The typical Hudson Valley business owner or manager may be using four common “efficiency-boosting activities” that inadvertently kill innovation. Failure to encourage innovation will have your competitors leaving you in their dust.
One of the four is “best practices,” the sharing of knowledge and experience throughout an industry. They are about improvement and efficiency, not innovation. Use them for that reason, but don”™t expect new ideas.
Another is “treating everybody equally,” treating everyone the same. By omitting individual needs or wants, people don”™t sense they are a valuable resource and won”™t feel the company encourages a diversity of thought, dissent and innovation.
Are you guilty of the third ”“ using the “old standard” or designing a “process” to capture good ideas? Sharing knowledge, generating good ideas and stimulating innovation cannot be boiled down to a formal process. Two of the most innovative companies in the world, Google and Intel give employees one-fifth of their workweek entirely free of structure.
Finally, hiring and working with only those who “think and act” the same way as you. While you must have people around you who share the same values and believe in the same purpose, you also need some people who question the goals. Otherwise, when the time is right for change, you won”™t recognize it.
Carmine Gallo author of “The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs” comments on the importance of having people with common purpose and values. “Jobs attracts like-minded people who share his vision and who help turn his ideas into world-changing innovations.” They also know how to question the goals.
“Innovation consists of two vital ingredients: a great idea, and the ability to put it into action,” says local business consultant Jack Paluszek. “Two of the top innovation-killing attitudes include why not leave well enough alone and let the competition try it first.”
Most innovators lack the political skills needed to implement their ideas and are often proud of their refusal to “play politics.” Yet, political skills are crucial to successful innovation. Because innovators usually have little political savvy, they often fail to read the signals around them, even when everything indicates that they have won. Unfortunately, innovators often feel the only acceptable outcome is to get their proposal adopted exactly as stated.
We must acknowledge that innovators are frequently dissenters and often offend powerful people. Business owners and their managers need to help innovators gather support and in most cases coach them on what to say and do. To manage innovators, try implementing an effective reward system utilizing the “SMART” technique:
- Specific and clear relationships between rewards and actions taken by the dissenting innovator must be established.
- Meaningful innovation rewards should provide an important return on investment to both the innovator and the organization.
- Achievability and the willingness to accept and reward failure is essential. When a new idea does work, it”™s time to celebrate.
- Reliability means the innovation program should operate according to its underlying principles and purpose in both good times and bad.
- Timeliness means that recognition and rewards should be provided frequently enough to make sure good performers never feel forgotten.
Businesses must lead innovation efforts by encouraging and supporting dissenters who will often challenge everything you believe in. Competing effectively mandates embracing innovation and the dissenters who provide it.
Questions for discussion:
How can we encourage respectful innovative dissent in our people and support our dissenters so we and our customers benefit from their new and better ideas?
Which of the 5 lessons presented, best practices, equality, process, taking action or playing politics should we work on changing immediately?
Joe Murtagh is The DreamSpeaker, an international keynote speaker, meeting facilitator and business trainer. For questions or comments, Joe@TheDreamSpeaker.com, www.TheDreamSpeaker.com or call 800-239-0058.
