Five Things to Keep Top of Mind
Small and growing companies can drive new revenue streams and realize new market opportunities from existing intellectual capital. Below are some observations and best practices, addressed in my book Harvesting Intangible Assets (AMACOM, 2011), for fostering and sustaining a culture of innovation.
Innovation, like the spreading of fertilizer, is messy, lumpy, smelly, expensive, and unpredictable. Innovation rarely happens in a neat and sequential fashion, especially in smaller companies. Imposing too many rules or protocols will retard or overly restart the process. Commit to spread the fertilizer frequently, consistently, and across the entire field, not just once in a while to “pet” projects. Recognize that the results will not always be what you predict.
The only thing that is certain is change. In a volatile, fast-paced, and technology-driven economy, as soon as we become comfortable with something, along comes something new to replace it—new versions, new editions, new models, new flavors, new packaging, new styles, new pricing models, and new distribution channels. You must become comfortable with constant change to establish a culture of incremental innovation.
Trust yourself and your co-workers. People don’t innovate without self-confidence, and teams can’t perform without trust. Trust your ability to make a significant contribution to your organization, and trust your team and the system to respect and embrace your contributions. Trust must exist at the peer-to-peer level, at the cross-departmental level, and at the supervisor-subordinate level.
Empower people to let down their guards. Nobody can innovate while putting out fires or living in the present tense. Innovation requires conditions in which team members can clear away enough of the muck on their daily windshields to sense and explore new possibilities and envision new realities. Instill a “safe” environment where the outputs of the visioning can be exposed, explored, and discussed without ridicule or too much negativity. This is especially important in a smaller business where the freedom of expression may very well be why employees were attracted to the business in the first place.
World Series are won with singles and doubles. As exciting as home runs are, most batting titles, RBI leaders, and World Series team winners are determined by the nine men who can consistently hit singles and doubles, especially with runners in scoring position. The same holds true for innovation. Many entrepreneurs swing for the fences hoping for breakthrough innovation, but most growth companies succeed through lots of smaller projects and incremental innovations.
Reprinted from the Free Enterprise, November 23, 2011. Written by Andrew J. Sherman, Esq., Partner, Jones Day
