Creative thinking pays dividends in business.
Business leaders often talk of the need for innovation within their organizations. A large percentage of their mission statements contain the word innovative. But innovation doesn’t just happen. It takes original thinking, a fresh view of the big picture and bold steps into the unknown to create and introduce something new.
The ground must be fertile within organizations to allow innovation to take root and flourish. Studies indicate that 80 percent of decisions are made based on past events. To be innovative, we must be aware of these old mental models as we seek new, innovative solutions to meet today’s challenges. History is important, but basing future change on past results will only lead to small incremental changes, like adjusting the jib sail on a boat. In today’s turbulent business ecosystem, this is a recipe for disaster.
We need new mental models.
As former cost-cutting Sunbeam Corp, CEO “Chainsaw” Al Dunlap once observed, there are only two types of firms: The quick and the dead. Revolutionary change is what is needed. To accomplish revolutionary change, we must engage in fresh, unencumbered strategic thinking. We must mitigate the damage of emerging threats and exploit the opportunities presented by the instability within our business ecosystem.
Proponents of the old mental models often seek their solutions in finding more people and throwing more money at the problem. The new mental model requires creative, agile and innovative thinking.
There are many high-profile examples of leaders who have adapted new mental models successfully.
Examples include Dell computers, WestJet and eBay. As these corporate leaders seized new mental models and revolutionized their industries, their competitors were blindsided. The solution was not more money or more people but fresh, innovative, strategic thought.
All organizations have genetic blindness, just as land is a mystery to fish because fish are not genetically equipped to understand land. By the time the fish understands the land, it is often too late. Do you see the future coming?
To create the fertile ground necessary to produce revolutionary, innovative change, Professor Gary Hamel suggests that five things must happen:
* Add new voices. Organizations must invite young people and other new agents into the decision-making process. They will provide fresh insights.
* Create new conversations. Consider who has attended your strategy meetings in the past. Are they always the same people? That will lead to disaster. Organizations must break free from the concentrated scripted sessions of the past. Conversations that cross-functional and geographic boundaries will lead to new thinking. The actual value comes from continuing dialogues. Revolutionary change can’t be crammed into one planning afternoon. Venture divisions established by organizations are applicable if funded and given the authority to accelerate the innovation process within organizations.
* Promote new perspectives. Organizations can’t raise the IQ of individuals, but they can change views by helping them see the world in different ways. Recall the Jimmy Buffet song, Changes in Attitudes, Changes in Latitudes. The ability to stand in a new place will help the issues be seen in a new way. For example, business leaders should teach, and academics should lead the business to provide them with powerful new perspectives. This would bring fresh new thoughts to problems when they return to their sectors.
* Establish shared passions. There must be a passion for diversity, and employees must have passion for the organization. Charles Schwab CEO David Pottruck commented, “Our employees see themselves as custodians of our customer’s financial dreams.” When was the last time you heard that passion expressed by your employees?
* Encourage experimentation. The route to the desired result is hidden. The pursuit of efficiency and fiscal restraint often drive out the experimentation necessary to find the needed innovation. How many experiments does your organization have underway? When asked, many of my clients can’t point to any innovative new experiments within their organization. At any one time, an organization should have 20 or 30 small experiments underway. This will lead to fertile ground for revolutionary change. Do not be afraid to experiment – mistakes are a good thing.
Organizations must spend less time focusing on innovation as a “thing” and more time focusing on the things that lead to innovation. As business leaders, we need to stop talking about innovation and start adopting new mental models that permit innovative strategic thinking to take root.
