Comments on: You May Be Wrecking Your Own Innovation

By: L Sridhar

L Sridhar — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 08:37:55 +0000

In small organisations innovative ideas can be voiced, even if they are thrown out.
As organisations grow,somehow a feeling creeps in that ideas will have to follow the corporate hierarchy.
I have often faced fresh graduates coming out with brilliant ideas, but unable to push it up the hierarchy as they haven’t learnt the art of “diplomacy “

By: Paul Holman

Paul Holman — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 16:58:05 +0000

Love the post Paul.
Instead of going into the boardroom and developing the branding for a product like most companies, Rhino Marketing Inc. went about it differently.
They are currently holding a branding competition to try to engage consumers with a product before it even has a name or hits the shelves.
http://www.theimmunitychallenge.com is offering $15,000 to the person who comes up with the best brand name for the immune-boosting product and $7500 to the person with the best tagline.
We’re working to keep potential consumers interested in the competition and the product through various means right up to it being available in local stores.

By: Lewis Green

Lewis Green — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 16:52:48 +0000

Good stuff Paul. Because we are a small firm, when someone has an idea they can recruit others of us to help refine the idea but often are left on their own to launch and manage it.
Of course, once it’s launched, I’m watching it closely. So far, so good. But then again, we have smart and experienced people who have made lots of mistakes in their pasts, so they have learned how to avoid most of the same kinds of mistakes. And all of us are careful to take only calculated risks: We aren’t experimenting on our clients.

By: Paul Williams

Paul Williams — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 16:20:04 +0000

Lewis… A few interesting things…
What happens to companies? Most were once nimble (as you describe your own) but then grow to become lumbering bureaucracies? Too many people? Lack of vision? Poor leadership?
I’ve found that isn’t not enough to have a great idea/plan – even if it survives the meetings.
Also… it’s not enough for an idea to survive meetings… We also need to follow a strategic process of pitching and selling the idea – being the idea champion – through the organization.
As Seth Godin shares in his book “Free Prize Inside” (I’m going to paraphrase)…
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“Sooner or later, every project runs into trouble… encounter obstacles. Without a champion most projects will slow down and eventually stop.”
“The forces of mediocrity will band together to water down your innovation.”
“The difference between success and failure… is not about any shortage of ideas. Instead, it’s about overcoming the status quo and inertia and working withing your organization to make things happen.”
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Thanks, Lewis… always great to hear from you!

By: Paul Williams

Paul Williams — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 16:02:58 +0000

Paul – You’re totally right! (on all points). Our ego is what causes us to interrupt – we want to add our own smart idea…
As far as politics are concerned… It’s disappointing how many great ideas and innovation is quashed because we’re following a pet project or whim – not the facts.
Thanks for your comments… Keep ‘em coming!

By: Lewis Green

Lewis Green — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:13:42 +0000

Paul,
One of the reasons I left the corporate world was because no suggestion ever gets far in the meetings you describe.
As an entrepreneur, I have knocked down the walls, and if any of those I work with want to try something, they go for it. There are no gains without risks, and since my business guarantees its work, if we screw up, you don’t pay.

By: Paul Barsch

Paul Barsch — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 13:58:58 +0000

Paul, I find more often than not, politics and ego gets in the way of innovation. I think listening is one of the most underrated skills. If we’d just shut our mouths and minds, and listen when another person is expressing an idea, we might actually learn something, and as you are saying, build upon the idea to create something truly innovative.