Innovative cultures aren't just those full of casually dressed creative types outputting unpredictable bursts of revelation in acquaintances' basements. Innovative companies also aren't just those full of carefully manicured fingers scanning documents outlining intricate policies and strict timelines regarding management of innovation pipelines. Innovative companies are generally those with innovation cultures and culture is far too complex to be specifically defined. There are however observations that have been shared.

People inside and outside an organization all talk about the company. They talk about things they’ve seen, heard and experienced. Those things together loosely define the organization’s culture. When we think of innovative companies, we think of cultures described as networked where employees are empowered and feel ownership. We think of an appreciation for experimentation with high employee joie de vivre. We think of a clear awareness of the future and high expectations. We think of innovation as a social norm where when you ask someone why he’s innovating, he looks at you a bit perplexed as if you just asked him why he ate his most recent meal.

Culture is complex and developing an innovation culture first requires understanding current culture by listening to what people inside and outside the organization are saying. Developing an innovation culture then requires a set of tactics to turn innovation in your organization into a social norm. Some suggest focusing marketing messages on just how normal innovation is in the organization to help people believe they work in a company with an innovation culture - and by all means be innovative yourself! There’s no specific definition of an innovation culture but I see it being a bit like confidence in that believing you have it gets you half way there.