The Innovative Brain Archive
|
Innovation Leadership’s Unspoken BHAG(Big Hairy Audacious Goal ––– Thank Jim Collins for yet another acronym)“There’s so much more to innovation leadership than innovation!” There is a secret that goes beyond the fact that the financial benefits of innovation leadership are clear. 
Statistics Canada found that Innovation is consistently found to be the most important characteristic associated with success and that innovative enterprises typically achieve stronger growth or are more successful than those that do not innovate. In other words, the enterprises that gain market share and increasing profitability are those that are innovative. The Universities that attract the best students and grow the best endowments are the innovative ones. The government agencies that deliver the best service per tax dollar are the innovative ones. The militaries that adapt rapidly and keep their personnel alive are the innovative ones. According to research by Soo, Devinney, Midgley & Deering, “The greater the amount of innovation, the greater the market and financial performance.” We’ve written about the ROI of training in creative process – at least 750% return on the training investment. And organizations with the best human capital practices get the best long term results. As evidence of this, it’s clear that companies that effectively train people in innovation skills provide returns to shareholders that are 3X greater than those of companies with weak or non–existent innovation training practices. To the point that investment in people is a predictor of a firm’s future financial performance. This according to a survey conducted by four researchers representing the Federal Reserve Bank, Georgetown University, and a money management firm. The bottom line: innovation improves the bottom line. But that’s really just the tip of the iceberg. Innovation leadership has the potential to achieve our biggest, hairiest, most audacious dreams 
We’re gratified that organizations are finally moving “innovation” beyond the plaque of corporate values collecting dust on the lobby wall. And not just because we’ve been beating the drum around this issue well before we started New & Improved in 1998. It’s wonderful to see a growing number of leaders deeply explore the art and science of innovation. As they do, they understand the need to pursue changes in their organizations processes, policies and structures. They are realizing that innovation is a learnable skill set and one that is useful for everyone, from the newest hire to the senior–most person. From the administrative assistant to the CEO. These leaders realize that as you train people to improve their personal innovation abilities, you are also working to improve their ability to work with people, their individual wisdom, and their emotional intelligence (which also is a key factor for improving the bottom line). Our core assertion here, and the reason we do our work, is that improving innovation skills also creates better human beings. You just can’t drive innovation through an organization with close–minded, arrogant, uncooperative, non–communicative jerks. Key point: in this seldom spoken truth lies the powerful opportunity to address all of our human desires and challenges. 
Our three interconnected beliefs:
These realities create an unprecedented opportunity for humanity. An opportunity that excites and motivates the people who are the company called New & Improved. You see, we are not in the business of fostering innovation just so one company can beat out another in the competitive market place. We’re not in the business of building innovation teams simply so that the teams we have trained outperform others. We’re not in the business of coaching senior executive only so they can lead their organization to be an innovative benchmark. 
We practice our craft because we want to create leaders who can improve everyone they lead. We want to see the innovation imperative play out as rapidly as possible in our culture because we know the only way to have continuous innovation in an organization is to strengthen the place that innovation always comes from:
Individual human beings working well with other human beings to build the productive, respectful, creative and energized relationships that allow new ideas to develop. Our clients see that this is what it takes to grow their companies’ sustainable innovation ability. We see them beginning to build in the tools, methods and human development techniques which have been refined over the years to work effectively in developing the innovation skills that yield new and improved solutions...and people. Next up: The connection between innovation skills and maturity development. Our challenge to you: How might you stretch your innovation skills to your BHAG? |
© 2009, New & Improved®, LLC. <www.newandimproved.com> <info@newandimproved.com> — Feel free to copy and share this newsletter, but only with the copyright information intact, please! Violators will be asked to speak the unspoken BHAG...whatever that means!