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Are You Nipping Innovation in the Bud?

Before discussing innovation, I thought it would help to re-share my favorite Peter Drucker quote:

"Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two–and only two–basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs."

So if we can agree with Mr. Drucker that innovation is a critical component to success, we should do everything possible to foster and encourage it. Shouldn't we? But too often, we don't. Listed below are  20 Phrases That Kill Ideas and Innovation.  You might be seasoned enough to remember Deputy Barney Fife's advice for putting a stop to undesirable behaviors when he would say:  "You've got to nip it in the bud."  



How many times in the course of your day or week are you guilty of nipping innovation in the bud?  Do you find yourself uttering any of these Nip It phrases? They each start with “That’s a good idea, but…”

1.  It’s against company policy
2.  It’s not practical
3.  It’s not necessary
4.  We don’t have the resources
5.  It will cost too much
6.  We’ve never done it that way before
7.  Our customers (clients, patients, guests, clients or even vendors) won’t like it
8.  It needs more study
9.  It’s not part of your job
10.  Let’s do some research first
11.  Let’s sit on it for a while
12.  That’s not our problem
13.  The boss won’t go for it
14.  The old timers won’t use it
15.  It’s too hard to administer
16.  Why hasn’t someone else suggested it before?
17.  Let’s form a committee
18.  We should wait until the economy improves
19.  Who else has tried it?
20.  Is it best practice?

Are any of these in your business vernacular?  How recently have you uttered any of them? What happens when you take an idea and nip it? You prevent it from ever blossoming and eventually bearing fruit.  As soon as the word "but" leaves your lips, you're about to prune your innovation tree.  So when you catch yourself beginning to utter any of these phrases, take Barney's advice.  Take your idea-killing thought and nip it. You and your business will be better for it!

King James "Queen For A Day" Pageant

 
Back in the days of black and white TV, there was a game show called Queen for a Day that was a forerunner for today's reality shows.  The contestants on the show shared their tales of misfortune in an interactive losers' pageant. The winner of each episode was the contestant who had the most tragic tale as determined by an audience applause meter. Upon the announcement, the weepy winner was crowned as queen and showered with consolation prizes.

Fast forward to today and the self-proclaimed King of Akron, LeBron James who departed from his expiring obligation with his employer, the Cleveland Cavaliers. "The Decision" was preceded by a high stakes auction process that culminated with an over-hyped reality TV show.  Is this a great country, or what?

There were numerous losers in this process. The winner is yet to be determined. In the spirit and format of Queen for a Day, let's look at two tales of misfortune.  The pro basketball fans of northern Ohio and the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dan Gilbert.

Contestant #1: The Sports Fans of Northern Ohio who have endured...

• Living in a city known to some as the mistake by the lake
• Losing their NFL franchise to Baltimore in 1996
• Bitterly watching their former team, the Baltimore Ravens, win the 2001 Super Bowl
• Awarded an expansion franchise, the new Cleveland Browns that has mostly floundered since their inception
• Their baseball team, the Cleveland Indians has a record of long-standing futility exceeded only by our Chicago Cubs
• The Cavaliers' best teams were never quite able to get past Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls in the NBA playoffs
• Now, they have lost their hometown hero, the most athletic basketball talent with no compensation other than gaining salary cap space

Contestant #2: Dan Gilbert, Owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers and his laundry list of woes..

• Despite Mr. Gilbert's wealth and power he was unable to secure the loyalty of his team's most valuable asset.
• His "sales" team that was charged with the task of retaining their single, 25 year old millionaire star resorted to using custom cartoons to compete against the lure of Miami's South Beach social scene and what eventually proved to be a more talented team roster.
• His other business, Quicken Loans, is a mortgage lender.
• In the heat of the moment following "The Decision", Mr. Gilbert publicly published a bitter, vengeance laced letter to our Contestant #1, the Cavaliers fans.

Vote now for your choice in our King James Queen for a Day pageant.

Online Surveys & Market Research

The Lesson
Now that we've had some fun with this, I really want to shine a light on Dan Gilbert's letter. From my experience with helping executives to discover and change things that are getting in their way, there's an important lesson for all of us.

I believe that writing that letter was a valuable and therapeutic venting exercise for him as it can be for you.  But, publishing it was a potentially tragic mistake. In the midst of an emotionally charged event, you need to be aware of your emotions and avoid allowing them to drive counterproductive behavior.  In Mr. Gilbert's case he would have better off emulating Abraham Lincoln's practice of writing down his thoughts, putting the paper in a drawer overnight to be reread the next morning to decide if it was necessary to send. For Lincoln, it never was.

Instead of writing and publishing your emotionally charged thoughts, instead write, reflect and destroy. Discretion is the better part of valor.   Despite all of Dan Gilbert's past success, he will now be best known to many as a really sore loser.  So the next time you're mad as hell and want to share a piece of your mind, don't Gilbert the situation by sharing publicly.  Be aware of your emotions and their potential to influence ill advised actions. Instead consider venting in private and perhaps share your issue with your trusted advisors and allow cooler heads to prevail. Then, like Lincoln, let it go.

Hypothetical Hockey

It is June in Chicago. Yet, we are avidly following NHL Hockey. 

But back in 2005, the NHL was on strike. That inspired me to ponder a seemly silly scenario that happens all to frequently in the workplace.  Hypothetical Hockey is the story of our local team ponders attempting a score-free competition.  Sound like fun?  You might be surprised to discover how Hypothetical Hockey applies where you work.

The #1 Reason That Important Things Don’t Get Done.

In eight years of helping executives and management teams improve their ability to execute, I’ve discovered a common obstacle. There's one issue that comes up every time we discuss pursuing a challenging goal.  I've polled my audience and will now share...

The #1 Reason That Important Things Don't Get Done? 


As Richard Dawson, the former Family Feud Quizmaster, used to say, "Survey says…!"

"Not enough time."

If you answered correctly, you're not alone. “Not enough time” is overwhelmingly the most frequently heard obstacle. And, unless you can regularly overcome it, your important achievements are certain to suffer.  

A sign of the times?
While you might believe that the perceived shortage of time is a symptom of our downsized times, I can tell you I've heard it just as often 8 years ago as I hear it now.

Possible Solutions
In most scenarios, the most popular of possible solutions to consider is to delegate responsibility.  While it sounds simple, for many it’s not so easy.  While there may be some really important things that shouldn’t be delegated, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t other things that can be taken off our plates to make room for our most important.  But still we see many struggle with handing off responsibilities.  It is a complex issue.  One possible approach is to answer this question:

Is delegation a skill or an attitude?
The answer is “yes”, or “all of the above”.  When you lack delegation skills like the ability to effectively communicate, influence others and trust them, you are less inclined to let go. And you gradually establish some Self Limiting Beliefs that compound your situation.  You begin to believe that "if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself".  Because…

• No one will care about this like I do.
• No one else has my expertise.
• It will take too long to get someone else up to speed.

As with any self limiting belief, as long as you believe it’s true, you’ll be right.  But what is being right costing you in terms of your important achievements?  If you could improve your  delegation related skills, might you be able to change to embrace a more productive mindset?

There is no denying that time is a scarce resource. So before that tacky game show buzzer sounds on another one of your important deadlines, consider how you might develop more productive attitudes, habits and skills to delegate more effectively.

I will discuss another possible solution to this challenge in a future post. Meanwhile, you're invited to contribute your own by posting a comment.

Under Promise and Over Deliver

A curious change has occurred in air travel in recent years. No, I'm not thinking about enhanced security or the charges for checking bags.  Its the air lines' scheduling. You can now occasionally arrive as much as 30 minutes early for routine flight.  That never happened in years past. So what's up? Have the cash strapped airlines somehow become more efficient?  Not exactly. They have figured out a way to be more effective.

Efficiency vs. Effectiveness

Efficiency is about doing things right.  Effectiveness is about doing the right things. With all years of the airline efficiency efforts there remain elements that are out of their control like weather and traffic patterns.  However by focusing on what they can control: their stated arrival time, they are able to make promises to their customers that less likely to be broken.

Flying Smarter

The airline's secret to better on-time performance is to simply change the rules to make it easier to be on-time. If you allow yourself two hours for a flight that optimally takes an hour and 15 minutes, you can significantly reduce your likelihood of being late.  And so they under promise and occasionally over deliver. Over delivering takes the form of being 30 minutes ahead of schedule.  While this is not a breakthrough technical innovation. But who cares?  Air travelers already expect to wait for security measures and baggage to be processed.  With a more reliable schedule, we're more frequently satisfied.

Have you been over promising?

Can you take a lesson from the airlines?  What challenging promises have you been making to your customers?  Is it possible to tweak them to be more attainable?  Might your customers be happier with less efficiency and more effectiveness?

Overcoming "Breakup Reluctance"

For most of us, acquiring new customers means that we have to take the business away from an incumbent source. Countless prospects are lost when potential new accounts get cold feet over the thought of the potentially uncomfortable conversation needed for parting company with their long time source. They simply can't break their bad habit. Or to paraphrase the old Terryton cigarette ads, they'd rather avoid the fight than switch.

I once attended a sales seminar for CPAs that addressed this issue. Most incumbent CPAs have both years of sensitive records and have developed a long standing advisory role. Severing these ties can be particularly challenging. The recommendation to the seminar attendees was to coach their prospects on how to break the news to their old accountant. For those in need, perhaps you would even prepare their script and help them rehearse. Failure to do so effectively could cost a CPA a new client.

In another area of financial services, insurance, there is a new approach: outsourcing the breakup. In Allstate Insurance's current TV ad campaign, they offer to do it for you and encourage you to delegate the task of having the potentially uncomfortable conversation. While this may be the coward's way out, the reality is that Allstate has found a way to turn cowards into customers.



As the song goes, Breaking Up is Hard to Do. As you strive to gain someone else's customers, what can you do to make make breaking up easy to do?

• Can you offer guidance to your prospects to make their breakup conversation easier?
  
• Might you provide a boiler plate letter they can print on their letterhead?
  
• Can you borrow a trick from Allstate and offer to make the call for them?
• Or, perhaps you can simply challenge them to be something other than a coward. Encourage them to bite the bullet, pick up the phone and wish their old source a successful future.

What are your suggestions for making the breakup easy to do? Add your comments below.