Idea and Innovation Blog

It has often been said that bankers will lend you an umbrella when the sun shines and will ask for it back when there’s a chance of rain.

Risk is inherently based on uncertain outcomes and thus is the main harbinger of fear. When it comes to innovation, risk is a necessary ingredient; if not the central one. Now this doesn’t mean throwing caution to the wind, but it does require doing things differently – a new approach. How else can we expect change?

Over the past ten years, a pattern has emerged from some of the managers that approach our organization looking for change through innovation:

• Initial contact is filled with optimism, motivation and desire for change
• As implementation analysis and planning progress, the bold changes that were envisioned quickly get pared down through “risk mitigation”, and, inevitably, organizational apathy settles back in

For those who even dare act on their innovation dreams, this often results in a starting point that isn’t much different than the status quo they were looking to leave behind – and managers then wonder why the electrifying changes that they were seeking haven’t materialized. Well what’d ya know…?

If you want break-out innovations you need break-out management – as Einstein once said (I am paraphrasing): “To do the same thing repeatedly and expect a different outcome is insanity”. Of course, to achieve an enduring culture of innovation requires direction that only true leadership can provide – the kind of hands-on championing that energizes all levels in our corporate ranks, confirms the message to all stakeholders, personifies the mission and actualizes operational change.

To be clear, innovation really only begins with Management Innovation – how far it’s allowed to go depends on management commitment. As with anything else, when leading men and women, whether platoons or organizational departments, leadership by example provides the troops with the cultural direction of the mission – and the confidence to go for it. By creating the template, the organization will fall in line. And as with any such drive, checks and balances can keep the initiative between the lines without stifling the new process. As Churchill once so adroitly put it: “Trust, but verify”.

As with any new approach, oversight and guidance are paramount; the energy of unbridled activity is only scalar – but blossoms to vector when coupled with direction. These innovation activities need to be directed towards goals. But in today’s rapidly changing environment, the way to get to these new objectives now requires new routes and new drivers – in this case the path for both is Open Innovation; which starts at the senior management level. Give all your interested and motivated stakeholders the opportunity to try new things by starting with a new Management Innovation approach – few things can better express your readiness for change or more clearly demonstrate true leadership.