(For Part One CLICK HERE )**********************************
Today’s installment: A little closer look at what it really takes to mobilize the culture – with more speed and intensity in the same direction, or equally enthusiastic and uniform movement along a different tack.
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First: A few sexy platitudes you might hear if ever subjected to a “Stone” presentation:
1. “You can’t workshop, wallet card, or wall poster your way to a more innovative culture. The rules for survival and prosperity in your organization have to actually change – in service of your Innovation Mandate, and in complete concert with your business strategy.”
2. “Strategy absent innovation is stale, slow, and expensive. Innovation absent strategy is a XXXXXXXXX (censored) .”
1. “You can’t workshop, wallet card, or wall poster your way to a more innovative culture. The rules for survival and prosperity in your organization have to actually change – in service of your Innovation Mandate, and in complete concert with your business strategy.”
2. “Strategy absent innovation is stale, slow, and expensive. Innovation absent strategy is a XXXXXXXXX (censored) .”
* I have enough social decorum not to actually say or publish it, but the compound word that goes here starts with “cluster.”
XXXX
3. “The fuel for innovation is Discretionary Effort.”
XXX
Yeah, I know . . . we’ve already touched on #1 & #2 in the first post from this series -- and outside an emotionally charged room full of like minded people, quips like this don’t provide much practical value. Just thought a little continuity might be helpful.
A quick word on #2:
I’ve known, and been sharing the first part of this statement for 22 years – didn’t need Jatin DeSai to tell me that. And the words in the second part are mine, not his – but it was just about this time last year that I got my hands on Jatin’s white paper, “Strategy Driven Innovation” and very quickly became a Desai(ple).
Innovation absent strategy (and therefore also absent metrics, methodology, infrastructure, and governance) quickly has exec teams pulling their hair out, and ultimately leaves the culture confused and immobilized. Worse yet, there’s a great deal of evidence suggesting this “Innovation Absent Strategy” thing is rampant. As Exhibit #1, I offer you the billions (yes billions with a “b”) of dollars invested in creativity courses, mind mapping software, innovation workshops, etc. within systems that have no real process for properly evaluating those ideas and venturing them for commercialization. Exhibit #2 – the dearth of leadership credibility experienced in the wake of so many failed change initiatives.
Now, about #3 -- this thing called Discretionary Effort . . .
It’s the most valuable asset available to you, and the high octane that fuels the world’s most successful enterprises. Provide for the care and feeding of Discretionary Effort, and you’ll have a culture creating commercially viable New Value better, faster, and cheaper than most of your competitors can possibly replicate.
A quick word on #2:
I’ve known, and been sharing the first part of this statement for 22 years – didn’t need Jatin DeSai to tell me that. And the words in the second part are mine, not his – but it was just about this time last year that I got my hands on Jatin’s white paper, “Strategy Driven Innovation” and very quickly became a Desai(ple).
Innovation absent strategy (and therefore also absent metrics, methodology, infrastructure, and governance) quickly has exec teams pulling their hair out, and ultimately leaves the culture confused and immobilized. Worse yet, there’s a great deal of evidence suggesting this “Innovation Absent Strategy” thing is rampant. As Exhibit #1, I offer you the billions (yes billions with a “b”) of dollars invested in creativity courses, mind mapping software, innovation workshops, etc. within systems that have no real process for properly evaluating those ideas and venturing them for commercialization. Exhibit #2 – the dearth of leadership credibility experienced in the wake of so many failed change initiatives.
Now, about #3 -- this thing called Discretionary Effort . . .
It’s the most valuable asset available to you, and the high octane that fuels the world’s most successful enterprises. Provide for the care and feeding of Discretionary Effort, and you’ll have a culture creating commercially viable New Value better, faster, and cheaper than most of your competitors can possibly replicate.
XXX
This is the brass ring, the silver bullet, the shiznit – or whatever term you most readily associate with the ultimate prize. This is exactly what you’ve been chasing you entire leadership career. If you’re human, you’ve thrown training at it, money at it, t-shirts, slogans, newsletters, retreats, slide decks, initiatives, at it. It didn’t work, and it won’t work.
So exactly How Do I Go About Getting Discretionary Effort in the first place? And then, How Do I Keep It?
If you were to call me with this question and I felt you were serious about getting the answer (not everyone is), I’d tell you to seek out a man named Stan Slap and run, not walk to his next offering of “Bury My Heart in Conference Room “B.” (If you catch me saying anything right on the topic, that’s probably where I got it.)
In the meantime . . . You can get started with Clarity of Purpose . . . Clearly and concisely communicating Where you’re going and Why. But in order to garner the emotional commitment required, you may have to re-visit the way you’ve been going about this.
So exactly How Do I Go About Getting Discretionary Effort in the first place? And then, How Do I Keep It?
If you were to call me with this question and I felt you were serious about getting the answer (not everyone is), I’d tell you to seek out a man named Stan Slap and run, not walk to his next offering of “Bury My Heart in Conference Room “B.” (If you catch me saying anything right on the topic, that’s probably where I got it.)
In the meantime . . . You can get started with Clarity of Purpose . . . Clearly and concisely communicating Where you’re going and Why. But in order to garner the emotional commitment required, you may have to re-visit the way you’ve been going about this.
I was very careful in choosing my words here. I said “ . . . communicating where you’re going and why,” not the organization. They’re following you, not the company. And they have some very specific questions of you as they calibrate the level of discretionary effort they plan to expend, including:
Why do you need me?
What’s in it for me?
What’s in it for you?
Sure, you can include corporate advantages -- provided you can successfully relate them to compelling personal benefits to both yourself and your people. If not, save that speech for your boss – and her boss.
How serious are you about this?
Your people will measure this by your actions -- and that pesky little “rules for survival & prosperity” thing we keep bringing up.
*** Reality Check ***
While this business of expressing Clarity of Purpose is essential, it’s woefully inadequate. Stop here (even combined with following our counsel on the “rules for survival & prosperity” issue) and you’ll definitely enjoy better, faster, less expensive compliance . . . but you won’t necessarily get Discretionary Effort. That requires a few more disciplines we’ll share in future posts.
OK . . . let’s make a leap of faith here and say this first step (Clarity of Purpose) and the others we’ll cover in future posts actually work -- you now have a critical mass of Discretionary Effort. (It does, and you will.) How Do You Keep It? . . .
By finding a away to answer these four questions every day – that’s the master key with all of these disciplines (consistency). If you find yourself unable to answer even one of the four at any point . . . go find another purpose to drive, or at least resign yourself to the fact that you’ll no longer enjoy any appreciable degree of discretionary effort on this one. The best you can hope for is compliance.
Of course, once you savor the taste of leading a team consistently giving you discretionary effort, you won’t settle for less. It’s addictive. You’ll fire your boss and go find another department or organization to serve if you have to.
Back Soon with more on Discretionary Effort, and mobilizing your culture in general . . .
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Why do you need me?
What’s in it for me?
What’s in it for you?
Sure, you can include corporate advantages -- provided you can successfully relate them to compelling personal benefits to both yourself and your people. If not, save that speech for your boss – and her boss.
How serious are you about this?
Your people will measure this by your actions -- and that pesky little “rules for survival & prosperity” thing we keep bringing up.
*** Reality Check ***
While this business of expressing Clarity of Purpose is essential, it’s woefully inadequate. Stop here (even combined with following our counsel on the “rules for survival & prosperity” issue) and you’ll definitely enjoy better, faster, less expensive compliance . . . but you won’t necessarily get Discretionary Effort. That requires a few more disciplines we’ll share in future posts.
OK . . . let’s make a leap of faith here and say this first step (Clarity of Purpose) and the others we’ll cover in future posts actually work -- you now have a critical mass of Discretionary Effort. (It does, and you will.) How Do You Keep It? . . .
By finding a away to answer these four questions every day – that’s the master key with all of these disciplines (consistency). If you find yourself unable to answer even one of the four at any point . . . go find another purpose to drive, or at least resign yourself to the fact that you’ll no longer enjoy any appreciable degree of discretionary effort on this one. The best you can hope for is compliance.
Of course, once you savor the taste of leading a team consistently giving you discretionary effort, you won’t settle for less. It’s addictive. You’ll fire your boss and go find another department or organization to serve if you have to.
Back Soon with more on Discretionary Effort, and mobilizing your culture in general . . .
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