Tags |
|
|
Links |
|
|
Suggest You - Innovation and Culture: Necessity isn't the Mother of Invention - Culture is!
Dr. Norton and Dr. Kaplan have found the key to having it all in The Balanced Scorecard by leading people and managing organizations better you will have a higher performing organization.By using a definite set of measures for employee well being and employee ability to be competent in their positions will drive the strategic execution. It is a cause and effect in how human capital and other intangible assets are linked together to create a process, customer and financial results.To create a healthy strategy a “Harvard Business Review by Dr. Norton and Dr. Kaplan convey the value of a strategy map, which they have called *The Balanced Scorecard.” Their recommendations are:1. A well being index for the quality of Work, Life and Leadership.2. When the index improves they can expect improvement in
The magic? Only that I required them to distinguish between facts, assumptions, opinions and unknowns. Not so complicated, but very important. They were now willing and able to get caught with their assumptions down. And they had learned that in doing so, they were better able to understand one
You can create great relationships by name dropping. You may say that most people do not like those that are constantly dropping names. If it is done discretely, you will find that it can bring you more business and help to make more business relationships. For example, I had a customer that was struggling with their own identity and wanted to develop their own brand. The problem was that they were doing too many things to concentrate on the one brand. One day they came across a product that was being sold in Europe and not in North America, even though most people in America knew of its existence. They decided to be the distributor for this product in their state and capitalize on the fact that the product was already a brand name. They were able to successfully sell the new product under the brand and piggy b
Organizationally speaking, our environment is the organization’s culture - an all-pervasive force that shapes our individual expectations, actions, interpretations and responses to events. There are certain mandates in the culture that make it more natural for members of the organization to innovate. Typically, when you see a list of these, it includes things like trust, communication and risk taking. While those are all valid, they’re a little too abstract to be readily used in leading an organization. Instead, here are three simple mandates that can help you create an environment that supports innovation.
MANDATE 1: GET CAUGHT WITH YOUR ASSUMPTIONS DOWN
Have you ever been in one of those meetings where people aren’t really talking to one another and the discussion goes around in circles?
I was recently working with the executive team of a technology start-up – very smart guys. They wanted to speed up their decision making process. During an offsite, a strategic issue came up. I could tell immediately that the discussion was one of those circular muddles. After about ten minutes, I asked them how much of what they had just heard was “new news” – information that hadn’t been discussed before in this group. The answer? About ten percent! Imagine how much time they were wasting if ninety percent of what they were discussing was old news!
I re-started the discussion by asking them to tell me only the known facts. A team member would put out a fact. I would ask others if it was really a fact. Some pretty wild debates ensued. After nearly thirty minutes of this discussion, the team said they finally understood why they had been discussing this issue for three months! They were now ready to move forward.
The magic? Only that I required them to distinguish between facts, assumptions, opinions and unknowns. Not so complicated, but very important. They were now willing and able to get caught with their assumptions down. And they had learned that in doing so, they were better able to understand one a
During World War II, US forces took over islands in the Pacific where the residents had never see airplanes, or canned food, or any of the tons of material that a military force needs. The islanders were careful observers, though, and they figured out what the military did to cause the goods to show up.This is what they saw. The military folks would go up into towers they'd built and talk into a box. Soon the material, or "cargo," would arrive.When the war ended, the military went away and the cargo stopped coming. But some of the islanders figured that they could make the cargo come back. All they had to do was exactly what the US military people had done.So they went up in the abandoned towers and talked into the dead radios that were there. Sometimes they "built" radios from wood or other avail
MANDATE 1: GET CAUGHT WITH YOUR ASSUMPTIONS DOWN
Have you ever been in one of those meetings where people aren’t really talking to one another and the discussion goes around in circles?
I was recently working with the executive team of a technology start-up – very smart guys. They wanted to speed up their decision making process. During an offsite, a strategic issue came up. I could tell immediately that the discussion was one of those circular muddles. After about ten minutes, I asked them how much of what they had just heard was “new news” – information that hadn’t been discussed before in this group. The answer? About ten percent! Imagine how much time they were wasting if ninety percent of what they were discussing was old news!
I re-started the discussion by asking them to tell me only the known facts. A team member would put out a fact. I would ask others if it was really a fact. Some pretty wild debates ensued. After nearly thirty minutes of this discussion, the team said they finally understood why they had been discussing this issue for three months! They were now ready to move forward.
The magic? Only that I required them to distinguish between facts, assumptions, opinions and unknowns. Not so complicated, but very important. They were now willing and able to get caught with their assumptions down. And they had learned that in doing so, they were better able to understand one
Everyone loves free advertising. In some ways it is the Holy Grail of business. But it has to be effective advertising seen by many people. One of my favorites is a newspaper article about your business. This is an elusive goal, and it can be difficult to achieve. Sometimes, it is just being in the right place at the right time. However, there are some basic techniques you can put into play to help position your business for exposure. I have personally used them to get 3 different articles written and published. These techniques have even put me on the evening news. And best of all, it only costs you some time and effort.The key to this method is letting journalists know your business exists. I do not believe in waiting for someone to notice me. I prefer to tell them I am there. Realistically, journalists are always
MANDATE 1: GET CAUGHT WITH YOUR ASSUMPTIONS DOWN
Have you ever been in one of those meetings where people aren’t really talking to one another and the discussion goes around in circles?
I was recently working with the executive team of a technology start-up – very smart guys. They wanted to speed up their decision making process. During an offsite, a strategic issue came up. I could tell immediately that the discussion was one of those circular muddles. After about ten minutes, I asked them how much of what they had just heard was “new news” – information that hadn’t been discussed before in this group. The answer? About ten percent! Imagine how much time they were wasting if ninety percent of what they were discussing was old news!
I re-started the discussion by asking them to tell me only the known facts. A team member would put out a fact. I would ask others if it was really a fact. Some pretty wild debates ensued. After nearly thirty minutes of this discussion, the team said they finally understood why they had been discussing this issue for three months! They were now ready to move forward.
The magic? Only that I required them to distinguish between facts, assumptions, opinions and unknowns. Not so complicated, but very important. They were now willing and able to get caught with their assumptions down. And they had learned that in doing so, they were better able to understand one
I love watching martial arts in the movies, particularly when the battlers agreeably slow down to take turns to hit each other.It’s so, so cooperative, and so, so much unlike everyday life!Nobody in a real fight “trades blows” strike for strike and kick for kick, until one or both collapse, in exhaustion.But it looks good on screen, and it’s dramatic.In real life, bad guys seldom show good manners. In fact, if they can sucker-punch you, they will.Have you ever wondered why they call it a sucker punch? There are a few reasons:(1) The bad guy may be pretending to be your friend, smiling or even complimenting you: “Hey, nice shoes!” Then, when you look down and agree, bam!(2) The bad guy may be asking you for directions, or to see your Rolex: “Do you know what time it is?” Agai
I re-started the discussion by asking them to tell me only the known facts. A team member would put out a fact. I would ask others if it was really a fact. Some pretty wild debates ensued. After nearly thirty minutes of this discussion, the team said they finally understood why they had been discussing this issue for three months! They were now ready to move forward.
The magic? Only that I required them to distinguish between facts, assumptions, opinions and unknowns. Not so complicated, but very important. They were now willing and able to get caught with their assumptions down. And they had learned that in doing so, they were better able to understand one
Do paid surveys really work? Can you earn a great income from your own home? Are they just a gigantic scam? The answer is yes and no to all three questions.Many paid surveys sites are a complete waste of time and money, in fact a whopping 85% of the sites that I have tried. It will take you months to recover the small outlay you made to sign up for the surveys list and you will never be able to earn enough from home with these sites to allow you to do anything serious with, like paying a deposit for your next holiday or even quitting your job and using surveys as your main source of income.It's a real shame that in the world we live in today is full of so many unscrupulous characters willing to con honest hard working individuals like you and I out of our hard earned money. However please note that I did say
The magic? Only that I required them to distinguish between facts, assumptions, opinions and unknowns. Not so complicated, but very important. They were now willing and able to get caught with their assumptions down. And they had learned that in doing so, they were better able to understand one another’s thinking and come to decisions that made sense.
Getting caught with your assumptions down enables lively and genuine conversations instead of those circular muddles. These conversations are key to innovation.
MANDATE 2: THINK OUTSIDE IN
What is “outside” and what is “inside” depends on your perspective. If you’re in fifth grade, everyone in the fourth grade is “outside.” But if you’re the principal, all of the students are “inside.” Who is “outside” your organization and needs to be brought in? Customers, suppliers, community partners and anyone else who is critical to your success.
These stakeholders are not part of your formal organization. And no doubt you have mechanisms for communicating with them, gathering data from them, and solving their problems. That’s good but not good enough if you want an innovative culture. If you’re like most leaders, your “default setting” for these folks is “outside” of processes such as strategic planning, designing systems and processes and establishing metrics.
Flip it! Make the default setting “inside” – assume that key stakeholders will play an active role in critical business processes. Instead of having to make a case for bringing them in, ask your team to make a case for when they need to be left out.
By thinking outside in, you’ll increase the likelihood for innovative ideas many times over.
MANDATE 3: HAVE NO “KNOW” BOUNDARIES
You already know that you can’t be the expert at everything. Technology is too complex and moves too fast to make that possible. Whatever your position, whatever your field there are likely folks on your team who can add to your expertise. Especially now that you know that your “team” includes external stakeholders like customers and users. Imagine what they know that you should know!
How do you create a culture where everyone can contribute her expertise fully? Wh
HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
<a href="http://www.suggestyou.com/article/21432/suggestyou-Innovation-and-Culture-Necessity-isnt-the-Mother-of-Invention--Culture-is.html">Innovation and Culture: Necessity isn't the Mother of Invention - Culture is!</a>
BB link (for phorums):
[url=http://www.suggestyou.com/article/21432/suggestyou-Innovation-and-Culture-Necessity-isnt-the-Mother-of-Invention--Culture-is.html]Innovation and Culture: Necessity isn't the Mother of Invention - Culture is![/url]
Related Articles:
Do You Need a Dallas Cleaning Service?
Bookmark it:
|