| | OCTOBER 20238IN MY OPINIONBy Donald Brown, EVP & Chief Innovation Officer, NiSourceInnovation is essential to the success of any industry. This is especially true in the case of energy utilities. As indispensable components of the economy, energy companies must constantly innovate to meet the ever-evolving needs of their customers. The critical importance of innovation was on clear display during the pandemic, when energy users around the world were forced to adapt to sudden changes in how they lived and worked. To keep the economy moving, utilities sought out and implemented innovative solutions designed to ensure that businesses and employees had the resources they needed to continue to operate -- regardless of how and where they performed their work activities. It is important to note that innovations are more than simply creating something new. It means being flexible, agile and adaptable. Innovation draws a part of its power from being inclusive and ensuring diverse internal and external stakeholders have a voice in shaping new and better approaches and solutions. Companies seeking to transform their organizations are well advised to consider several key drivers that contribute to successful change -- and to incorporate them into their innovation strategies. Ideation Innovation cannot be accomplished in isolation so the first step in being innovative is to focus on how you will bring partners and stakeholders into your efforts. You must also clearly identify the objectives that you wish to accomplish by working with those partners. Once those matters are settled, you can proceed to ideation. Ideation is the process of brainstorming and identifying concepts and theories that you can use to design a blueprint for success. The more input you get from partners and other stakeholders, the better that plan will be. Once your blueprint is completed, you can then draw on it to put your ideas into action -- to create something new or improved. For energy companies, like NiSource, ideation is critical to planning for the future of energy. Because the future of energy affects everyone, NiSource believes it is more important than ever to encourage active engagement with all stakeholders in order to develop a balanced transition model that creates an Donald BrownTHE FOUR ESSENTIAL ASPECTS OF INNOVATION
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