"Don't create a new group or organization within your company whose job is innovation."
Right away, I liked that dictum from Silicon Valley investor, Marc Andressen. It seemed like common sense to me. I have worked in all levels of management over the years and can't say that any one level has a monopoly on good ideas. Some dysfunctional levels shut themselves down in protest to mismanagement or lack of interest, and others may make good suggestions and are not listened to. In either case, woe to the organization who limits new ideas to a blue-ribbon task force. The Wall Street Journal editorial page column, "Notable & Quotable," (Feb 21-22) pulled Andressen's quote about the culture of innovation from his new free e-book, The Pmarca Blog Archives (select posts from 2007-2009) and a post about retaining good people:
"This (blue-ribbon group assigned to innovation) takes various forms, but it happens reasonably often when a big company gets into product trouble, and it's hugely damaging.
"Here's why:
"First, you send the terrible message to the rest of the organization that they're not supposed to innovate.
"Second, you send the terrible message to the rest of the organization that you think they're the B team.
"That's a one-two punch that will seriously screw things up.
"Instead, focus on boosting the innovation culture of the entire company...
"In general, the intangibles that keep great people are: the quality of the people they're working with, the interestingness level of their projects, and whether they are learning and growing (note: this assumes the company does want to retain its best people. Sometimes I wonder).
"The tangibles are: winning, and a high stock price (the value of the company to the stockholder).
Successful leaders, to quote self-help author Robert Collier, know that success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out. Perceptive leaders know that innovation from the front line of an organization is more likely to improve the company than a board room full of vice-presidents and their coat-holders. Sometimes the innovations are what we at the college call Big Hairy Audacious Ideas. But more often, they are just a minor improvement of a mundane process. Both are important; both need to be nurtured and celebrated.
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Shoulda Woulda Coulda
A couple of days after the Packers lost in the NFC Championship game, a local sportswriter listed 16-plays that could have decided the game in our favor. A penalty here, a drop there, fake punts, missed assignments, downed interceptions, onside muffs and kept the Packers out of the Arizona Super Bowl. If we coulda had one of those plays back...
Rather than admit that Seattle played an inspired 60+ minutes of football to Green Bay's 56, it's more soothing to the Packer fan's psyche to imagine what should have happened if the football gods could have been kinder. Where was Vince when we needed him? Of course we forget about the questionable Dez Bryant catch/no-catch call a week before. Ask the Cowboy fans about that. Since most teams are evenly matched, I suspect every team needs a little luck to advance in the playoffs.
After tonight's Super Bowl game, the second guessing migrates west from the Frozen Tundra to overcast Seattle who saw their team turn down a sure Marshawn Lynch short yardage touchdown in favor of a short pass over the middle. It seemed like a good idea, right up to the time the pass was intercepted by Patriot cornerback Malcolm Butler. Game over. Welcome to the post-game second-guessing.
The Monday-morning call-in shows that follow a close defeat must be one of the early stages of sports fan grieving process. Even though our Packer flags have been hung up, cheeseheads shelved and autographed jerseys folded up until next year's training camp, NFC Championship plays run through our heads as we wonder, "What if." It's a predictable process beginning with anger and disbelief ending with acceptance and buying season tickets for next year.
That is part of the fan game. Thirty-one teams recap and argue key Shoulda Woulda Coulda plays after a season. Only one team tells the sideline reporter everything turned out just as they had foreseen. But success is fleeting. Those who lead the parade at Disney World have a cartoon character riding along side them whispering, "Not so high and mighty, Buckaroo..."
Sports has a way of turning the tables on even the most successful franchises and testing the mettle of its fan base. Just ask Cub fans. Long time fans know that the draft and training camp are not that far away. And then, just wait, just wait. Things will be a lot different next year.
Rather than admit that Seattle played an inspired 60+ minutes of football to Green Bay's 56, it's more soothing to the Packer fan's psyche to imagine what should have happened if the football gods could have been kinder. Where was Vince when we needed him? Of course we forget about the questionable Dez Bryant catch/no-catch call a week before. Ask the Cowboy fans about that. Since most teams are evenly matched, I suspect every team needs a little luck to advance in the playoffs.
After tonight's Super Bowl game, the second guessing migrates west from the Frozen Tundra to overcast Seattle who saw their team turn down a sure Marshawn Lynch short yardage touchdown in favor of a short pass over the middle. It seemed like a good idea, right up to the time the pass was intercepted by Patriot cornerback Malcolm Butler. Game over. Welcome to the post-game second-guessing.
The Monday-morning call-in shows that follow a close defeat must be one of the early stages of sports fan grieving process. Even though our Packer flags have been hung up, cheeseheads shelved and autographed jerseys folded up until next year's training camp, NFC Championship plays run through our heads as we wonder, "What if." It's a predictable process beginning with anger and disbelief ending with acceptance and buying season tickets for next year.
That is part of the fan game. Thirty-one teams recap and argue key Shoulda Woulda Coulda plays after a season. Only one team tells the sideline reporter everything turned out just as they had foreseen. But success is fleeting. Those who lead the parade at Disney World have a cartoon character riding along side them whispering, "Not so high and mighty, Buckaroo..."
Sports has a way of turning the tables on even the most successful franchises and testing the mettle of its fan base. Just ask Cub fans. Long time fans know that the draft and training camp are not that far away. And then, just wait, just wait. Things will be a lot different next year.
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