Innovation – Page 3 – thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World

How structured is your approach to problem-solving?

October 4, 2018/1 Comment/in Business Toolkit, Communications, Innovation, Poll /by Mike Figliuolo

Our reader poll today asks: How structured is your approach to problem-solving?

Very – we have clearly defined steps and output at each step: 19.5%
Kind of – we generally follow a repeatable problem solving process: 50.5%
Not very – our problem solving is a bit haphazard: 21.5%
Not at all – we never solve problems the same way twice: 8.5%

A weak structure means weak solutions. Problem-solving is a repeatable process with predictable end products for most common problems. A structured approach to problem-solving ensures you fully understand the problem and are comprehensive in your search for solutions. The structured approach is also efficient. If you can be hypothesis-based in your problem solving and focus on the highest opportunity solutions, you can save a lot of time by not chasing small ideas. For the 30% of you not solving problems with a structured approach, give structure a try. You might find you’ll come up with bigger and better solutions faster than ever before.

Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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Overcoming Impediments to Innovation

August 27, 2018/0 Comments/in Books, Entrepreneur, Guest Blogger, Innovation, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Innovation, or the lack thereof, is a function of how well leaders overcome common obstacles like insufficient time, effort, or risk tolerance. If you want to see the ideas start flowing, tackle the common obstacles to innovation first.

Today’s post is by Paul Sloane, author of The Leader’s Guide to Lateral Thinking Skills (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

Is innovation critical for your business survival and success? Are you dissatisfied with your ability to bring new products and services to market? Surveys show that most business leaders would answer both questions with a ‘yes’.

If you want to make your organization more agile and innovative where should you start?

You could launch a big initiative with grand statements, training classes and an idea generation scheme. But I believe it is better to begin with a brutally honest assessment of what is preventing innovation from happening today. Organizations unwittingly develop internal impediments to innovation in terms of their corporate culture and practices. There is no point in running supercharged brainstorms in order to fill the funnel with ideas if there are blockages which prevent good ideas from being implemented.

In my innovation master classes, we start by discussing what innovation is and what its benefits are. I then ask delegates what is impeding innovation in their businesses today. The most common answers I get include:

We do not have enough time to try new things
There is no budget for experimentation
We are risk averse
There is a fear of failure
Approval processes are long-winded and difficult with many sign-offs
It is not in our objectives or Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
There are no rewards or incentives
Departments work in silos
There is no vision or strategy for innovation

I asked one delegate who ran his own business in entertainment, “What was impeding innovation for your firm?” He thought for a moment and then responded, “Nothing.” There was silence in the room. Most, if not all, of the impediments given by the executives and listed above are excuses. All of the cultural and process barriers can be overcome by determined and courageous leaders. We have plenty of people who talk the talk but not many who are prepared to tackle the people and process issues which are preventing entrepreneurial initiatives.

Recognizing Innovation Right in Front of You

July 30, 2018/0 Comments/in Books, Entrepreneur, Guest Blogger, Innovation, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Breakthrough innovation virtually always builds upon other existing ideas or innovations. Your organization is full of ideas that simply haven’t materialized yet. Changing the way you look at and think about innovation can help unlock their potential.

Today’s post is by Dr. Kumar Mehta, author of The Innovation Biome (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

Establishing the conditions that encourage innovation is the best way for your company to consciously develop an environment that consistently lets you produce offerings with new and novel value – innovations in the eyes of your users. The most innovative companies do this instinctively – perhaps because of the culture instilled by superstar leaders, a conscious and successful effort, or the emergence of the right conditions after things just fell into place.

But the fact is that every company can develop this innate innovation capability – something I call an Innovation Biome. Companies are inherently innovative, and their employees often have great ideas that can become market winners. The problem is that companies do not have an environment to support, nurture and germinate the great ideas as they believe that the great ideas are “out there” somewhere. It is critical that your organization focus on innovation from within by recognizing the innovation in front of you.

One of the core assumptions about innovation that every leader needs to understand is that ideas always build on other ideas. Breakthrough innovation is never something that comes out of the blue. Nothing is independent. Progress breeds progress. Improvements lead to other improvements. Just like the Internet – everything is connected. Creativity and innovation are about improving on what is out there and connecting dots in an original way to create new value.

Innovations are rarely, if ever, unique breakthroughs with no history. They come from interconnected, networked ideas. They come from expanding on the lessons of the past. The one common truth across all innovations throughout history is that if an innovation had not happened as we know it, it would still have happened, only with a different set of players and circumstances. We would still have antibiotics if Alexander Fleming had not observed that mold kills bacteria, and we would still be flying had the Wright brothers not pioneered flight, and we would still have mass produced automobiles and light bulbs had Henry Ford or Thomas Edison not made the contributions they did.

Generating Creative Ideas by Challenging Constraints

July 3, 2018/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Innovation, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Creativity is your organization’s growth engine. The problem is we constantly run into constraints to generating creative, new ideas. Many times those constraints are self-imposed. Amazing things can happen when you relax those constraints.

Today’s post is by Paul Smith, thoughtLEADERS principal and bestselling author of Lead With a Story and Sell With a Story.

Are you trying to make your team more creative? Have you ever searched desperately for new solutions but had trouble coming up with great ideas?

Stepping outside your existing or self-imposed frame of reference can help you identify new solutions. Better yet – sharing examples of situations like that can unleash your team’s creativity.

Here’s a quick video that covers an example of how to think outside self-imposed or existing boundaries. The examples will help you understand the techniques for being more creative and provide you examples of stories you can tell your team to help them apply these methods. Enjoy!

If you’re interested in becoming a better storyteller yourself, check out our Influencing through Storytelling course and our Storytelling for Salespeople course where we can come into your organization and help you build this powerful, critical skill.

How well does your organization translate qualitative measures into quantitative metrics?

June 28, 2018/0 Comments/in Entrepreneur, Innovation, Leadership, Poll, Project Management /by Mike Figliuolo

Our reader poll today asks: How well does your organization translate qualitative measures into quantitative metrics?

Very — Every qualitative measure has hard metrics to support it.: 10.5%
Somewhat — Some qualitative measures have metrics; others don’t.: 49.4%
Not at all — We don’t translate qualitative measures to metrics.: 40.1%

You can’t manage what you don’t measure. Often there’s a temptation to say, “Well, it’s a qualitative measure, so we don’t need a metric for it.” With that mindset, you’ll be hard-pressed to figure out if you’re having the impact you desire or if you have surprising problems lurking out of sight. The vast majority of qualitative measures can have quantitative metrics associated with them. Determine which metrics are indicators of the qualitative measure, and track those. While the correlation won’t be perfect, you’ll at least have a gauge of progress and early warning of possible issues before they occur.

Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

Did you enjoy this post? If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog. It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!). SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!

If You Want to Succeed, Use Your Team

June 25, 2018/1 Comment/in Books, Communications, Entrepreneur, Guest Blogger, Innovation, Leadership, Strategy /by Mike Figliuolo

Business owners should take advantage of their team’s passion, talents, and knowledge to help the company becomes as profitable as possible.

Today’s post is by Robert Thomas Bethel, author of Strengthen Your Business (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

I have overseen the turnaround of 77 failing businesses in my 52-year career. For all the money and jobs that were saved, I take just 5% of the credit.

The other 95% belongs with the employees of the businesses I took over. Without their commitment to turning things around, none of those 77 companies would’ve made it.

Many of the owners who sold me their failing business did not take full advantage of the talents, knowledge, and passion of their employees. They kept them in the dark, fearing that if anyone knew how bad things had gotten, everyone would’ve been out looking for new jobs.

Nothing could have been further from the truth.

In my first day at a new company, I call every team member together and lay out the truth, warts and all. I’ve never had an employee quit after hearing how bad things have gotten. In fact, I’ve seen employees make personal sacrifices for the good of the company.

When I took over a large metalworking plant nestled among the hills and valleys of eastern Tennessee, an older machine operator approached me after our first meeting and sheepishly said, “I appreciate you telling us where we are. My kids are grown, and my wife has a good job. We’ve paid off our house and cars. If it helps, I can go without a paycheck for a month.”

That machine operator was willing to make a personal sacrifice because he was invested in the plant’s future success. He wanted to be part of the solution instead of running from a fight.

When people are invested in something, they’ll do whatever they can to help steer it away from failure and toward success. That’s what the previous owners never understood. They all selfishly thought that if the business failed, they’d be the ones most impacted.