All airport leaders feel the ongoing pinch of tight budgets. The famous saying “doing more with less” echoes in their ears. With so much scrutiny on budgets, how can innovative leaders encourage their organizations, and even their airport partners, to embrace a culture of innovation when they continually face fiscal challenges? Innovative leaders understand the pressure of staying within budget while pursuing innovations to reduce their operational footprint. Pursuing new and more efficient ways of accomplishing their work is paramount, and innovative leaders know their employees hold the keys.

Innovative leaders

• Create an innovation “piggy bank.” Consider setting aside even a little funding toward the support of any new endeavor, including steps taken along the journey toward a culture of innovation (e.g., provide funding to recognize employees for their contributions to the new culture of innovation). One airport interviewed for this research sponsored a catered on-site breakfast for its employees, and employees “took to the stage” to showcase their ideas to their colleagues. This was a fun event for the organization that sparked improvements to the ideas presented, in addition to the generation of new ideas. It was a win-win for everyone involved. Revisit Chapter 4 to reflect on cultivating the organization for innovation.
• Put money toward motivation. Designate a small budget to kick-start an innovation project focused on reducing operational costs. When employees are successful with these endeavors, the savings are returned to their departments to support other initiatives. This is a huge motivator for an organization's employees because they see the direct benefit of their work, and it enables them to gain momentum toward additional endeavors. As the culture matures, some of the savings can be redirected to other areas of the organization to avoid silos from taking hold in the organization. This will excite and engage all as the culture of innovation grows.