Innovation drives the sacred P’s—productivity and profit.
For the smartest companies in this economy innovation didn’t stop with the economic crash; it’s still a hot topic and not just for products and business processes, but through every nook and cranny across the organization.
Innovation isn’t always earth-shaking or about the next big thing, but large or small, the outcome is always focused on better. Many companies spend big bucks on innovation assistance, hiring top consultants, going on special retreats, etc.
Aside from the fact that spending is more difficult these days, consultants and retreats typically tap only the higher levels of the company ignoring one of the best sources of innovation you have—your own people, all of them.
Assuming you’d like to turn on this innovation faucet, what do you do?
Set up an innovation wiki. Just be sure that the CEO (or top person in the department, group, whatever) support the effort or it’s unlikely to go anywhere.
You want to involve all your people because at all levels they’re the ones who are constantly dealing with your products, processes and customers; who know them intimately and frequently have innovative ideas or are in a position to ask creativity-provoking questions that are just as valuable. What they usually don’t have is a way to get their ideas noticed.
Here’s what to do.
Create an innovation wiki either on your intranet or at a free host (there are dozens).
Write a brief description of the wiki’s purpose: That you want to create a “field of dreams and innovation” for all your people to play in to take the organization to the next level.
Add some basic ground rules tailored to your own organization:
All ideas are welcome, no matter how outrageous or revolutionary they seem.
No idea is too small; no subject too minor.
Good ideas have nothing to do with position in the company hierarchy.
Recruit “early adopters,” those people who love to be on the bleeding edge of what ever is going on. Then create a major internal PR effort encouraging everybody’s participation. Keep the topic high in the company’s consciousness with constant references.
Finally, the most important ingredient to making your innovation wiki a success is to use the ideas!
If you don’t use them people will know it’s a scam and quickly lose interest.
Whether you use them directly or as the springboard to something else, it’s crucial to publicly credit them to the originator.
If you’re in a position to add some kind of incentive or award for each one used (even if the use is indirect) that’s great, but it’s most important to offer major, public appreciation.
Are there any basic attitudes that you can build into your company’s culture that will encourage, let alone mandate, ethical/moral behavior in the decision making process when ‘moral’ equates to risk?
“…moral dilemmas, the decision to tell the truth or to bury it entails a huge amount of risk and soul-searching. Viewed in that way, what we call “ethics” is really a set of decisions about which risk is easier to sleep with at night: opening up about an uncertain situation or trying to hide the worst of it from yourself and everyone else.”
There are three traits that must be deeply embedded in your culture are
Consciousness. This is also known as ingrained awareness of the ramifications of collective action.
Discipline. Neuroscience research over the last decade has demonstrated that continual, intensive focus changes the pattern of neurons within the human brain.
Empathy. When a company is truly empathetic, the recognition of the value of employees is just a starting point.
The quote above is from an article based on the video below; the speech was given this past January at a Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs seminar entitled “Top Risks and Ethical Decisions.”
For full details read the entire transcript as well as the article, they’re well worth your time.
I read an interesting conversation engendered by a post entitled You don’t create a culture over at Signal vs. Noise.
Jason posts, “You don’t create a culture. Culture happens. It’s the by-product of consistent behavior… Real cultures are built over time. They’re the result of action, reaction, and truth… Don’t think about how to create a culture, just do the right things for you, your customers, and your team and it’ll happen.”
He says, “Artificial cultures are instant. They’re big bangs made of mission statements, declarations, and rules.”
But in the comments, Dorai Thodla points our that, “Culture emerges initially from the synergy and shared values of the founding team. We need to articulate it so that you can look for similar values in people you hire or encourage it.”
Articulating it should include writing it down, so that it can be accurately shared with current employees, new hires and candidates, but that doesn’t mean it’s carved in stone. It needs to be flexible, breathe and grow, while staying true to the original core values.
Jason likens culture to patina because it takes time to develop, but patina stays on the surface whereas culture needs to be absorbed like stain.
Like many competent people, Jason seems unaware of his own role, but no kind of culture or cultural traits “just happens.” Whatever the culture becomes, it’s based on the top person’s MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™) and what that person enables to happen—whether actively or through benign neglect.
Do great cultures “just happen?” What do you think?
Turnover is enormously expensive but turnover rarely stems from salary issues; high salaries won’t buy a strong, motivated workforce and money certainly doesn’t buy loyalty.
I’ve yet to see it fail that when people join a company mainly for the money (in whatever form) they will quickly leave for more money.
So why do people stay? What motivates them to higher levels of productivity and turns them from company employees to company evangelists?
The answer is simple.
Most of us humans have the same top four desires—although not necessarily in the same order,
To be treated fairly.
To make a difference.
To matter [to boss and colleagues].
To find a home where we can continue growing.
Yesterday, Ken Meador mentioned that average tenure is 11 years—that that can only happen because these desires are being satisfied.
Before you start grabbing all that great advice and slapping it willy-nilly on your company you need to take stock.
Take a step back and honestly look at your company’s culture and at yourself. This step is critical because you can’t change something of which you aren’t aware or that you don’t understand.
Make no mistake, whatever company culture you find is directly a product of your MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™)—whether you actively instigated it or enabled it through neglect.
To form an accurate picture of your culture you can’t just talk to your senior staff—you need a 360 degree vision of it, which means input from all levels of your company. If you’ve allowed yourself to become isolated, basing your decisions on what may be filtered information, you’ve found the first thing you need to change—and you need to accept that it’s not going to be easy.
First, look to yourself.
Why and how did you allow it to happen?
How long has it been going on?
How valid or how filtered is the information you do get?
Who is standing in your stead at the apex of the culture and what is that person’s MAP?
Next, how healthy is your culture? Indicators Abound.
Do people feel comfortable sharing bad news or do they expect the messenger to be killed?
How approachable are you—an open door policy that’s never used is a symptom, not a plus.
Do the different departments work together or are they jockeying for position?
In an ‘”us vs. them” world, do your people’s actions confirm their belief that ‘us’ are all their inside colleagues and your vendors and ‘them’ are the competition?
This may seem basic and time consuming, but in a world where it’s innovation and world-class customer service that’s can save your bacon in a downturn you need a strong handle on the basics—no matter how unpalatable they turn out to be.
Entrepreneurs face difficulties that are hard for most people to imagine, let alone understand. You can find anonymous help and connections that do understand at 7 cups of tea.
Crises never end.
$10 really does make a difference and you’ll never miss it,
Innovation isn’t always earth-shaking or about the next big thing, but large or small, the outcome is always focused on better. Many companies spend big bucks on innovation assistance, hiring top consultants, going on special retreats, etc.
Are there any basic attitudes that you can build into your company’s culture that will encourage, let alone mandate, ethical/moral behavior in the decision making process when ‘moral’ equates to risk?
I read an interesting conversation engendered by a post entitled 
