I posted an innovation survey on the Construx website to determine a relationship between positive reinforcement and one's perception of the level of innovation taking place within their organization. I have also used it in numerous seminars. Not a single individual has disagreed with the standing of their company predicted by the survey.

The following survey questions are rated on a six‐point Likert scale:

• Strongly Disagree
• Disagree
• Somewhat Disagree
• Somewhat Agree
• Agree
• Strongly Agree

Points are assigned from 0 to 5, respectively.

Survey Questions

1. My manager feels that innovation is important.
2. My peers recognize and support new ideas.
3. My department encourages and supports new ideas.
4. Our product or solution planning people encourage and support new ideas.
5. I have the opportunity to demonstrate innovative solutions.
6. I collaborate on ideas outside my team.
7. I make time to understand what our users want.
8. I make time to keep up with technologies that could improve our product.
9. Our product/solution introduction process lets me innovate.
10. I make time to innovate.
11. Innovation is important here.
12. We are an innovative organization.

I put the survey on the Construx website and received 35 responses. Figure E.1 plots answers to question 12 relative to the maximum score of the other 11 questions, which is 11 × 5 = 55.

The chart supports a relationship between scores on the first 11 questions and the respondent's perception of the level of innovation taking place in their organization.

I chose the wording of the questions carefully. For example, I did not ask if an individual was given time to innovate. The question was, “I make time to innovate.” People will find the time to innovate if the organizational consequences support it.

The chart below shows the survey distribution based on the percentage of the maximum score for the 11 questions (Figure E.2).

The chart has the bell‐shaped curve we would expect.

I calculated the linear regression correlation with each of the questions to determine which questions had the greatest influence on the perception of the level of innovation in their organization. It measures the proportion of the variation in the dependent variable that can be attributed to the independent variable. In this case, the percent score is the independent variable. The answer to question 12, “We are an innovative organization,” is the dependent variable. The chart below shows questions with a correlation value greater than 0.5 (Figure E.3).

The strongest correlation is, “Our product planning people encourage and support new ideas,” which supports early involvement of engineers in Investment planning. It is the single most important factor in innovative organizations. You wouldn't expect a high score in companies “throwing features over the wall” to engineering.

The second highest correlation is the degree to which an individual perceives that innovation is important to their management. At first, I was surprised that this item was more significant than peer reinforcement, which had a correlation of 0.32. Then I realized that although the manager has fewer opportunities to reinforce the team than their peers, they control the work of their employees. Innovation leaders find a way to make innovation a priority.

It is interesting that encouraging and supporting ideas at the department level was more significant than peer. I don't think someone would view their organization as innovative unless it were widespread in a department. Support at the department level is necessary for individuals to observe innovation being implemented, which is largely controlled by budgets at the department level. It implies that it is very difficult to establish pockets of innovation in an organization. Department‐level leaders in control of engineering budgets need to make a full and visible commitment to innovation. Innovation must be ingrained within the “culture.”

Although this was not a comprehensive survey involving hundreds of companies, it seems to support the importance of innovation being a frequent topic in your organization, and the importance of providing positive reinforcement and support at the department level. It is also consistent with my experience in dozens of innovation seminars where attendees have completed the survey. They consistently agree that their scores reflect the level of innovation in their organizations.

Try the survey in your organization. It can provide a benchmark for innovation improvement for the leadership team.