Devoted to Managers and those that seek to improve their management skills

When I’ve consulted with companies throughout the years, one of the things I attempt to convey to them is that they shouldn’t attempt to always have the “big idea” as the big motivator of their innovation. At first I will notice the droop of their shoulders as they look like they’ve lost their favorite pet.

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Peter Horan at the CEOs blog makes a good point concerning this when he talks about the role of metrics in driving innovation.

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Here is how he puts it:

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Some executives subscribe to the big idea school of innovation—waiting for the lightning bolt that will change the world. When those ideas come, their impact is undeniable. But they are noteworthy, in part, because they are so rare.”

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And I agree with his assessment that rather than look to these big moments, we should build the idea of progression into the very core of your company’s everyday life.

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As I’ve studied a lot of Edison ’s life, I like his example of the light bulb and how it came into existence. Edison understood what it was he was looking for in searching for a filament that could produce light without burning up. From there he went through a huge amount of alternatives until the one that worked was produced. 

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While there occasional big moments that can give huge momentum swings in our businesses, in reality it is working in the same vein of Edison that creates the biggest successes in business. 

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Mr. Horan goes on to say: “Before you can innovate you have to define the key drivers of your business. This will help to anchor your explorations on the things that matter most. Most often this means having a business plan that you have thought out and that is updated. The drivers are specific to your business and your goals for this year. They might be improved margins, selling more to your best customers, increasing the rate of repeat orders or any number of other factors. You also need to assign a value (real, measurable, and hopefully monetary) to improvement in these factors.” 

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I do think that he has a valid point here. His overall purpose of the post is that metrics doesn’t have to be considered an enemy of innovation. The truth is that metrics gives a goal to shoot for and within that goal there is where the creativity and innovation is achieved. 

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Creativity isn’t sitting in a room shooting at nothing; rather it is in the context of an idea or problem that must be solved and demands the worker to apply all of their powers to the solution. To me there is nothing stifling about that.