Many seem to believe that innovation is some sort of magical craft. That only voodoo masters can harness its powers. That innovation is not replicable or scalable to everyone, every day, and is limited to the one percent of an organization who carry an “innovator” label.

Here’s the thing: that belief is false. The know-how and best practices needed to crack innovation’s code might not occur innately in all people, but they can certainly be learned, embedded, replicated, and scaled.

At Next, we believe intuitive software plays an all-important role in this. The proof is in the pudding. Organizations working with Next are breaking the barrier of the one percent, engaging, empowering, and cross-functionally aligning all employees to actively contribute to innovation. And we want to keep this train moving.

It’s time to #OccupyInnovation.

Contrary to popular belief, the process of innovation is not art, but science, with proven best practices. Like sales or HR or finance, innovation is another business process, and there is a method to navigating its byways. Rooted in design thinking, Next starts you off gathering Customer Insights and User Needs, from which is drawn a Creative Question. Using that Creative Question in subsequent phases, you ideate, prototype, and scale. Next has automated that method with built-in knowledge, creating software that works as a framework for the end-to-end innovation process, from insight to venture.

Because innovation has never before been this tangible, it is often reserved for the one percent — those with deep understanding of theories and best practices of design thinking and lean methodology. Because the corporate world is fast-paced and ever-changing, this is where large organizations often run into trouble. Without the capability to break the barrier of the one percent, only a select few possess the power to innovate. Those individuals are quickly overwhelmed by the unceasing needs of the organization, and innovation slows — or stops altogether.

With Next’s vision of technology as a coach, pre-defined best practices, and data as sixth sense, employees will be capable of fighting alongside the one percent on the front lines of innovation. This means that literally anyone, on any level of any organization, can — and will — be an innovator.

When we #OccupyInnovation, we ensure that innovation loops in perpetual motion. We ensure that innovation is a process that brings employees together, breaking down the barrier that dams creativity and allowing it to rush forth. This process lifts the veil from what was once thought impossible. It never falters. It never stalls. And it certainly never stops.

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Contributing editor: Adam Kohut