   16. Placing announcements in company public spaces like lunchrooms or reception areas
   17. Updating business cards and email signatures with the innovation breakthrough
   18. Interviewing the employees involved and then broadcasting it to the entire company
   19. Sending members of the innovation team to conferences or public events to speak about the development

A recent example of using a couple of the above choices was a major FinTech company using Twitter to announce a big innovation achievement. The tweet also included a link to pictures of the team proudly enjoying the promotional event.

Unique Innovation Celebratory Events

Innovation consultancy firm, Corporate Foundry, has developed a unique way to add glamour and pizzazz to the celebration of an organization’s innovation initiative with its Corporate Shark Attack and Celebrity Shark Attack programs. The events use the organization’s executives or celebrities from the TV show, Shark Tank, to create celebratory events that add the fun factor to innovation and underscore that innovation is critical to the company.

The Corporate Shark Attack and Celebrity Shark Attack programs are used in various ways including, kick-off events to underscore the beginning of a company’s innovation initiative, periodic events to recognize innovations during the year, or an annual gala event. Additionally, the events are video-recorded and broadcast to the company’s employees as a morale booster to stress the importance of innovation within the organization’s overall strategy.

Where to Start

Start by setting up celebratory events within your organization to emphasize your innovation successes and commitment to innovation. These can include, live events, award ceremonies, and video-recorded broadcasts to the entire company as well as any of innovation celebratory options listed above.

It is crucial that the celebratory events be a key part of making your innovation program fun for the entire company while underscoring the importance of innovation as part your organization’s long-term strategy.

If you could use assistance with creatively celebrating your organization’s innovation successes, please contact us using the information below so we can be a resource to you in this vital area.

Fountainhead Consulting Group, Inc. is an Innovation and Business Planning firm. During the past 17, years we have shown over 1,200 companies how to achieve their goals by using our unique, comprehensive, and systematic FastTrak Innovation Program™, Innovation Academy™, and Structure of Success™ methodologies. Using the components in these methodologies, each month we examine an aspect of how to transform your business or organization into a true 21^st Century enterprise.

Office: (770) 642-4220                                                          

www.FountainheadConsultingGroup.com

George.Horrigan@FountainheadConsultingGroup.com

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