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A Recipe for Innovation?
by John Putzier, M.S., SPHR Innovation is not an option, but an essential to succeed in today’s marketplace, and today’s workplace requires certain ingredients in order to make it happen. But first, one must understand that creativity and innovation are not the same thing. Simply put, creativity is the act of coming up with a new idea or a new twist on an old idea. It does not imply action; just thought and discovery. Innovation, on the other hand, requires action. It requires follow-through. It implies implementation; which is what the world pays for. Organizations that understand this, also understand that innovation cannot just be demanded or elicited through mere goal setting. It is not a task; it is an outcome rooted in the dynamics of other organizational ingredients, for which there is a recipe. What goes IN to INnovation? After each of the following INgredients you will find two examples of INitiatives for each one, taken from the book “Get Weird! 101 Innovative Ways to Make Your Company a Great Place to Work (AMACOM, New York, 2001). Although “Get Weird!” covers a host of other issues (recruitment, retention, recognition, customer service, etc.) there are numerous ideas related to creating a culture of innovation. INdependence Today’s high-performance workers are goal oriented, self-directed and most motivated when given an assignment, and then set free to tackle it. They are independent and place great value on their freedoms. If a company spends the proper time, effort and resources to hire the right person for the right job (a required ingredient), they should be able to just let them do it. Traditionally, there have been way too many people whose jobs have been to watch someone else’s job, i.e., managers. This micro-management model was rooted in a lack of trust that the job would get done, or get done right; which usually meant “the way the manager would have done it.” There is a direct correlation between the amount of trust and the amount of independence (or freedom) you will find in any organization. Similarly, there is an inverse relationship between the amount of trust and the number of policies you will find. The less trust, the more policies. In fact, the word “policy” is rooted in the Greek “polis.” Guess what other word comes from “polis.” That’s right, Police! Case in point: No organization has more policies than the federal government. No organization has less innovation. The innovative workplace of the future will be characterized by an absence of bosses (police). If today’s employee cannot or will not perform without someone “policing” his or her behavior, then you have hired the wrong person in the first place. If you hire misfits and just expect to train them, all you will end up with is a bunch of trained misfits. Nor can you police them into becoming high-performance innovators. You can’t teach a rock to swim. You can’t teach a pig to sing. Today’s innovation workers can be difficult to manage because they should not need to be managed. They need leaders, not managers. Leaders of innovation focus on results, not methods; on ends, not means; on function, not form; on substance, not style. Just as the word policy is rooted in the Greek “polis” the word manager is rooted in the Latin “manus” meaning “to handle.” Innovation does not come from being policed or handled, but from being set free (mentally, that is). Personal Space (Idea #30): This idea simply allows employees the “freedom” to tailor their own workspace. This is particularly important today now that most people are relegated to a cubicle. Whether it involves plants, paint, toys or some other paraphernalia, it costs nothing to allow people this simple form of personal expression. Some organizations not only allow this freedom, but actually subsidize it by giving employees a decorating allowance. If people can create their own personal corner of the work world, they will feel better about being there, and the deeper they dig in, the less likely they will dig out. You Can Call Me Ray! (Idea #60): This idea allows people to have some freedom and fun with their job title(s); to let people create their own unique identities at work. With the evolution of technology, we have seen a lot of new, legitimate titles such as CIO (Chief Information Officer), but more progressive companies are actually letting people make up their own, just for fun and freedom. There is the ISO Queen, the Guru of Fun, the Duke of Cool and the Information Highwayman. To really add an ingredient of pizzazz, let them have business cards to reflect their new title. This communicates volumes about your culture both internally and externally. If one of your techies or other high-performance workers is out and about and can hand a peer (who may work for your competitor) a card with a fun title, you may just start attracting new innovators into your ranks. Innovation workers thrive on being mentally loose, and this is a tangible, inexpensive way to make that happen. (P.S. For traditional managers who still need the traditional titles, don’t despair. You can still have your official organizational chart and put whatever official titles are necessary for the rest of the world) INformation Innovators have a need to know and a need to let know. They must be able to get information and to speak candidly when circumstances dictate. As a result, there is an emerging trend toward something called “open-book management” which raises the bar for access to information from a “need to know” to a “want to know” level. High-performance workers want and need to see the bigger picture and to feel a part of it. Labeling everything “confidential” or “proprietary” and piling procedures on top of protocols for accessing people and information does nothing to foster a team mentality. Instead, it creates an “us and them” mindset, which in turn breeds cynicism, distrust and turfdom and it fertilizes the grapevine. Whenever there is a void in information, it will be filled by the grapevine, and it will always be negative. Come on Down! (Idea #24) is a policy that allows anyone to attend any meeting for any reason. Now, that may sound risky for some organizations, but it goes back to the trust issue. If you have high trust, people will attend meetings for the right reason, i.e., to learn, not to spy. There obviously must be some parameters on this type of initiative (i.e., it cannot conflict with their own duties and meetings, salary discussions and other personnel related meetings are excluded, etc.) however, when you get right down to it, very few meetings should be off-limits to your own people. If someone in operations wants to know more about marketing strategies, what better way than to sit in on a marketing strategy meeting? If a sales rep wants to learn more about the technical side of the product or business (which he or she should!) why not allow him or her to sit in on a tech service meeting? The possibilities are endless. Heard It Through the Grapevine (Idea #26) addresses the fact that the #1 source of information in most companies is the grapevine. Studies show, however, that employees would prefer to get their information from the source, i.e., their leadership. Unfortunately, they do not “trust” the source. An example of “Heard It Through the Grapevine” is to simply have the CEO (or whoever is the source of the latest information) put together a periodic voice-message that is to-the-point, relevant, non-sugar-coated, honest and current, which employees can access from anywhere. Why voicemail? Because it has a voice! E-mail is fine for impersonal and generic information dumping but there is still a place for hearing someone’s actual voice and emotion, and this is it. And, since the ingredient of information must be two way (getting and giving), you can also set up an incoming grapevine. Instead of just giving people information, create a vehicle that they can use to give you information, both bad and good. Wouldn’t you rather have employees blow the whistle internally instead of going to an outside party? Adding the ingredient of INformation to your organization has multiple benefits. It is not only a catalyst to innovation, but it also builds trust, it makes people feel like part of the bigger team, it kills the grapevine, it develops your people, it breaks down departmental silos and cures organizational myopia. INdividuality When it comes to understanding and fostering innovation, it is critical to understand that the true and pure definition of diversity is “individuality.” It is not defined by race, sex, religion, or any of the other legalistic parameters to which we have become accustomed. Not all white men think and act alike. Not all African-Americans think and act alike. The most innovative companies hire in the truest sense of diversity, aka weirdos! And the definition of a weirdo is “anybody not like you” which is why there are so many of them! Innovative companies also understand that “the more weirdos you hire, the fewer you have!” Weirdness becomes the norm. Being yourself is expected and rewarded, if it results in high-performance and innovation. In “Get Weird!” it is called “Tapping Your Natural Weirdness!” It is sadly ironic in this era of the global economy that companies in the U.S. struggle with innovation because the basic formula for innovation is Diversity + Freedom; the two things that characterize our country more than any other country in the world. Unfortunately, we have not transferred the power of our diversity and freedom to the workplace. Identifying and developing a culture of natural weirdness starts at recruitment. Do you tend to hire people in your own self-image? People you would normally associate with? If so, you may be creating a culture of harmony, but not innovation. Look at “where” you hire, “who” you hire and “how” you hire and start overhauling the process so that the key raw material of innovation (i.e., pure diversity) can make it through. And yes, there will be conflict as a result. Innovation can rarely occur without conflict along the way. Conflicting perspectives, opinions, ideas and methods are a normal and healthy by-product of innovation. All the Wrong Places (Idea #2) Do you advertise for employees in the “Help Wanted” section of the paper? If so, you probably think you are listing your ad in the right place, right? Wrong! This idea is twofold. First, it means advertising for your traditional candidates (i.e., those who already have the title and experience you are looking for) in non-traditional places; and second, it means looking for non-traditional candidates (i.e., those who never had the title, but have relevant, transferable experience). For example, let’s say you want a customer service rep. If you run your ad in the sales and customer service section, you have already limited your options and your market. You are looking in the same box that everyone else is. And, your targets are now looking at your competitors’ ads right next to yours. That’s a lose-lose! You are also targeting the active job seeker, rather than the passive candidate who may be of more value. Top talent is usually already gainfully employed and does not need to read the help wanted ads. If you company sells sporting goods, advertise your opportunities in the sports section; or better yet, put an ad in sporting publications or at sporting events. Think about the demographics of your ideal candidate(s) and put your advertising in places where they will find you, and not the competition. The other dimension of “All the Wrong Places” is to think about who else might have the requisite experience, but in a different field. Who else might have experience and training in customer service, but may not have had the title? Maybe a waitress, a bartender, a flight attendant, a school teacher? Look for skills, not just titles. These people will bring a whole new dimension to creating an environment of fresh thinking and innovation. Get Weird! What’s Your Sign? (Idea #4) A successful recruiting philosophy pioneered by Southwest Airlines is to “hire for attitude-train for skill.” This same approach has been adopted by other innovative organizations that place great value on creating and maintaining such a culture. You can train someone how to use the reservation system or teach them the safety procedures. It is next to impossible to train someone to have a sense of humor or to be quick on their feet in a customer conflict situation. So, how do you go about identifying someone’s attitude? Aside from a variety of personality and psychological instruments, you can just ask the right questions? Why ask things that are already on their resume or that you can find out through a simple background check? Here are some weird questions you might want to try (just do it consistently and be sure they can be tied to something job-related):
There are many ways to get a grip on the whole person without being offensive or illegal. In fact, most “innovative thinkers” like these types of inquiries because they challenge their thinking and because they are secure in their ability to respond accordingly, and that’s who you want to hire anyway, right? INcentives Discrimination is good! Discrimination is necessary! Discrimination is a manager’s responsibility! Based upon performance, that is. That which is observed, measured and rewarded gets done. And that includes innovation! What does your organization reward? In most companies there is little or no relationship between innovation and rewards. Rewards have become a mere entitlement for showing up and staying out of trouble. Managers have assumed the “fair is equal” mindset for much too long. It’s easy, but it is destructive and counter-productive to creating a culture of innovation and high-performance. The only thing that great managers truly manage are consequences of behavior. The 3M Company is an anomaly in this regard. They are both big and innovative; two things which don’t occur together very often. However, they are masters at the “structural determinants of behavior,” a big portion of which are rewards. 3Mers may devote up to 15% of their time on new product ideas; to do research and development unrelated to their day-to-day job. A certain percentage of product managers’ revenues must be generated by products or services that are less than five years old (so they don’t just keep milking an old cash cow), and so forth. Granted, the 3M model may be a little more sophisticated than most organizations might want to try, but there are many other ways to start down the path of incentives for innovation. Get the Point(s) (Idea #73) is a behavior modification technique that allows employees to earn points for new ideas (or for whatever behavior you are trying to reinforce) and which encourages the accumulation of points for greater and greater rewards, thus encouraging repeat behavior, which eventually become new habits. Rewarding a behavior once is nice, but increasing the rewards for repeating the behavior is even better. Think of the acronym IBM, for incremental behavior modification. This approach is particularly powerful in creating a culture of innovation. For example, one program rewarded employees just for showing up to the announcement meeting. The reward was a logo pen, because the next incremental behavior they were looking for was to get them to sign up and actually participate in the innovation program (they already have the pen!). Then there was a slightly greater reward for signing up (maybe a coffee mug, duffle bag, etc.). Next, there would be an incrementally greater reward for submitting a new idea (even a bad one) just to recognize the effort, followed by greater and greater rewards for submitting good ideas, the ultimate objective. Little by little the company was moving the employees toward creating a new culture of innovation through incremental behavior modification, or IBM. What Are My Options? (Idea #76) First introduced by Sun Microsystems, this idea replaced the traditional company stock option benefit with options on specific projects for which the individual is directly responsible. Company stock options do not foster innovation. There is no direct mental or behavioral correlation. They are a gimme. Options on specific projects, however, can be directly pinned to cycle time, shelf life, profitability, budgetary objectives, key deadlines, and a host of other clearly measurable outcomes for which the individual and/or team can have a direct influence. At the end of a fixed period, the shares are turned into cash based upon the success of the project. However you design it, the key is to identify the behaviors and outcomes that will drive innovation in your organization and then to design rewards and recognition systems around the attainment of those behaviors. Then get out of the way. IN Conclusion There are many ingredients for creating a culture of innovation, but no single formula. That’s good news and bad news. The good news is that you have many options. The bad news (or challenge) is that it is up to you to find one that works for you and your organization. There is no one right answer. But there are numerous opportunities for you to start improving the odds for innovation without making monumental changes or spending tons of money. That’s the beauty of innovation. Now go “Get Weird!” John Putzier is the author of “Get Weird! 101 Innovative Ways to Make Your Company a Great Place to Work” (AMACOM, New York, 2001) . Copyright © John Putzier. All rights reserved. END | |||||||||
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