Tag Archives: innovation

Too Much? Technology Intrusion @SXSW

The Washington Post, reporting from Austin, provided coverage of South by Southwest 2012. While there were certainly gadgets galore, applications abounding, and technology that teased, today’s article brought up the premise that technology threatens the fabric of our relationships. The intrusion of interruptive “advances” can overwhelm the brain, says Amber Case, a cyborg anthropologist.

Avi Zev Weider offered a documentary for screening, “Welcome to the Machine,” that attempted to ask the question of how inter-human relationships are compromised. Similar to the Matrix film series, there was a strong undercurrent that the network is not always our friend and we need downtime, to unplug and be human and regenerate.

How does this vein of thought factor into our office environments? The tyranny of emails, interoffice communications, tweets, posts, etc can overwhelm even the most resolute worker. I’ve been in many businesses wherein the employees–even department heads–are afraid to walk away from their desks for fear that they may receive a communication to which they do not have the opportunity to respond in real time.

There is something inherently wrong with being captive to the powerful tools that were created–ostensibly–to make our lives better. In working with employees in a number of companies, I have given the employees permission to work strategically on projects, check their messages according to a predetermined schedule, and enjoy the resulting focus, clarity, and peace of mind.

In my own life, it can be harder to set the smartphone down when I know someone may try to communicate with me. The Tweets, email messages on my work email, emails on my home email, text messages from family & friends, alerts that I’ve set up to keep the day flowing, blog updates, LinkedIn updates, etc just keep rolling in and it can be soooo seductive to allow the flow to determine my pace and disposition.

What can we collectively do? Simple, purposeful choices can break the habitual “checking in” that can be so distracting. Determine when you will pick up your cell–make it less frequent than you’ve been observing. Schedule email reading and response time. Most importantly–schedule “think” and “rest” times. Without them, our collective quality of life, contentment on and off the job, and health–physical and emotional–will all suffer.

Spring Colds and Business Lethargy

Have you ever battled one of those seasonal colds that seems to set in just as the quarter changes? The kind that start out innocuously and, within a day or two, take over your body are the worst. With a stopped-up head, compounded by the medicine-induced slowdown of brain activity, perhaps a headache…you simply feel immobilized. Try as one might, even simple tasks require Herculean effort. Truly demanding focus–be it mental, emotional, or physical–wears out and leaves us exhausted.

In business settings, we can experience the onset of lethargy similar to the seasonal cold in cycles not unlike the changing of the seasons. Consider: when you finish your busiest season of the year, the week or so following can be extremely slow and unproductive; or a project comes to a close and your team is worn out; or your work group has just added a lot of new staff and some of your job is now done by others. While all of these situations seem to describe events that lead to a lack of work, what else can lead to job boredom?

Underemployment is a huge contributor to work environments in which employees (and management!) is under-motivated. How does this occur? Usually, when we take a position with an organization, we agree to a certain job description, rate of compensation and benefits package. However, we rarely talk about the career path, opportunity for advancement, and milestones that trigger promotion. If these items are discussed, they are discussed on the front end briefly because we read that we should. How can we keep the topic matter “front and center” throughout our relationship with an employer?

Much of it boils down to culture. Does your organization have intentionality/purposefulness about its culture? Is it “tuned in” to the needs of its employees, or only looking out for shareholder interests? While financial and accounting textbooks encourage us to only think about the “bottom line,” we all know that boring workplaces can be a downer and that culturally blase organizations lose talent, customers, and market share in the long term.

Either join a group that has a culture that values the employee, or be a change agent to help it become such! Speak with your supervisor, HR contact, etc about ideas that you have to enhance employee engagement. It has been our experience that, in many cases, executives have not only heard about progressive corporate cultures within their industry, but would like to have a reason to begin migrating in that direction. Keep in mind–“baby steps” are still walking! Perhaps you will be asked to join or facilitate an employee group to explore ways to make your office a better place to work. If so, you can escape the lethargy and begin to enjoy your avocation. Congrats to all who dare to embark on the journey from “medicine head” to lucidity!

Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a…?

In watching the rerun of “Ali” over the weekend, I was transfixed by the man on a mission, the fighter originally known as Cassius Clay. Muhammad Ali was motivated by multiple factors. He fought for Allah…for the repressed…for black men and women who yearned to be free…for his own self-worth. Stronger, more experienced fighters were knocked down and out time and again by this focused innovator of the boxing ring. Ali had the incredible footwork that made him elusive and seemingly able to “float like a butterfly.” Added to the footwork, he had a lethal left hand that, in his words, “stung like a bee.” This formidable combination proved almost unstoppable throughout a career that spanned a couple of decades.

In what ways is a prizefighter like a business executive? There’s the obvious–not everyone will agree with your beliefs and practices. Sometimes, we are called to make a stand on a life issue that is much bigger than ourselves or event the moment of competition. For many, a career pursuit is an opportunity to find fulfillment as we exercise our gifts and abilities and hope that our contribution to society has been positive and enduring.

But, beyond the esoteric comparisons, what else can we as business leaders derive from Ali and his legacy? He came into boxing at a time when standing toe-to-toe and slugging the other fighter into submission was the conventional wisdom. What did he do differently? He changed the game! By incorporating speedy footwork designed to force others to come to him, emphasizing endurance, and furious arm/hand speed, Muhammad Ali demonstrated that brute force could be overcome, just as other methods of warfare have been replaced over time. The “sting” of Ali was his counterpunching capability–to absorb what the competition threw his way, and to come back with a vengeance and knockout blow to the head.

In what ways have you undertaken a game-changing strategy? When your industry, product, service, talent, etc would dictate the terms to you, do you roll over and take it? Or, do you devise a unique approach that suits your unique competitive advantage and exploit it to gain an upper hand? Are you daring in the face of such long odds? Most of the innovators of our time have been

As to your counterpunch, do you have what it takes to observe the competition’s best effort, take it in stride, and initiate your own offensive? Does it deliver a “sting?” Or, is it benign and overlooked for lack of potency? Arise and conquer! Find a way to “punch” back when your adversary is resting on laurels. Develop your own effective means to TKO them and win your prize.

May you develop the knack to float like a butterfly and sting like a…

 

Do You Want a Chinese or Indian Fender?

Fender Musical Instruments Corp’s announcement that they will seek an IPO to raise cash to pay down senior debt is not so newsworthy. The other intended uses of proceeds are, however, very interesting. Fender is looking ahead to emerging market growth as a source for sales to take the company from the $1BB annual revenues level. China and India are warming to guitar music and Fender wants to promote electric guitars to all who will jump on the bandwagon.

Fender was sold  by its founder to Columbia Records in 1965 and then it was purchased by current ownership in 1985. Currently, 47% of sales come from outside the United States and are distributed among 85 countries. Gibson is a major competitor on the new guitar front; resellers like eBay on the used. The brand legacy in rock ‘n roll is ingrained in the American pop culture, with musical icons like Eric Clapton counted among enthusiasts. In fact, a Clapton Stratocaster sells for $2,000+. As emerging markets embrace capitalism and portions of Western culture, consumer products companies like Fender want to make sure they explore market opportunities.

This pattern brings up an interesting question–how has your business embraced globalization, and to what degree? Are emerging markets (including the “BRIC” nations of Brazil, Russia, India and China) on your radar? How might they become more germane to your business strategies? Many readers may have seen the “Shift Happens” slideshow what trumpets the rate of change in our world, the shifting balance of economic power, and the surge in education in countries that did not used to be democracies. One of the sure-fire take-aways from the slideshow should be that we need to embrace new paradigms for almost every area of life if we are to remain competitive.

What types of innovation and change are you contemplating? Even with a solid history of selling Telecasters and supplying the like of Jimi Hendrix with musical equipment, Fender continues to push the envelope. Acquisitions of other brands including musical instrument accessory distributors, launching of a new handcrafted guitar brand, and co-branding deals with Apple and HardRock Cafe all are indicative of a commitment to continuously change the competitive landscape.

Again, are most of us using an old wineskin, or do we embrace new opportunities–even seek them out? How bold are you in the strategic moves you are contemplating right now? Think purposefully about whether your business model could use some innovative approaches. Determine to do whatever it takes to create value–you will be so glad you did!

Crushing the Competition

Prize for the Winner

Whether your disposition tends toward competitiveness or no, as business organizations we need to outperform others in our industry. To not do so puts all stakeholders at risk–employees, investors, lenders, customers, vendors, etc. But, when a headline like the one above is read, it can cause some to bristle. Why is that? Probably because we have all seen the abusive pursuit of a goal cause collateral damage. And, yet, “crush” seems a little strong…

A conference of HR professionals that concluded in Raleigh today (#12hrmc) carried the above title. One of the speakers made the insightful comment that, while larger companies can boast greater revenues or number of employees, but  “no one can take away a competitive advantage of preferred culture.” This sentiment is great news for managers in organizations that are playing ‘catch up.’ If you find yourself in just such a situation, read on! There’s opportunity to be explored, but it may just require a reinvention of yourself and the structure around you. Innovation will be key to repositioning. Jacqueline Byrd (@creatrixinc) describes the type of innovation required as a combination of creativity and risk taking.

Byrd isolates four key components of creativity: ambiguity, independence, inner-directedness, and uniqueness. Ambiguity describes an employee’s ability to work without clear input. Independence is the competency wherein the individual can work in solitude and make progress. “Tuning in” to your inner voice to find calling is inner-directedness. Differentiation from one’s self and others defines uniqueness.

Risk-taking competencies include: authenticity, resilience, and self-acceptance. Authenticity equates to speaking what is top of mind, yet not necessarily harsh or brash. Believing everything will work out if we but persist is resilience. Those who can see shortcomings and lack of success as “learning” rather than “failure” are masters of self-acceptance.

Organizations that foster creativity and risk-taking, learn how to build innovation systems into their DNA, and celebrate both success and attempts that do not succeed are rare. They usually are very effective in:

  • attracting top talent
  • offering products and services with the “wow” factor, and
  • carving out a competitive advantage that can be sustained

If you work in a culture that resembles this pattern, chances are very good that you are crushing your competition–even if that is not your personality;)