Archive for Culture of Innovation
Why Flexible Hours Inspire Performance
If you want to start creating a culture of innovation, try getting rid of the time clock. According to Inc.com, business supervisors should stop trying to track their employees’ work hours. The result they say is that employees will be more productive. Read on:
“What time do you want me to start work?” That’s the question a new hire recently asked me. She looked a little startled by my reply.
“I don’t care.”
But it was the truth. I didn’t care—and I never have—what hours are kept by the people who work for me. You could say I’m the opposite of a control freak, in the sense that I have always resisted rules, for myself and for others. Why? Because once you have rules, you have to enforce them—and there’s no more tedious task in life.
I’m relaxed about timekeeping in part because I had great bosses early in my broadcasting career. They didn’t care about hours either. They trusted that, with a broadcast date in the schedule, any producer would work their socks off to make the best program on time—because that’s how you advanced your career. Nobody ever said, “Wonderful timekeeping, shame about the show!”
And so that’s how I’ve always managed people who worked for me. I’ve trusted them to get the work done on time and on budget—and they have. Treating employees like grown-ups made it more likely that they would behave the same way. Of course, this also implies that no one person’s schedule should mess up anyone else’s: we all work collaboratively and to do that, it’s helpful to be in the same place at the same time occasionally. But I’ve rarely had to spell this out.
I have also always taken the same approach to maternity leave. No woman knows exactly what she will want once her baby has arrived: some mothers can’t wait to get back to work while others decide that they want to stop for awhile. Their partners’ attitudes too are unpredictable too. So I’ve always taken the line: figure out what works for you and let me know. I have never yet had anyone come to me with an unreasonable proposal. Nor have I ever seen two proposals alike. People are different and so are families and I’ve always assumed that I was the last person to dictate how anyone should feel or behave.
I cannot remember a single instance of being disappointed by this approach. Of course I’ve had poor or under-performing employees and not a few staffers who were simply in the wrong job. But in none of those cases were hours the problem. Instead, I’ve had the privilege of working with hundreds of dedicated, committed, energetic individuals whose stamina was hugely enhanced by the freedom to work as they saw fit. They more often exceeded expectations than under-delivered.
‘But weren’t you afraid of being ripped off?’ I’m often asked. Strangely enough, no. I wasn’t ripped off, I wasn’t disappointed and, perhaps best of all, I didn’t have to walk around ostentatiously staring at my watch. There are much better ways to spend precious time.
Why Flexible Hours Inspire Performance | Inc.com
Related articles
- Should business insurance customers do more to provide flexible working? (premierlinedirect.co.uk)
- What does flexible working really mean? (career-advice.monster.co.uk)
- Flexible Schedules (sellinginnovation.wordpress.com)
- With Flexible Work Location, High Productivity (socyberty.com)
- Why Sleep is so Important for Freelancers (freelanceswitch.com)
Looking ahead to the New Year
Most of us look back from a December perspective and take stock of how we did in the past 12 months. Did we meet the goals we set for ourselves last December? Did we do something to make a positive difference? What are those things we planned to do but didn’t or couldn’t in this economically-challenging climate?
From my point of view, I wrap up 2011 with excitement for the many ways my colleagues and clients creatively told their stories of success and innovation, even when budgets were tightened. I’ve helped facilitate and lead conference events around the world to see how other companies are finding creative ways to tap into new ideas and products this past year, and I’ll be doing even more of that in 2012.
How about you? What are you doing in your innovation endeavors this coming year? I’m especially excited and inspired to see the many corporations and entrepreneurs coming together to find ways to solve tough problems in our world, like hunger, clean drinking water, lack of educational resources in developing nations and health issues that stem from a basic lack of hygiene.
I hope you’ve enjoyed skimming this blog and have found some inspirational and informative news that you can use to unleash your own innovation plans.
May you, your families and your colleagues and friends enjoy the New Year!
Reflecting on Product Innovation Management
As we get ready to close out November, I’m reflecting on how the innovation frontier has changed, and will change in the year ahead. Earlier this month I had the opportunity to join many innovation professionals in Phoenix for the 35th Annual Global Conference on Product Innovation Management.
We all know that leaders who aren’t on top of their game will be beaten. This conference was designed to help innovation professionals verify their confidence and validate their competencies in innovation.
Whether an early adopter — or part of the late majority — it was good to see a diverse group of researchers and innovation practitioners have the opportunity to share knowledge and gain new insights into product development.
Participant interaction was a key component of the daytime events with workshops and labs in addition to expert presentations.
Steven Fahrenholtz, a strategy and innovation director from General Mills, delivered the opening keynote on “Empathy in Innovation.” His interesting perspective is that to launch great products you not only need great ideas, tools and process, but also emotion. The role of emotion is often overlooked or even ignored, but his company actively looks to build consumer empathy into its business teams to help create products that not only deliver on needs, but that try to strike an emotional connection with customers.
Ravi Arora, vice president of Tata Quality Management Services, spoke of how Tata has made a commitment to grow from an India-based organization into a global force in many business sectors, and the role that fostering a culture of innovation has played. Part of the success that Tata have recently achieved is attributed to a formal group of senior managers that are specifically responsible for inspiring, enabling and encouraging innovation across the company.
You may not think of innovation when you think of the toy industry, but it was just a few years ago that LEGO was facing serious financial difficulties. David Robertson of The Wharton School delivered a keynote on how innovation helped reinvent LEGO and make it such a powerhouse today in the toy industry. LEGO used innovation, not just in products, but also in pricing, business processes and market channels to fuel the turnaround.
These were just a few of the keynote talks that helped set the tone. Beyond that I found that the unique, hands-on Discovery Labs were quite valuable. These unconventional labs consisted of interactive sessions covering topics like driving consumer impact, portfolio management, the “Voice of the Consumer,” and business model innovation.
Other interested attendees had the opportunity to hone their product development skills through an intensive full-day New Product Development Professional certification preparation session. Experts in new product development guided the class through key strategies and best practices that have worked for them. To me there is no substitute for learning from real practitioners with hands-on experience.
I’ll certainly look forward to attending next year’s conference to see what new approaches are being explored and how they are being put into practice in the ever-evolving world of product innovation.
Innovation stories to unfold at the Sustainable Innovation Summit
It’s called the Food & Beverage 2011: Sustainable Innovation Summit, and it’s happening in Chicago August 9
and 10. This invitation-only event will bring together the top 100 innovation leaders from a multi-national audience of Chief’s, VP’s, Directors, Heads, Senior Directors and Managers of Innovation, R&D, Product Development, Open Innovation, Customer Management, and Manufacturing. My company, Innovationege, is proud to team up once again with the outstanding leaders at the Management Roundtable for this exclusive event.
We’re going to talk about everything from our changing regulatory landscape to the search for new market channels. We’re going to hear from leaders about those amazing innovation journeys, like how H.J. Heinz developed an interesting approach to honing their capability to deliver growth by identifying, developing and acquiring a continuum of incremental and disruptive technologies! Or how the J.M. Smucker Company quadrupled in size via a strategy of growth through acquisitions, and the choices they needed to make as a result.
And we’re going to challenge current thinking and approaches, set the stage for new trends in sustainable innovation and create a senior level networking community for ongoing support and dialogue. There are 100 spots open, and if you’d like to be a part just let me know. You’ll find all of the information about our keynotes, candid case studies, facilitated Q&A, networking sessions and a post-conference workshops on our Sustainable Innovation Summit site, where you can register and check out the facilities at Chicago’s Allerton Hotel.
I’ll see you in Chicago!
Simon Sinek and an Innovation Lesson from Aviation History
Simon Sinek’s famous TED presentation, “How Great Leaders Inspire Action,” includes a valuable lesson on innovation. He discusses the race for flight between the well-funded, highly educated, and widely acclaimed Samuel P. Langley and the unfunded, unknown Wright Brothers. Langley was after fame and wealth while the Wright Brothers were pursuing a dream with all their heart, overcoming obstacles and “innovation fatigue factors” that Langley would never face. Their persistence and passion made the difference. Langley, on the other hand, gave up once he realized that the Wright Brothers had beat him to his goal. Innovation success is not about funding and education as much as it is about persistence and passion, when the idea is right and the skills are there to make it work.
Allergan’s Eye on Innovation
Allergan (NYSE: AGN), the major multi-specialty pharmaceutical company with expertise in ophthalmology and beauty, has been on a tear in the stock market, driven at least in part by its bold approach to innovation. The market cap, now $25 billion, has roughly doubled in the past year. I heard CEO David Pyott speak to Jim Cramer on Mad Money last night and am impressed with the financial commitment to innovation. I am also impressed with the new product development work that is done in extending great products to new fields. For example, Botox® (Botulinum Toxin Type A), used so successfully for cosmetic surgery, also has potential to modify hyperactive bladders or juvenile cerebral palsy. Their expertise in neuroscience is also being applied to migraine headaches, where a promising product is in Stage 3 clinical trials.
The Botox® approach to skin beauty is being enhanced with Juvederm® hyaluronic acid (HA) dermal filler formulation, a material that can be injected into the skin to fill some wrinkles. They are also dealing with the challenge of obesity with their laproscopic band, a less invasive approach to bariatric treatment. In ophthalmology, one of their most profitable segments, a host of products treat eye conditions such as glaucoma or dry eye.
Allergan’s products are well adapted for the needs of the aging baby boomer population and appear to be riding a wave of technical success well matched to a demographic wave. Many growth opportunities still exist, and with the heavy investment in innovation and research, Allergan appears poised to continue growing, something that is unusual for many large pharmaceutical companies these days.
The company began in 1950 when chemist Chemist Stanley Bly developed anti-allergy nose drops and got the help of his friend, Gavin S. Herbert Sr., who owned a pharmacy. Two years later, after listening to advice from a pharmacist about patient needs, they developed an eye drop with anti-histamine, the first such eye drop in the United State. Sales skyrocketed and Allergan became a major player in ophthalmology, which today makes up almost half of their business still.
Listening to market feedback and acting on clues and suggestions from knowledgeable people like a pharmacist allowed Allergan to quickly shift its focus and its product array in the early days to address an important unmet need. This led to eye products, not just nose drops, and the opportunity in ophthalmology that will continue to be huge for Allergan, now at nearly 50% of sales, if they keep an eye on innovation. Taking outside advice and reacting nimbly to new market opportunities is what put Allergan on the path to success. It’s the kind of thing that outside eyes and minds here at Innovationedge can help you do in your company as well.
Helping Clients Generate IP: Preparation is the Key
At Innovationedge, one of our favorite activities is working with a team in what we call an “Edge Session” to create new intellectual assets. It’s not not brainstorming, where a flood of bad ideas are welcome, but an iterative process in which the goal is enabled, good concepts that are fleshed out enough to support drafting of a meaningful invention disclosures. A key part of the Edge Session is refining problem statements, moving from broad, vague questions to more specific problem statements that guide inventors on what is needed. We introduce stimulus elements that are coupled with the problem statements to stimulate thinking. The stimulus elements can be used in addressing a problem directly or as associative thinking tools to change the way people look at the problem–all part of the steps along the way to creating records of an enabled invention that, in turn, can readily support IP generation such as drafting a patent application, documenting a trade secret, or preparing a defensive publication.
Preparation has been the key for success. A big part of the preparation is ours as we dig into the literature, patents, and competitive intelligence. Sometimes we conduct pre-workshop interviews to get a landscape of what the client already knows so that we can better begin with that starting point as we help them create and document more.
The preparation by the client is also critical. One key part of their preparation is the selection of team members. Groups of about 5 to 25 people work well, with maybe 7 to 15 being the preferred range. The group works well if there is sufficient diversity in experience and background. For example, even in dealing with highly technical problems, I like to have at least one marketer in the team, someone with great hands-on experience dealing with consumer insights or other sources of marketing information. The perspective a good marketing person can bring is often vital for the success of an IP-generation project.
Teams also can be more effective when the prepare by reading the materials we provide on the prior art, competitive efforts, etc. We recognize, though, that many times team members won’t have had adequate time or motivation to prepare other than showing up. We can still squeeze good information from the unprepared, for much of what they have to contribute creatively is already in their heads. It just may take a little more effort to get it out and documented,
Team culture
I came across a Harvard Business Review article this week about how large corporations can better foster innovation by helping their dedicated innovation team members partner with other performance and core process teams, rather than struggle with conflict. (Culture is one of the key ingredients of a healthy company of any size!)
I was drawn to a particular example in my own back yard of how GE Healthcare’s R&D center in Milwaukee helped its innovation team in India innovate a portable ECG machine last year.
Innovation teams in your core business can optimize knowledge as long as your leaders inspire that culture throughout the organization. It can be accomplished by articulating and motivating a vision of victory, communicating that your teams are mutually dependent on each other for success, and by creating a common enemy: the competition!
There are ten tips in total. Check them out!
Lessons from Tyler Heights: Beware the Unintended Consequences of Metrics and Incentives
One can find many interesting lessons for business and innovation in case studies from ongoing experiments in public education. For example, the Summer 2010 edition of American Educator illustrates a lesson we teach in Conquering Innovation Fatigue: metrics to drive performance can have unintended consequences that may hurt rather than help. Indeed, unintended consequences are a major theme of the book, as we consider the problems arising from metrics, corporate and government policies, innovation initiatives, laws, taxation policies, and other factors, all of which can contribute to what we call innovation fatigue.
In terms of education and the danger of improper metrics, Linda Perlstein’s article, “Unintended Consequences; High Stakes Can Result in Low Standards,” examines a highly celebrated school in Annapolis, Maryland that received media attention and praise for seemingly miraculous success in education. The new principal arrived in 2000 to find Tyler Heights Elementary School in a dismal state with only 17% of its students getting satisfactory scores on the state test. She began redirecting efforts in the school to address this problem. Eventually her laser-focus efforts paid off, delivering the stunning success of 90% of third-graders performing well on the Maryland State Assessment, when only 35% of third-graders did so two years before. Several newspapers recognized the amazing turn-around and people at the school celebrated the success. But was it real success?
To achieve good performance on the Maryland State Assessment, education for the children was largely focused on how to do well on the test. Students learned how to write BCR’s (“Brief Constructed Response”) to deal with expected questions about poems and plays, and practiced writing these short answers for many hours, without actually studying poems or plays. “What gets tested is what gets taught,” the principal told the teachers, even if that meant leaving behind the material that was supposed to be taught according to state standards. Bins of equipment for studying science were largely unused.
Tyler Heights’ third-graders got only the most cursory introduction to economics and Native Americans, and much of the curriculum was skipped altogether. The students were geographically ignorant. . . . The third-graders had heard Africa mentioned a lot but were not sure if it was a city, country, or state. (They never suggested “continent.”) At the end of the year, the children in Johnson’s class were asked to name all the states they could. Cyrus knew the most: three. He couldn’t name any countries, though, and when asked about cities, he thrust his finger in the air triumphantly. “Howard County!”
The state standards required a broad curriculum, but the metrics for assessing that were based on one particular test and all the incentives were for helping students pass that test. In spite of the praise for the miracle at Tyler Heights, had the children really been helped?
The Campbell Effect
The problem with unintended consequences from metrics such as tests is hardly unique to Tyler Heights. Daniel Koretz, also writing in the same issue of American Educator (see page 3 of the PDF file on unintended consequences), explains that in education and other fields, score inflation is a common and well known but widely overlooked problem. In the social sciences, a phenomenon that leads to score inflation is known as Campbell’s Law. While widely applied to education, it was developed while looking at business. Donald Campbell, a prominent social scientist, examined the role of corporate incentives on the performance of employees. His research led to this general formulation: “The more any quantitative social indicator is used for social decision making, the more subject it will be to corruption pressures and the more apt it will be to distort and corrupt the social processes it is intended to monitor.” (Donald T. Campbell, “Assessing the Impact of Planned Social Change,” in Social Research and Public Policies: The Dartmouth/OECD Conference, ed. Gene M. Lyons, Hanover, NH: Public Affairs Center, Dartmouth College, 1975, p. 35. See also Can New York Clean Up the Testing Mess? by Sol Stern.)
Campbell’s Law is at work when schools game tests to get better scores, at the expense of education. It is at work when cardiologists choose not to operate on patients who might need surgery rather than risk hurting their own published statistics on mortality rates among their patients (Koretz refers to a 2005 story from the New York Times reporting the shocking results of a survey of cardiologists). It is at work when a company tries to boost innovation with metrics or incentives that result in game playing, while leaving the real problems from culture, systems, and vision unaddressed.
In our experience, metrics and incentives can play a valuable role in driving innovation, but only when the corporation has a culture that genuinely encourages innovation, when there is a shared vision of innovation and success, and when sound systems are in place to advance innovation. Without those, you can not only waste a lot of resources in attempting to drive innovation with metrics and incentives, you can actually make a weak culture become pathological and lethal, sometimes exacerbating fatigue factors like the Not Invented Here syndrome, theft of credit for innovation, and breaking the will to share. Adding incentives linked to metrics without the right culture and systems can be sort of like throwing raw meat into a school of sharks or piranhas. You can generate a lot of activity, a lot of exciting thrashing and splashing, but in the end there will just be a lot of blood in the water and fewer thinkers and producers in your school.
As always, innovation success requires that you carefully monitor for harmful unintended consequences from the policies, programs, and incentives you have in place. Innovation metrics, incentives of all kinds, and employee performance evaluation systems and other tools associated with metrics can backfire. Unless you are tuned to the voice of the innovator and understand the impact of unintended consequences, you can be like the company we treat in Chapter 8 of our book that felt like it was a rock star of innovation while they were actually squelching it. Don’t let the unintended consequences of well-intended policies and metrics crush your innovation success.
Let Innovationedge Strengthen Your Approach to Innovation
With our experience at Innovationedge, we are prepared to evaluate your culture and innovation-related systems to help you strengthen your innovation capabilities and create greater ROI. Not happy with the innovation performance you’ve seen? Not sure you are measuring it correctly? Worried about the unintended consequences that your incentives might have? Give us a call and let us help you diagnose your state and provide a roadmap for future innovation success.
Are you an authentic leader?
As we’re seeing in the job placement industry, finding and keeping top-notch employees takes far more than the promise of a nice paycheck even in a down economy. (Don’t take my word for it; this video is a must-see for anyone looking to retain talented workers.)
If you want to create a strategy around hiring people who mesh with your organization’s culture and values, keep it real and keep it clear.
How your people come to know your culture and values depends on your authenticity–the way that you communicate. If you are a leader with any role in retaining employees, you absolutely must be able to clearly articulate a your company’s culture, business strategy and goals not only to your people but to your shareholders and the marketplace. (I’ve got more to say on this here.)
We all need employees who have the energy, passion and creativity to bring innovative new ideas to the table. And what they need to keep that spark going is authentic leadership from you. Have you created an environment that inspires or detracts from innovation? Are you providing ample and exciting opportunities to be a part of the team?
Employees will continually weigh and consider these elements along with the monetary and psychological rewards.