Many times the solutions we seek are waltzing around in full sight, but we don’t see them.  Let me give you a personal example.

I started RampUp Solutions in 1997, but finding a simple way to describe what we did took several years.

In the show Gypsy there’s a song that says, “Ya gotta have a gimmick” to succeed and I doubt that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.

I wanted one clear, concise term that gave insight to RampUp’s coaching approach, not a couple of paragraphs—no matter how well written.

When the light finally went on I had to laugh. The term I settled on was MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™) and the humor comes from the fact that I’ve been talking about mindset, attitude and philosophy my whole life—even using those terms.

But formalizing it never crossed my mind, which just goes to show how blind we can be.

There’s a reason ‘you can’t see the forest for the trees’ achieved the status of an adage more than a century ago.

Some people are focused on trees, while others have the opposite problem and focus strictly on the forest—neither offers optimal performance.

In my case it didn’t matter that much, sure, it would have been easier to create the company’s marketing messages, but it didn’t cripple us.

However, if your forests are made of people then it’s critical that you see them both.

It’s only by seeing your people as both individuals and collectively as a team that you can recognize the obvious solutions you miss when you focus on just one view.

Since Leadership Turn is ending December 29 I’ve been encouraging you to click over and follow me at MAPping Company Success.

Ducks in a Row will continue every Tuesday; check out Why ‘Cracked Pots’ are Good For Your Team and you’ll know why you should subscribe via RSS or EMAIL.

Your comments—priceless

Image credit:  ZedBee|Zoë Power on flickr

Now see what ‘I’ really stands for

Your comments—priceless

Don’t miss a post, subscribe via RSS or EMAIL

Image credit: Gilles Tran & Jaime Vives Piqueres on WikiMedia Commons

David Zinger’s post Friday (marvelous wordplay and puns) was all about freedom—freedom from clothes.

It seems that a Dave Taylor, a business shrink in the UK, recommends “Naked Friday” to boost team spirit—taking casual Friday to a whole new level.

“Inviting an organisation to go naked is the most extreme technique I’ve used. It may seem weird but it works. It’s the ultimate expression of trust in yourself and each other.”

Seems like naked is the rage among folks with those great accents.

Air New Zealand has made both an ad and a safety video using its own employees, including CEO Rob Fyfe, fully dressed—in body paint. (It’s probably the first time anyone paid attention to a safety video.)

“Each clip took one day to shoot and cost about 10 to 15 per cent of the cost of a major brand commercial.”

But don’t look for anything similar in the US any time soon.

Can you imagine the harassment lawsuits? Even if the staff agreed, someone would accuse someone else of staring and the simplest action would border on inappropriate.

The same with the commercial.

Can you imagine the lawsuits if an airline crew walked through a major airport here clad only in body paint?

The awards for developmental damage to children, the pain and suffering of the adults and the general flouting of public decency could pay off the TARP loans.

Perhaps this is where the US went wrong.

Our Puritanical roots are very close to the surface and we’ve lost our national sense of humor—if we ever had one.

There is nothing like laughter to take the hot air out of the leading windbags who dominate all viewpoints in our national news, whether business, religion or politics.

Your comments—priceless

Don’t miss a post, subscribe via RSS or EMAIL

Image credit: AirNZnothing2hide on YouTube

See why Twitter = TMI

Your comments—priceless

Don’t miss a post, subscribe via RSS or EMAIL

Image credit: yonolatengo on flickr

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.

Do all this, and they will come.

Your comments—priceless

Don’t miss a post, subscribe via RSS or EMAIL

Image credit: ZedBee|Zoë Power on flickr

The world is full of acronyms and many are part of corporate culture, but all acronyms are not created equal.

Many are benign, as in executive titles,

• CEO – Chief Executive Officer, COO – Chief Operating Officer, CFO – Chief Financial Officer, CTO – Chief Technology Officer;

or defining the legal entity,

• DBA – Doing Business As, LLC – Limited Liability Company, LLP – Limited Liability Partnership;

or general business terms,

• COB – Close Of Business, COGS – Cost of Goods Sold, PL – Profit and Loss, PO – Purchase Order, QA – Quality Assurance, QC – Quality Control;

or oriented to customers,

• CRM – Client Relationship Management, CSR – Customer Service Rep.

And, of course, the hundreds that are used in the technology world.

Common acronyms or those used within a particular industry are relatively harmless, as long as they’re used sensibly and not to confuse—people who overuse acronyms are PIBs (pain in butt).

There are acronyms that identify dysfunctional people, the ones that aren’t pulling their weight because they’re using,

• OPT – Other People’s Time, OPR – Other People’s Resources, OPM – Other People’s Money.

Then there are the ones that identify actions and MAP that spell big trouble for any culture and need to be eradicated immediately.

• NIMBY – Not In My Back Yard
• NIH – Not Invented Here
• WAM – What About Me
• WIIFM –  What’s In It For Me

NIMBY thinking can stifle innovation when it causes discomfort to an individual, group or even division under the corporate umbrella.

NIH also stifles innovation by blinding people to events and new products produced by the competition or other changes in the marketplace.

WAM is different than WIIFM. WAM is usually in response to something good happening to another person; it may be as minor as a compliment from the boss or as substantial as a raise or promotion, whereas WIIFM is the desire to know what personal benefits accrue in return for doing what’s asked. WIIFM isn’t always bad; it can be put to good use by channeling it into positive VSI.

What about your workplace? What acronyms do you hear? Which do you use?

Your comments—priceless

Don’t miss a post, subscribe via RSS or EMAIL

Image credit: flickr

One way or another I seem to be on a creativity/innovation kick this week, so it seemed reasonable to make that the subject of today’s quotes.

First the practical…

Innovation comes from the producer – not from the customer. –W. Edwards Deming (You can’t want what you’ve never had.)

Innovation is the whim of an elite before it becomes a need of the public. –Ludwig von Mises (Got to love those early adopters!)

Now the inspirational…

There are no dreams too large, no innovation unimaginable and no frontiers beyond our reach. –John S. Herrington (But you have to believe…)

If you open up the mind, the opportunity to address both profits and social conditions are limitless. It’s a process of innovation. –Jerry Greenfield (But addressing the former with no consideration of the latter is a recipe for disaster.)

Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow. –William Pollard (Something that GM and Chrysler still haven’t learned.)

Your comments—priceless

Don’t miss a post, subscribe via RSS or EMAIL

Image credit: flickr

Today is all about innovation, so grab your coffee and settle in. Only one to read and the rest you can listen to or watch. Enjoy!

First, check out how Mark King, CEO of TaylorMade drives “relentless innovation” that has doubled revenue since 2003.

Now listen to Always On CEO Tony Perkins, Tim Draper, Founder and Managing Director of venture capital company Draper Fisher Jurvetson and founding partner of ThinkEquity and author of Finding the Next Starbucks talk about What is the Next Big Thing?

Then click over and explore the bonanza of innovation inspiration in the form of podcasts and videos at the Stanford University Entrepreneurial Corner. I think you’ll find it worth bookmarking.

Your comments—priceless

Don’t miss a post, subscribe via RSS or EMAIL

Image credit: flickr

One of the most popular series of articles at Leadership Turn was written shortly before I came. It’s about styles of learning and how they apply to you, your colleagues, your team and your kids. Written by my editor, Mary Jo Manzanares, they are well worth your time. In fact, you’ll find it useful to review them from time to time, it’s the kind of information that gets pushed to the side, but pays large dividends when kept in the active file.

For those of you who deal with products in one way or another, here’s an interesting interview with Alberto Alessi on how to sustain innovation over time. You may have to register (free) to read it, but you’ll find it a source of great information.

There are lots of articles out there about large corporations who spend millions to create environments that spark creativity, encourage teamwork and facilitate a generally happier, i.e., more productive, workforce.

Startups are known for their cool and or funky offices often done on a shoestring. But they aren’t the only ones. It’s not just the big guys or the upstarts that are jumping on the trend. Lots of small businesses create innovative environments. Take a look at Madden Corporate Services, a 15 year old branding biz that’s grown to 39 people and learn how their modest investment pays off.

Your comments—priceless

Don’t miss a post, subscribe via RSS or EMAIL

Image credit: flickr

Six weeks ago I started Seize Your Leadership Day; each post had info and links to resources or articles I felt would interest/be or use to you.

Based on your reaction to date, it’s been of little use to you—a giant yawn.

So I thought I’d ask you directly, do you like the feature?

If so, is the content I find of use to you or does it need refining?

If not, what would you like to see here on Saturdays?

Please don’t be shy. The worst thing for any blogger is to ask for guidance from readers and not get any. Makes us wonder if anyone is reading.

In the meantime, Here are a couple of goodies for today.

Margaret Heffernan’s two most recent posts (1/6 and 13) are the start of a series and offer smart, real-life examples on dealing with the recession. As Heffernan says,

“Think of recessions as tests. Companies that fail them die. Companies that survive live to fight another day. But a few companies emerge stronger than ever.”

They’re short, with solid lessons and ideas for you to start using immediately.

Another useful reminder for recession managing comes in an 18 month old article in Business Week on the value of failure in achieving success. It’s more important in today’s economy than it was then, because without a safe environment in which to fail there can be no innovation and a company without innovation is a company on the slippery, downward slope to mediocrity—or worse.

I hope they’re of use to you.

Don’t forget to leave your thoughts and preferences for Saturday subjects as requested earlier. If you’d rather send them for privacy, you can reach me at miki@RampUpSolutions.com (please put Leadership Turn in the subject line to avoid filters).

Your comments—priceless

Don’t miss a post, subscribe via RSS or EMAIL

Image credit: flickr