Innovation behind the curtain
Sometimes there’s no little man, much less a wizard
Everybody says they want it, yet few people actually value or do it (at least if you believe what you read in surveys and articles.) But why is it so hard? And, what exactly is innovation anyway? (Tip of the blog bowler to Mike Wagner for jogging my synapses.)
Here’s my perspective for the day:
1. Innovation is highly subjective. One person’s innovation is another’s insanity (or boredom). So, all the self-help books and consultant bla-blah on how to build creativity, encourage innovation don’t have the magic answer. (Sorry) It comes down to your company, your employees, your customers. And, location also plays a huge part. We still think, act, (and spend our money) differently in Albuquerque than New York. Ditto Dallas and London. Des Moines and L.A. etc. etc.
2. Innovation can be more PR spin than reality. The recent Business Week cover story, The World’s Most Innovative Companies reminded me of my days in Corporate America. I worked for a couple of global companies that were touted for their innovation (including a glowing cover story in Business Week for one of them.) Such PR hoopla caused much cynical eye-rolling and guffawing by the companies’ employees. We knew what really went on behind the curtain. Intense bureaucracy, systems designed to inhibit innovation, and lots of (surprise) political plotting. So, before you follow the lead of any of the big boy innovators, take a step back and a breath (and remember point #1).
3. Innovation doesn’t have to be sexy or “big.” It could be as simple as having a real, knowledgeable person answer your customer service number. So, while your competitors are chasing the next “big thing” maybe you should look at the next “small thing.”
Read more: Innovation. Why the Short Shift? , A Tale of Two Surveys
Innovation Rules (from Corante Marketing Hub)
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April 27th, 2006 at 6:17 pm
Only fair that I jog your synapses; you do the same here.
I love how you pick up on the skepticism created by talk that never turns into a walk! What is the hidden “skepticism cost” generated by such PR over reality talk at the C-level?
April 28th, 2006 at 7:27 am
The skepticism cost is both internal and external. “C” should stand for cynical in many cases. In my experience, the boys in the boardroom often see the customer as the rube, the enemy. Employees are heads to be moved and cut.
This jaded view (green-colored glasses?) of the world shows in both their lives and their business. The Masters of the Universe sell their souls to get to the top of the heap and then wonder why the “little people” react in such glee when they start tumbling back down - or why their children don’t visit them in the hospital - or why they’re on the third marriage, rapidly headed for their third costly divorce - or why they keep waking up at 3 a.m. staring into the cold, dark ceiling in their multi-million dollar penthouse. But, I do go on, don’t I?
Bottom line: Intensely unhappy people make for toxic companies. And, the PR spin is like painting a condemned house. The termites are still there, working away and you can still smell the rot.
P.S. Bonfair of the Vanities is one of the best books ever written on the costs (and tragedy) of power and facade - although Wolfe does go on way too much about that damned frieze.
October 11th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
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