How Walmart--Yes, Walmart--Created A Cottage Industry Of Small-Town Retail Innovators

Think Again. Northern Arkansas isn't just the home of the world's largest retailer. It's the home of an array of cutting-edge retail and tech companies that got their start in part because Walmart is here.

Image courtesy of WalMart

UNITED STATES
OF INNOVATION

New Ideas, New Markets, New Insights

All around the country, Americans are dreaming big. Their boldest ideas are changing their communities--and having a ripple effect throughout the world.

A few years ago, Abby Kiefer and her husband Kurt Kober started nursing the idea for a company that would crowdsource the design of home décor items, like vases and pillowcases. It was a night-and-weekend kind of daydream. Both had full-time jobs, Kiefer as a city planner in San Francisco and Kober as an account manager for the Oakland-based Clorox Company. Their idea grew until that inevitable moment when it got too big for part-time tinkering. “At that point, one of us was going to quit our jobs in the Bay Area,” Kiefer says. “And it was like, uh shoot, we’re not 24 and wanting to live on ramen any more and out of a studio apartment.”

Clorox happened to offer Kober a sales rotation at that very moment, and the couple (he’s 34, she’s 31) could have moved anywhere to launch the new business. They could have gone to Portland, or Seattle, or Tampa (Clorox products are sold, well, everywhere).

“And then there’s always Arkansas,” Kiefer recalls discussing over dinner one night. That might sound a little strange if you know nothing about retail. But Northwest Arkansas is America’s undisputed epicenter of selling stuff. Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, is based there, as is Tyson Foods and J.B. Hunt, the trucking giant that moves everyone’s merchandise. Over the last decade, as Walmart has encouraged its suppliers to huddle close to its Bentonville hive, hundreds of other companies have set up offices in Arkansas, too.

Northern Arkansas is the modern-day Mecca for retail.

“Where better to go than this kind of retail bubble of the universe?” says Kiefer, who now runs her startup, Red Clay, out of Bentonville (as for Kober, he’s now Clorox’s national account manager for Walmart). “Everybody who sells something knows of this place, and a lot of them have an office here, and lot of them have connections here. It was like holy crap, it would be perfect.”

Outside of Arkansas, this corner of the state is best known for its most famous adopted son, Walmart’s Sam Walton. But the burgeoning startup scene Red Clay has joined is turning this place into something else: not just the home of Walmart, but the home of an array of innovative retail/tech companies that got their start in part because Walmart is here.

“We sort of see it as the modern-day Mecca for retail,” says Jeannette Balleza, the director of a new startup accelerator in Northwest Arkansas, the ARK Challenge. It will select its first class of entrepreneurs this summer focusing on the three areas in which Walmart, Tyson’s, and J.B. Hunt give the region outsized expertise: retail, food services, and logistics. The University of Arkansas in Fayetteville has also cultivated a specialty in this space, with both a Center for Retailing Excellence and an RFID Research Center. “What I hear from venture capitalists,” Balleza says, “is that ‘unless you can tell us you’re best in world at this, or you have some unfair competitive advantage, we’re not going to look at you.’ And for these three areas, we feel like yes we’re the best in the world.”

It’s easy to envision what innovation looks like in more tech-heavy industries. It’s a hybrid car, or a flying drone, or a new iPhone. But in retail?

“The issues that we’re solving are decades old,” says Henry Ho, a former and long-time Procter & Gamble employee in Arkansas who is now behind some of the area’s other retail startups (he, too, moved here because of Walmart). Modern technology, however--and crowdsourcing in particular--have unleashed new tactics for answering those old retail questions: How do you keep accurate tabs on consumer demand? How do you make sure your inventory matches it? How do you more efficiently develop, distribute and display products? And how do you know if people just don’t like them (or would like them better if they came in blue)?

One of Ho’s projects, a company called Field Agent, turns smart-phone-wielding shoppers into retail intelligence-gatherers. As they move through stores, these “Agents” (shoppers who get paid for their efforts) can photograph displays, scan bar codes and offer opinions on everything from how clean a store is to whether its products are displayed right. In aggregate, this information can tell a company like Walmart how its stores are performing, without having to sending an auditor to all 3,700 of them.

This is a big business for retailers and suppliers who are invested in every detail of your shopping experience, right down to the “planogram compliance” (yes, there is an industry term to describe how products are displayed on a shelf, with certain items at eye level and others lined up just so).

Whether you agree with them or not, Walmart, Tyson’s, and J.B. Hunt managed to change their industry.

Kiefer’s crowdsourcing concept with Red Clay similarly touched a nerve with home-décor retailers. Red Clay produced a textile and ceramic line by crowdsourcing the proposals of numerous designers for the most popular ideas. When Kiefer took the end products to trade shows in New York and Atlanta earlier this year, several large retailers loved Red Clay’s designs. But they loved the concept even more. Nobody was crowdsourcing product designs before producing them (and Red Clay proved that doing so could turn out items that actually look good).

Kiefer realized that the process was her best product. And now, starting in August, instead of producing its own products, Red Clay will manage the crowdsourced design of a line of table-top items for a national department store. Designers will get a chance to display their portfolios before major brands, and large retailers will for the first time be able to invite their customers to pick their favorite designs before they go into production.

In nearby Fayetteville, another company called TTAGG is also mining the knowledge of crowds for information coveted by retailers. TTAGG trolls social data for marketing research and insight--for clues into what people are saying about Target on Twitter, or what they’re writing on product review sites. The company has created a kind of real-time focus group, one that costs a lot less and covers much more ground than the old-school, sit-down variety. A typical 10-person, one-week focus group can run a company anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000. And it only gives feedback from those few people (in response to the questions retailers thought they needed to ask).

“[Our] data isn’t limited by what you hypothesize the problems or the answers might be,” says Ryan Frazier, one of TTAGG’s founders. “There’s a whole discovery piece to it.” And as services like this bring down the cost of market research (and improve the efficiency of retailers), they may bring down the price of products you buy as well.

The stories of all of these startups seem to interlock. They’ve connected through the same angel investors--the Fund for Arkansas’ Future,  or Gravity Ventures--they’ve come to know the same people around town or to trace their roots back to the same companies. Joey Nelson and Matt Hudson met at Rockfish Interactive, while working on mobile development projects for Walmart and Sam’s Club. Six months ago, they created their own mobile gaming company, MobileFWD, which launched its first app this month. Their partner in the endeavor is John James, the CEO of an e-commerce empire in the area. In talking about their own ideas, Nelson and Hudson rave about Field Agent’s, and Henry Ho does the same.

“I really feel like it’s all seeded by a community that was inspired by Sam Walton,” Hudson says.

All of these entrepreneurs also share nearly identical stories about what it’s like to tell someone from outside of Arkansas that you’ve launched a business there. Investors expect them to relocate to Silicon Valley. Potential clients do a double-take by phone: “You’re calling from where?” And then there are the coastal types startled to hear they even have access to an airport in Arkansas.

But none of this sounds like it bothers any of them.

“There are some pretty big companies that have come out of here that have completely changed the face of the industry they’re in,” Kiefer says. “Whether you agree with them or not, Walmart, Tyson’s, J.B. Hunt, these are big companies that all started out totally tiny. Over the course of a couple of decades, they managed to change their industry.”

[Top Image: Walmart] via Emily Badger and fastcompany.com

 

Why Best Practices Get You Only So Far - C.K. Prahalad

Companies identify best practices, particularly those of market leaders, and try to implement them. Such benchmarking has a role to play in business, but I’m not exactly a fan of the process. It may allow enterprises to catch up with competitors, but it won’t turn them into market leaders. Organizations become winners by spotting big opportunities and inventing next practices—as I’ve pointed out to CEOs for over two decades now.

Companies become winners by spotting big opportunities and inventing next practices.

Next practices are all about innovation: imagining what the future will look like; identifying the mega-opportunities that will arise; and building capabilities to capitalize on them. Apple’s Steve Jobs and Tata Motors’ Ratan Tata do just that.

Most executives believe it’s tough to identify breakthrough opportunities. However, several are pretty obvious; Peter Drucker once said that the best opportunities are “visible, but not seen.” I help executives unearth opportunities by focusing them on big problems that their companies will benefit from by tackling. They must ask six questions:

• Is the problem widely recognized?

• Does it affect other industries?

• Are radical innovations needed to tackle the problem?

• Can tackling it change the industry’s economics?

• Will addressing this issue give us a fresh source of competitive advantage?

via hbr.org

Open Innovation: A Not-So-Secret Recipe

This article originally ran in the June 2012 issue of Food Manufacturing.

Product development projects are often kept quiet by processors looking to protect their “secret recipes.” However, some companies such as General Mills are using open innovation to share their R&D projects with suppliers and others who may be able to help make the final product a larger success. Food Manufacturing spoke with Michael Antinone of the General Mills Worldwide Innovation Network (G-WIN) about the benefits of putting development projects out in the open.

Q: What is the X3 Process, and how does it work?

A: The X3 Process is a new approach that we developed at General Mills to provide a step-by-step roadmap for our open innovation projects. It encompasses three core principals of innovation — eXamine, eXpand, and eXplore — and facilitates the process of innovation by helping make connections between unmet technical needs and actionable solutions.

Unlike some other innovation processes, the X3 Process provides a non-linear path to success, which means you use only the steps you need to effectively identify appropriate solutions. This is important to us because we realize that people approach innovation from various camps. For example, there are those who excel at defining needs or problems, but struggle to identify solutions. On the other hand, some people are great at generating solution paths but are less comfortable with problem definition. It is critical that the X3 Process accommodate various approaches, so that anyone can use it to achieve success.

This non-linear approach is also important because not all projects are the same, and therefore, not every project will require every step of the process. Instead, the X3 Process allows you to right-size the solution for the task at hand, only doing what is necessary to get to the best solution spaces.

The X3 Process includes the following steps:

• Ask the right question(s) – gather knowledge internally to gain alignment on your “true” knowledge gaps and technical needs
• Get smart – build and develop new knowledge, including key insights and innovation opportunities
• Ask better questions – immerse your team in new knowledge to generate insights and new hypotheses
• Communicate needs – write, refine and finalize well-crafted briefs that clearly explain your needs
• Find smart people – use available tools and networking opportunities to identify potential solution providers
• Make connections – initiate relationships and kick off projects

Q: How was this process developed?

A: Since formally launching G-WIN five years ago, we learned that our scientists were excited about the open innovation tools available to them, but they didn’t necessarily know how and when to use them most effectively. There was a need for a facilitator or roadmap for the entire open innovation process — something that would let our scientists be scientists.
Beginning in March of last year, the G-WIN team worked with a group of General Mills’ strategists and innovators to develop the approach, bringing together a number of best practices to balance the art and science of open innovation.

Q: How have General Mills’ innovation projects been impacted by this new process?

A: The X3 Process has been instrumental in our recent innovation projects, which is why we decided to share our insights externally in hopes that other businesses, organizations and individuals will find the approach valuable to their projects as well.

We first implemented the X3 Process at General Mills to guide a sugar-reduction project that kicked off in June 2011, and we intend to use the process for similar large platform projects in the future.

Q: How has open innovation worked for General Mills? Have there been any unforeseen benefits or consequences?

A: Innovation is an important growth strategy for General Mills. We’re always looking for ways to bring even higher levels of taste, health and convenience to consumers. We can use open innovation as a lever to deliver these benefits to the consumer through introducing new products, improving our existing products and packaging or finding new ways to manufacture or market our products.

One recent example of how open innovation has driven performance is our new Fiber One 90-Calorie Brownies. General Mills’ Snacks division, which includes brands such as Nature Valley, Fiber One and Chex Mix, has embraced open innovation to advance several areas of its business, including new product innovation. While the Fiber One team created the idea and concept for a tasty, wholesome brownie, and our R&D department had the expertise to make the perfect dough, they recognized they didn’t have the existing internal expertise and baking manufacturing capabilities to bake it. In order to quickly bring the product to market, we decided to enlist an open innovation partner, which we found in a company with which General Mills had worked years earlier. That partner had the baking experience and pilot plant facilities needed to test and perfect the baking process to the Fiber One team’s exact specifications.

The Snacks division estimates that the partnership saved nine to 12 months in terms of taking the product from concept to launch, and Fiber One 90-Calorie Brownies have already proven a terrific success, on track to reach $120 million in year-one retail sales.

One unforeseen benefit of open innovation that our experiences have shown us is the huge opportunity we have to better connect with suppliers with which we are already working. Prior to launching G-WIN, we used to be close to the vest about our future plans and projects, even with suppliers. We now see the value existing suppliers can have at the front end of innovation, as seen with the Fiber One 90-Calorie Brownies project.

Q: Is open innovation a fluid process? Have there been any changes with the process as it has moved forward? Do you anticipate further changes?

A: Since launching our program, we’ve continuously refined and evolved our practices to become more effective and efficient in bringing the right outside technologies, processes and products to General Mills, which has accelerated the pace of our innovation and saved money, time and risk.

A few of the notable evolutions of our program include the following:

• In 2008, we expanded the G-WIN team to include more than a dozen Innovation Entrepreneurs who work with each of General Mills’ businesses to identify and prioritize the solutions and capabilities that are the most important to each business.
• We realized that we needed to be more specific and transparent about the challenges we were looking to solve in order to get higher-quality submissions. For example, it’s one thing to say that we’re seeking “packaging solutions” as we may have done early on in our efforts, and another to say that we’re looking for ways “to use renewable content in flexible packaging films and rigid containers.” In the fall of 2009, we launched the G-WIN innovation portal, through which we publish technical challenges and invite visitors to create and submit non-confidential proposals. During the first year of launching this more robust and clearly articulated site, we connected with more than 1,000 inventors from around the world and received more than 500 proposals.
• In 2010, we introduced a town hall meeting strategy to help efficiently make meaningful connections with potential partners around the globe. We hold these town hall events at times and locations that coincide with food industry or technology events to ensure we’re able to meet, greet and learn more about a large number of potential partners that are relevant to our business. Attendees are encouraged to familiarize themselves with our current technical challenges by visiting our online portal prior to the town hall event. The meeting itself provides the opportunity for them to get to know us, network with each other, and share their core competencies and capabilities with us. After the town hall meeting, we then follow up individually with the attendees who were a best fit in terms of their abilities to solve our challenges.
• Last but not least, we’ve held two Supplier Summits to bring together our top suppliers to network, hear about the company’s business strategies and learn about specific partnership opportunities. In response to the Supplier Summit we held last summer, we’ve already received more than 120 proposals, more than 100 of which are continuing forward for further evaluation.

Interview by Lindsey Coblentz, Associate Editor, Food Manufacturing

via manufacturing.net

Why are Chinese consumers crazy for Apple?

 Chinese consumers are hungry for foreign brands but for Apple products, in particular, the demand is insatiable. What explains China’s love affair with Apple?

On January 13, Apple launched its latest smartphone—the iPhone 4S—in China. Hundreds of customers had queued overnight outside Apple's flagship store in Sanlitun in Beijing. That morning, the store failed to open on schedule, and soon after, Apple officially announced that the company would suspend all iPhone 4S sales at its Beijing and Shanghai retail stores. The crowd exploded. Some even threw eggs at the store’s exterior.

Apple defended its actions saying they wanted to protect the safety of consumers and employees. Among the hundreds gathered outside were gangs of scalpers (resellers of products at a price higher than the established value) that had hired a large number of workers and students to stand in line for them. For scalpers, the immense popularity of the iPhone in China means profits of around 500 yuan [approx. US$80] for each resold new phone. They were well-organised: One gang had red ribbon wrapped around their arms; another wore yellow hats. Conflict between different gangs of scalpers erupted and the police were forced to intervene. To ensure safety and to control the situation, Apple decided to suspend all sales of the new iPhone.

What explains this Chinese craze for Apple? Some go so far as to describe Chinese consumers as disciples of an “Apple Cult” and the late Steve Jobs as its leader. While this analogy is not very appropriate, it does figuratively highlight the irrationality of Chinese consumer attitudes towards Apple products. Apple has consistently managed to create a frenzy in China each time it launches a new product, unmatched elsewhere in the world. In fact, many buyers lining up at Apple stores around the world are from China itself—they just couldn’t wait for the new product to be launched later at home.

Some of the extreme demand may be attributed to Apple’s successful marketing strategy that intentionally caps supply thereby creating a thirst for the product. But this isn’t unlike Apple’s marketing strategy in other parts of the world. So what really differentiates the Chinese consumer? The fact that there is a large group of scalpers specialising in and profiting from Apple products, and that Chinese consumers are more than willing to pay a premium, begs the question.

What I see in China is a large group of consumers increasingly indulging in their thirst for and worship of luxury goods. It’s as if they’ve been brainwashed. Chinese consumers have become the world’s most ardent worshipers of luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Bentley, Cartier and Hermès. They are willing to queue up around the world not only for Apple products but also for these other luxury products. In 2009, for instance, Chinese customers snapped up nearly a third of the luxury goods sold in the United Kingdom and 60 percent of luxury products sold in France.

As for Apple, a large number of ordinary Chinese consumers obviously consider the iPhone a luxury item although whether a price tag of about 5000 yuan [approx. US$800] is steep enough to be considered a luxury item is debatable. This mindset among the average Chinese consumer is understandable when you consider that an iPhone is the least expensive purchase that can bring them closer to experiencing high society, and is also most cost-effective in terms of satisfying vanity.

There will always be young people that advocate vanity and that are obsessed with fashion in every society, in every country, and across every generation. It’s not that big of a deal that China has the largest group of Apple fans or “fetishists” in the world. In any case, an Apple fetish is no less holy than the worship of God or other idols if we ignore concepts such as hedonism or distorted social values. The “fetishism” could be merely reflecting a reality: people are collectively turning themselves into Apple believers in a society where faith has been largely absent. The article was first published at Harvard Business Review China in January 2012 and translated from Chinese by Aileen Huang. 

via knowledge.insead.edu

 

Using your sales force to jump-start growth: Innovation

There’s a reason it’s called a sales force. Here are four innovative ways companies can use their sales reps to drive growth.

 

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There’s no escaping the impact of the sales force on your company’s growth trajectory. This is the frontline group best placed to gain an intimate understanding of existing customers, to observe the forces at work in an industry, and to identify potential new business. During the past year, we interviewed about 100 sales executives around the world, across a range of industries, to identify the critical elements that distinguish true sales leaders from also-rans. This article highlights four intriguing ideas the executives described for leveraging the sales force to jump-start growth. Together, these suggestions offer practical insights for sales groups, as well as a starting point for discussions among CEOs and other senior managers hoping to get more from sales and marketing investments.

Look over the horizon

The sudden arrival of a truly disruptive technology—one that upends markets in ways few anticipate—presents obvious challenges to industry incumbents. Yet it’s also a huge growth opportunity. One supplier of parts to high-tech manufacturers has created a team of “speculative market analysts” to better identify the emergence of disruptive technologies and to predict their business implications. The team helps the company to position itself as a supplier that’s ahead of the curve and to enjoy superior sales growth while competitors scramble to catch up.

The full-time team cuts across all business units and draws on a variety of internal and external sources: the sales force provides insights into the technology initiatives of the company’s customers while continually pressing them for feedback about its shortcomings and the efforts of competitors. In addition, the team closely scrutinizes all reports from competitors and customers—easier said than done, given the sheer volume of market information emanating from countries such as China. It even fosters close ties with venture capital firms and provides up-and-coming companies with funding and “sweat equity” to convert innovative concepts into realities. Together, these efforts have helped the company’s sales force to get ahead of recent major disruptive trends, including the boom in tablet devices and e-readers, as well as the growing fields of LED lighting and solar technology. What’s more, the team’s efforts are generating an estimated annual return on investment that exceeds 12 percent.

Hunt and farm

It’s easy for organizations to fall into the habit of seeking sales growth only through existing customers. Even though the sales force is typically best placed to find and approach potential clients, individual reps may shun the uncomfortable task of cold-calling in favor of selling to customers they know well. Yet there’s only so much each customer can buy, so finding new business is critical for growth.

One large distributor of auto parts tried tackling this problem by separating these activities. Its sales leader designated some reps as “hunters,” who focused exclusively on finding new prospects, while “farmer” reps concentrated on existing customers. The model succeeded initially but later foundered as hunters became discouraged by the time and effort required for their relatively scant wins, as well as the perception that they were second-class citizens compared with farmers.

As attrition rates among hunter reps grew, the sales leader changed tack. To demonstrate the importance of finding new customers, he designated one day a month as a “hunting day,” whenall reps would exclusively chase new prospects. The rest of the time, they could focus largely on existing customers. The result was astounding: in a single day, the company signed up as many new customers as it normally did in two months. Setting aside one day a month for hunting new business is now an ingrained part of the company’s sales practices.

Motivate with more than money

The basic remuneration model for sales reps is simple: a base salary offers security; commissions and bonuses provide incentives to perform. Most companies work endlessly to optimize the balance. Yet what if money isn’t the thing that actually matters most? One financial-services company tried all manner of compensation plans before determining that while carrots and sticks did influence the sales performance of its financial advisers and sales managers, the results were short-lived.

As the company explored alternatives, its sales leader observed something important: the most successful advisers often spoke passionately about the sense of fulfillment that came from helping clients realize their dreams. Fundamentally, that was why these men and women had become financial advisers. The realization that money was just one of the factors driving performance prompted the sales leader to work with managers and individual advisers to develop specific goals that would help the advisers feel they had genuinely helped customers. Maybe it was prioritizing quality over quantity by working more intensely with fewer clients. Perhaps advisers needed a wider range of financial products to ensure that they had all possible options to meet their clients’ investment goals. At the same time, the company identified and laid out steps for overcoming potential bottlenecks, such as a lack of coaching, training, financial-management tools, or appropriate products.

The company knows that money remains critical to its sales team but now recognizes the benefits of identifying other, deeper motivations. The attrition rate among financial advisers has fallen sharply, and they not only have become more successful at winning business but also have found that clients are entrusting more of their wealth with the company. These goals have been met with no increase in the compensation of advisers.

Boost sales without slashing prices

Companies experiencing flat or declining sales often elect to cut prices to spur demand. Yet sometimes, averages lie: a decline across a market doesn’t mean that all market segments are weakening. A North American logistics company learned this lesson the hard way when it empowered sales reps to lower prices to meet management’s goal of boosting volumes. Because the price guidelines were set without taking into account the competitive dynamics of each specific market segment, only some reps recouped the cost of the price cuts with higher volumes. The company’s overall competitive position deteriorated.

Top management decided to recalibrate its approach. The characteristics of each of the company’s various market segments varied wildly. Some were growing fast in the wake of continuing property construction, population influxes, and investment; others were flat-lining. The sales reps got new price and volume targets based on each segment’s characteristics. These targets incorporated metrics such as the economic growth rate in geographies where particular industries were heavy users of the company’s services, the strength of the company’s operational assets relative to those of its competitors, and whether the company was losing or gaining customers at accelerating or decelerating rates.

This granular view of each sales territory led to new sales approaches. In higher-growth markets with limited competition, sales reps aggressively sought new business and raised prices where possible. In declining markets with stiffer competition, reps were authorized to cut prices to prevent customers from defecting. This market-by-market roadmap allowed the company not only to reverse several years of declining market share but also to secure an overall average price increase of 3 percent. via Mckinsey Quarterly

About the Authors

Maryanne Hancock is a principal in McKinsey’s Atlanta office, Homayoun Hatami is a principal in the Paris office, and Sunil Rayan is an associate principal in the New York office.

 

 

What The Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast: Laura Vanderkam

Mornings are a great time for getting things done. You’re less likely to be interrupted than you are later in the day. Your supply of willpower is fresh after a good night’s sleep. That makes it possible to turn personal priorities like exercise or strategic thinking into reality.

But if you’ve got big goals--and a chaotic a.m. schedule--how can you make over your mornings to make these goals happen?

Because I write about time management frequently, I’ve gotten to see hundreds of calendars and schedules over the years. From studying people’s morning habits, I’ve learned that getting the most out of this time is a five-part process. Follow these steps, though, and you’re on your way to building morning habits that stick.

1. Track Your Time

Part of spending your time better is knowing how you’re spending it now. If you’ve ever tried to lose weight, you know that nutritionists tell you to keep a food journal because it keeps you from eating mindlessly. It’s the same with time. Write down what you’re doing as often as you can. Use my spreadsheet, a Word document, or a pad and pen.

While measuring your mornings, try tracking your whole week. The reason? The solution to morning dilemmas often lies at other times of the day. You may be too tired because you’re staying up late. But if you look at how you’re spending your nights, you’ll notice that you’re not doing anything urgent. The Daily Show can be recorded and watched earlier--possibly while you’re on the treadmill at 6:30 a.m.

As for the mornings themselves, you can be organized but still not be spending them well. Question your assumptions. You may believe that “a man who wants to keep his job gets into the office before his boss” because that’s what your father did, but your boss may be disappointed that he doesn’t get the place to himself for an hour first! If you decide that something is a top priority, do it, but understand that we have to do few things in life.

2. Picture the Perfect Morning

After you know how you’re spending your time, ask yourself what a great morning would look like. For me, it would start with a run, followed by a hearty family breakfast. After getting people out the door, I’d focus on long-term projects like my books. Here are some other ideas for morning enrichment:

For personal growth:

• Read through a religious text: Sacred texts can teach us about human nature and history, even if they’re not from a religion you subscribe to. If they are, pray or meditate and get to know your beliefs in a deeper way.
• Train for something big: Aiming to complete a half-marathon, a triathlon, or a long bike ride will keep you inspired as you take your fitness to the next level.
• Do art projects with your kids:. Mornings don’t have to be a death march out the door. Enjoy your time with your little ones at a time of day when you all have more patience.

For professional growth:

• Strategize: In an age of constant connectivity, people complain of having no time to think. Use your mornings to picture what you want your career and organization to look like in the future.
• Read articles in professional journals: Benefit from other people’s research and strategic thinking, and gain new insights into your field.
• Take an online class: If a job or career change is in your future, a self-paced class can keep your skills sharp.

3. Think Through the Logistics

How could this vision mesh with the life you have? Don’t assume you have to add it on top of the hours you already spend getting ready or that you’ll have to get to work earlier. If you fill the morning hours with important activities you’ll crowd out things that are more time intensive than they need to be. Map out a morning schedule. What time would you have to get up and what time do you need to go to bed to get enough sleep? As for the mornings themselves, what would make your ritual easier? Do you need to set your easel next to your bed? Can you find a more cheerful alarm clock or one you can’t turn off so easily?

It’s easy to believe our own excuses, particularly if they’re good ones. Come up with a plan and assemble what you need, but whatever you do, don’t label this vision as impossible

4. Build the Habit

This is the most important step. Turning a desire into a ritual requires willpower. Use these fives steps to optimize your routine:

• Start slowly: Go to bed and wake up fifteen minutes earlier for a few days until this new schedule seems doable.
• Monitor your energy: Building a new habit takes effort, so take care of yourself while you’re trying. Eat right, eat enough, and surround yourself with supportive people who want to see you succeed.
• Choose one new habit at a time to introduce: If you want to run, pray, and write in a journal, choose one of these and make it a habit before adding another.
• Chart your progress: Habits take weeks to establish, so keep track of how you’re doing for at least thirty days. Once skipping a session feels like you forgot something--like forgetting to brush your teeth--you can take your ritual up a notch.
• Feel free to use bribery: Eventually habits produce their own motivation, but until then, external motivations like promising yourself concert tickets can keep you moving forward. And keep in mind that your morning rituals shouldn’t be of the self-flagellation variety. Choose things you enjoy: your before-breakfast ritual has the potential to become your favorite part of the day.

5. Tune Up as Necessary

Life changes. Sometimes we have to regroup, but the goal is to replace any rituals that no longer work with new ones that make you feel like every day is full of possibility.

That is ultimately the amazing thing about mornings--they always feel like a new chance to do things right. A win scored then creates a cascade of success. The hopeful hours before most people eat breakfast are too precious to be blown on semiconscious activities. You can do a lot with those hours. Whenever I’m tempted to say I don’t have time for something, I remind myself that if I wanted to get up early, I could. These hours are available to all of us if we choose to use them.

So how would you like to use your mornings? This important question requires careful thinking. But once you decide, small rituals can accomplish great things. When you make over your mornings, you can make over your life. That is what the most successful people know.

Excerpted from What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast by Laura Vanderkam by arrangement with Portfolio Penguin, a member of Penguin Group (USA), Inc., Copyright © 2012 by Laura Vanderkam. Follow her on Twitter.

[Image: Flickr user Arvind Grover]

via fastcompany.com

3 Ways To Bring Your Company's Core Values To Customer Service: Richard Levick

The month of May provided two salient reminders of why the airlines aren’t exactly known for exemplary customer service. First, there was Spirit Airlines’ refusal to refund a ticket to a dying Vietnam veteran. The story went viral via thousands of Twitter and Facebook shares that lamented the carrier’s insensitivity. Just last week, the discord spread to YouTube when a United Airlines customer uploaded video of a ticket agent who willfully ignored every question he asked from the moment he approached the counter--until she asked security to escort him away. 

With the advent of social media, every consumer with a smartphone and a gripe has been empowered with his or her own barrel of ink, so it’s no wonder that companies in every industry are going to great lengths to avoid embarrassing episodes such as these. But with so much emphasis on the don’ts of customer service, it’s easy for the dos to get lost in the shuffle. As a result, not enough attention is paid to the ways in which employees can enhance and enrich corporate brands that are comprised of much more than a logo, color scheme, and marketing strategy.

Customer interaction is when the brand becomes real. The brand promise is either enhanced or sacrificed by what a company’s employees do and say. Each customer interaction is not a task to complete or worse, an inconvenience; but the moment at which brands grow or begin to die.

Let’s return to the airlines. Tragically, there is little doubt that many of them have suffered labor discord. Much as they try to hide it, you can feel it as soon as you encounter an impatient flight attendant, a rude ticket agent, or a non-communicative pilot. By contrast, Southwest has mastered the concept that customers equal profit. The smiles, jokes, and even the posts shared on its wildly successful Nuts About Southwest blog all support a brand strategy rooted in whimsy, approachability, and warmth.

This carrier, which has enjoyed 40 consecutive years of profitability, understands that employee behavior is about more than the fundamentals of good customer service; it’s about living the brand and making the better choices that reflect what it stands for every day. The Southwest template isn’t easy to imitate, but there are three key strategies that can help every company’s employees better reflect its core values.

1. True brand ambassadors aren’t born, they are made.

Larry Oakner, the Managing Director of Strategy at CoreBrand, believes that employee engagement with the brand is absolutely essential. He has helped numerous Fortune 1000 companies implement their brands through employee engagement programs and sees real value in making brand familiarity a cornerstone of training at every level of the organization.

"In the context of brand ambassadorship, energy, proactivity, and the right attitude are all great things," Oakner says. "But the real question is; do employees know how to support the brand in all that they do? No matter how motivated or engaged they are, employees that don’t know the basics of the brand they represent will never reach their full potential--and they can’t learn the basics unless someone is there to show them the ropes."

JetBlue teaches each of its employees to breathe life into a brand built on fun, safety, and integrity. It emphasizes these core values in introductory training programs that are administered by mentors who have already demonstrated a keen understanding of how the brand proposition is best articulated in a wide array of situations.

In JetBlue, we see an example of a company that doesn’t fall for the fallacy that great customer service is simply a matter of common sense. Because it takes nothing for granted, the carrier has created a brand identity that can even withstand the impacts of one individual deviating from the norm (as was the case recently, when a pilot experienced an emotional breakdown during a flight).

2. Employees must be empowered to make their own decisions.

Oakner’s second rule states "behaving is believing" in the brand. Companies can’t rely on scripts to provide great customer service; they must help their employees "live the brand" in all that they do. Simply put, this means that employees need to be taught not just the fundamental principles of the brand; but be encouraged to reflect it in every decision. The overarching objective is not to lay down hard and fast rules; but rather to embed a set of guiding principles that empower employees to make their own brand-supporting moves.

Oakner points to how Nordstrom emphasizes the passion for customer service that sets its brand apart. "The company’s employee handbook says it all," says Oakner. 'Our number one goal is to provide outstanding customer service. Use good judgment in all situations. There will be no additional rules.'

The personal freedom Oakner describes is what enables Nordstrom employees to personify the brand once they learn what it’s all about--even those situations for which there is no precedent or script. Because the brand becomes a part of what they are, great customer service comes as natural as a smile.

3. Great customer service is not a one-size fits all proposition.

Finally, Oakner’s third rule of employee engagement with the brand is that it isn’t a one-size fits all proposition; but rather something that changes when viewed from each of the unique perspectives within an organization.

Oakner tells the story of a bank that was struggling to implement its brand identity due to a series of acquisitions that resulted in rampant legacy cultures and a disconnected executive team. "In this situation," he says, "asking front-line and C-Suite managers to sit through the same presentation on living the brand wouldn’t have made sense. The program had to be tailored to meet the diverse needs of positions that relate customers in very different ways.

"The solution came in the form of an alliance between the head of HR and the leaders of the brand team. They conducted workshops that challenged different departments to identify their own ways to infuse the brand into their own specific positions and perspectives."

In the end, the program worked because customer service was no longer an abstract concept; it was a way of life--and it took hold because the employees themselves owned it from start to finish.

The value of effective brand behavior.

Brand behaviors are powerful points of differentiation for companies that emphasize them. They are what separate the Nordstroms, JetBlues, and Southwests of the world from rest of the pack. They don’t tell customers what their brands are all about; they use each and every interaction to show customers that the brand isn’t just a symbol, but a philosophy.

In today’s media environment, that level of customer service is much more than a value added; it’s necessity--because when you paint the skies as friendly, there are very real consequences when customers begin to feel that they are anything but.

Richard Levick, Esq., president and CEO of Levick Strategic Communications, represents countries and companies in the highest-stakes global communications matters, from the Wall Street crisis and the Gulf oil spill to Guantanamo Bay and the Catholic Church. Levick was honored for the past three years on NACD Directorship’s list of "The 100 Most Influential People in the Boardroom," and has been named to multiple professional Halls of Fame for lifetime achievement. He is the co-author of three books, including The Communicators: Leadership in the Age of Crisis, and is a regular commentator on television, in print, and on business blogs. Follow him on Twitter and circle him on Google+, where he comments daily on brands.

[Image: Flickr user Cameron Grant]

via fastcompany.com

Why I Don't Celebrate Father's Day

 

I have never purchased a fathers day card. Nor at anytime in grade school did I make one. I cannot recall ever celebrating fathers day except when I had my own children. My sperm donor was among the many who believe they have engaged in something meaningful through procreation when God performed the hard part. My "fathers" entire existence can be summed up in a perpetual happy hour. Lacking ambition and only exercising that part of his anatomy that elevated him no further than the animals. While in his final hours he sought only to conquer once more. When he died I felt as much rue as one feels inclined to retrieve a fleeing penny. 

I hope you will personalize this message. It's purpose was not meant for me to vent. Jim

How to Open Open Up About Abuse With Courage

Have you ever succumbed to an addictive behavior instead of making a clear rational choice? Have you ever remained silent when you wanted to scream? Ever yielded your power to someone who didn't demonstrate your self interest in their actions? Have you ever insisted to yourself that, "I am stuck. I am weak. I have what I deserve?" When we lack courage and genuine confidence we embrace behaviors and people reflecting our level of self worth. We fortify our fears that we are weak and insecure. This cycle frequently repeats itself in our children. There is a way forward. Michael Reagan reveals several in his remarkable journey forward. If you ever need me I am here. Jim

Public Speaking: How to Give a Great Speech

Rene Shimada Siegel

Public speaking doesn't have to be terrifying. Here's how to capture, and keep, the crowd's attention.

Flickr/Vergil Yu Photography

It’s that time of year. Business leaders and educators everywhere are attempting to inspire graduates at high schools and colleges with a terrific commencement speech. Among the more notable attempts was one from David McCullough, a Wellesley High School English teacher, whose “You Are Not Special” speech, encouraged students to go out and make their privileged lives remarkable despite everyone-gets-a-soccer-trophy childhoods.

At my daughter’s high school graduation last week, we heard speeches from three valedictorians and one salutatorian. In a graduating class of more than 700 students, these students have crazy good grades. They are the brightest bulbs in the box. Current and future leaders. And their speeches were awful.

I’m sure they all Googled “qualities of good speeches” and learned that the hallmark of an exceptional speech is an engaging story. So they all told stories. One valedictorian shared his first goal from when he was five years old: He had wanted to be a bus driver. Then he added with a laugh, “Thankfully, my parents talked me into setting much higher goals!” His insensitive remark wafted over the caps and gowns to the parents in the bleachers, who groaned and shook their heads.

Business leaders and entrepreneurs are almost by definition passionate, driven, exceptional people. But your most brilliant idea or message can sabotage your cause if you don’t consider how to catch and keep an audience’s attention:

Appropriate. Sure, a memorable speaker can and should paint vivid stories. But did no one point out to the valedictorian that his bus driver comment was elitist and inappropriate? How many hard-working, non-white-collar parents or grandparents made his education and success—and those of his peers-- possible? As an eager college intern, I once introduced a corporate video about impending cutbacks with a breezy comment about how there wasn’t a pre-movie cartoon. I quickly regretted my poor attempt at levity. Don’t forget, a great speech should be a gift from you. It’s not all about you. 

Audience.  Another valedictorian delivered a mundane address but ended with a popular phrase from The Hunger Games, saying, “Congratulations class of 2012. May the odds be ever in your favor!” Students and parents perked up and cheered. Sometimes a familiar phrase, image, song or creative cultural element—something universal to your audience—can make your point quickly and convey camaraderie more effectively than your own words.

Practice  The last valedictorian was so uncomfortable that she giggled throughout while desperately trying to convey a serious, inspirational message. The rhythm of her words was so stilted and punctuated by awkward pauses and giggles that no one could feel anything but pity. Kids: How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice. This goes for business owners, too. If the message is important for your team, customers, partners or peers, say it out loud until you can do so with great conviction and confidence.

Passion  The best speeches are authentic and transparent and come straight from the heart. Pull stories from your own life and use the language you use every day. Lofty vocabulary and long, compound sentences don’t inspire anyone. Consider one of the most brilliant (and arrogant) public figures of our time, Steve Jobs. His 2005 commencement address to Stanford University graduates is among the greatest speeches ever because it was uniquely, passionately, unexpectedly Steve.

Well-crafted stories are among the most powerful tools in your business arsenal. Whether seeking investors, recruiting top talent, pitching new customers or addressing your company, good leaders know how to shape and sell a story. But truly great leaders also take time to personalize and fine-tune their delivery for maximum impact—making the difference between ho-hum and Hallelujah!

Rene Shimada Siegel is founder and president of High Tech Connect, a specialized consultant placement firm for marketing and communications experts. @renesiegel via inc.com

 

How to Find Your Best Career & Get Paid Doing What You Love: Preston Ni

How do you find your best career? Consider the following quote by Joseph Campbell:

"When you follow your bliss... doors will open where you would not have thought there would be doors, and where there wouldn't be a door for anyone else."

A bliss is the type of work you love so much that you'd be willing to do it for free if you didn't have to pay the bills. You know you're following your bliss when you wake up in the morning looking forward to your day, and go to bed at night feeling good about what you've done. A bliss is a calling, something within each of us that we're meant to do. I believe all of us have at least one such calling in life, many have more.

Bliss may be followed either as a career, or via endeavors outside of work. This article focuses on ways to identify and pursue a blissful career. It may seem unrealistic to speak of this subject during an economic recession. While it goes without saying that it's important to do whatever it takes to make ends meet, the current downturn may also represent an opportunity to position (or reposition) oneself for when the economy improves. The following are three factors that may help you identify and follow your bliss:

 

1. Know your true potential

 

"The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence."

– Confucius

We're all good at some things in life. Some of us are good with people, some with tools, and others with information. When we understand where our true potential lie, we begin to access our calling. If you're not sure about your talents, there are excellent resources available that can help you identify them. See the list following this article for some of my recommendations.

2. Follow your passion while keeping your feet on the ground

"Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you."

– Oprah Winfrey

Once you discover your potential (most of us have natural ability in several areas), the next step is to align your strengths with careers that you feel passionate about. From the list of professional fields you identify, evaluate each one in terms of employment prospect. What is the job picture in this field over the next ten, twenty years? Ask several people who have succeed in this profession for input. Of course, you don't have to choose a career based on availability of jobs. There's a lot to be said about marching to the beat of your own drum. This article simply takes a more pragmatic approach.

For tips on how to express yourself effectively, see my articles Are You a Poor Communicator? Stop the Damage and Improve Relationships, and Seven Ways to Say “No” and Keep Good Relations.

3. Dedicate yourself to working hard and working smart

"Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing."

– Theodore Roosevelt

Once you have identified your potential and passion, the last piece is to work hard, and become one of the absolute best at what you do. It's also important to work smart, so that what you offer is unique, valued, and more indispensible. Because you're tapping into your true potential, you're most likely gong to excel at what you do. And because you have passion, chances are you'll be driven and won't mind the hard work.

For tools on professional and personal success, see my articles Five Keys to Enhancing Your Emotional Intelligence, Eight Keys to Life Hardiness and Resiliency, and How to Be Ultra Productive.

Not everyone gets to do what they love. Most people get stuck in a rut, and live in what Henry David Thoreau calls "quiet desperation". You can beat the odds, if you choose to follow your bliss.

"Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you
really love."

– Rumi

"Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart
give yourself to it."

– Buddha © 2012 by Preston C. Ni. All rights reserved worldwide.

via psychologytoday.com

 

Untitled

What You Think Is What You Get - Marianne Williamson

Author of the bestselling books The Age of Miracles and A Return to Love, Marianne Williamson discusses the power of thought and intention; is it really possible to use one's mind to turn dark thoughts into light?

 

It's so easy to believe that external things hold the power in life. We think money, or lack of it, determines our abundance; we think other people's behavior determines our happiness; we think success or failure, as the world defines it, determines our self-worth.

But it is ultimately our thinking, more than our outer circumstances, that determines whether we live lives of harmony and peace or of pain and despair. I have known healthy, wealthy people who were depressed, and people with critical illnesses who could honestly attest to joy.

A scientific worldview dominated Western civilization for centuries, pronouncing the external world the only "real" world. That which we can see, hear, touch, taste and feel was deemed reality, and the mind was thought to wield little or no power in either creating or transforming material circumstances.

In the past century this worldview began to change dramatically. In fact, it has been overthrown by science itself! Quantum physics and other cutting-edge theories show consciousness to be more than a mere witness to external events: It is now recognized for its role in causing and transforming events. As sages have proclaimed throughout the centuries, the world is but a reflection of what we think. As we change our thoughts, we can change our world.

In the realm of thought, there are two main categories: thoughts of love and thoughts of fear. Every single moment, we choose between the two. If I think with love, then I am more likely to behave lovingly and to attract love from others. If my heart is closed, I am more likely to act out of fear. Fear-based behavior tends not to look like fear but like anger or jealousy; it elicits reactions from others that reflect my fear and not my love.

Yet in any moment, we can change our minds. God created us to co-create with Him a world of harmony and peace and joy, which the love in our hearts gives us power to do. With every thought, we choose heaven on earth or hell on earth, for ourselves and for all the world. We have the power to bless or blame, to forgive or judge. With our thoughts we have the power to honor or mock, to believe in miracles or deny the possibility that they ever happen. When our minds move in harmony with love—through forgiveness or prayer or the simplest tender thought—then mountains move and the universe shifts.

Perhaps there is a situation in your life that causes you pain or anxiety, fear or grief. You can surround it in your mind with light and lift it up to God. Just that simple thought—that we take a situation of darkness and place it in the light, praying for God to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves—puts into motion a force for universal good. It is unstoppable and indestructible. It is a field of intention that all be loved. It is, in essence, the power of love itself. Think about that. And think about it some more. And then think about it some more. For as a woman thinketh, so she is....

 

via oprah.com

 

4 Reasons You Can't Execute

THE SYNERGIST | Les McKeown

4 Reasons You Can't Execute

Feel like nothing ever gets done? Here's how you can figure out what's slowing you down.

Mamboman1/Flickr

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• 4 Reasons You Can't Execute

Stop and think for a moment.

How many great decisions have you made this year that never got off the ground? Do you feel that you and your team are coming up with smart, competition-beating ideas, but you've lost the ability to execute on those ideas?

If you're missing the sense of achievement that comes from translating ideas into results-delivering reality, then chances are, it's because of one or more of these four reasons:

1. You have no idea how decisions are really made. Whether you manage a business, division, department, project, or team, you have to understand the path of information. How does information arrive into the group, how is it processed, and how is it turned into action? Understanding this process is the single most crucial determinant of your ability to execute.

Once you understand the process, ask yourself: Does the information flow get snarled? Does a decision have to be run by three different people before being approved? Or does your accounting software fail to give you high-quality data in a timely fashion? These examples are gaps in the process--gaps that will come between the ability of your group to make a decision.

You may want to really map out this process. Trace the path of the last two or three decisions your team made that weren't effectively and efficiently executed. Map where the necessary information came from, the main communication lines and key decision points.

When you're done, if you can easily make sense of what you see, all is good. If it looks like a rat's nest of intertwined, overlapping, dead-end-reaching lines, then you need to simplify your group's decision-making process.  

2. You're a micromanager (Yes, you!). The ability of a group to execute effectively can be crushed by just one micromanager. 

You know the type: The person that insists everything is 'run by them' and then becomes so overwhelmed by the volume of stuff being 'run by them' that they can barely come up for air.  

Look around. Can you see the micromanager in your group? They're easy to spot. Find them and make them stop.

But if you can't find one, here's the thing: It's probably you. Micromanaging is so easy to see in others, but is much harder to see in ourselves. 

Here's a full-proof test: Pick out the single most productive person in your group. Watch closely at how they get things done. If it includes finding multiple innovative ways to bypass you, then you're the problem.

3. You're rushing the decision. Remember when your business was small and life was simple? When a board meeting was a ride up in the elevator? When you could make three great decisions before breakfast and have them implemented by lunch? When communicating a decision was as simple as saying it out loud, because everyone was within hearing distance?

Now, life isn't that simple. Your business has grown and now has many more moving parts. And, chances are that the growth in complexity happened iteratively, over time, and like the proverbial frog in slowly heated water, you haven't noticed the effect on your decision-making. 

Here's the difference: In the smaller, simpler business, you can make a decision fast, and implement it quickly. Now you have a larger, more complex business, making decisions fast actually slows down the implementation process--sometimes crippling it entirely.

Why? Because you made the decision so fast you didn't take into account all the variables (people, customers, systems) involved in your now more complex business.

Once a business has grown beyond infancy, speedy and effective implementation depends on slower decision-making. Not slow--you don't need to descend into to paralysis by analysis--just slower. Take a little longer to make the initial decision, and watch the rate of implementation rise. 

4. You've worn everyone out. You're a passionate, engaged leader. You're intellectually curious, innovative, and not afraid of risk. You're full of great ideas and keen to implement them. Your people respect and admire you... and they're exhausted.

Do your team members avoid you on Monday mornings? Do they look apprehensive when you return from a two-week vacation?

If so, it's because they know weekends and holidays are dangerous times because that's when you come back to the office with five  brilliant, must-do projects--even though they haven't finished implementing last month's brilliant, must-do projects.

If you suspect this might be you, then do yourself and your team a favor. Keep a list of all current projects. When you have a blinding flash of creativity which produces a new project, instead of simply adding it to the list, make a conscious, explicit decision about which existing project to drop off the list in return. 

You'll find that compared with your existing priorities, many of those 'brilliant must-do's' just aren't that important, and those that do make the list will stand much more chance of actually being implemented.

Les McKeown is the author of the best-seller, Predictable Success: Getting Your Organization On the Growth Track - and Keeping It There and is the CEO of Predictable Success, a leading advisor on accelerated organizational growth. His latest book is The Synergist: How to Lead Your Team to Predictable Success. @lesmckeown @lesmckeown

via inc.com

Nonconforming, Angry people are the innovators - InnoThink Group Blog

« Think of Start-ups as Shots on Goal - Robert Litan | Main

06/11/2012

Nonconforming, Angry people are the innovators

I am often chastised albeit politely or as deftly as unfriending me on Facebook, that I am belligerent. In fact I am called downright offensive. One person wrote recently that I am vitriolic in espousing my ideals. She has a point. 

Another email suggested, (“hyperboles” best omitted) that I fail to realize people are doing the best they can. Hmmmm. 

In an extremely competitive world where no job or company is guaranteed “doing the best we can is the drum beat of irrelevance. 

My reply is, “Tell that to the inhabitants of Jamestown building the fort as fast as they can while the indigenous people bang on the door demanding their land back.” Doing the best they can? How happy would you be if human resources lost your payroll information which caused your check to be late for two more weeks?     

Each week I probably read three books. Most business in one way or another. 

Many of the books I read encourage the reader to strategize, create an innovation process, establish focus groups and how to organize this and organize that, and figure out what the heck customers want most. 

The authors do a great job of hocking these books to the masses. They aren’t bad ideas. Just bad ideas in a world where the fast and highly innovative eat the slow and conventional. 

There is only one source of innovation regardless of whether we are discussing human resources, IT, talent development, marketing, front office, back office, supply chains etc: Hiring and promoting angry people.

Angry people are the ones who initiate change. Furious people will push toothpaste back into the tube. They become incensed with talk, talk, talk. 

Think Congress moves slowly? In an organization changing anything meets resistance. People like things the way they are. It’s why bureaucracy and protective silos exist. People like change when it occurs externally.   

Complacent content people don’t push the envelope. Take Pan Am’s founder Juan Trippe who was impatient with “good enough.” Someone wrote, “What drove Trippe? A fury that the future was always being hijacked by people with

smaller ideas—by his first partners, who didn’t want to expand air mail routes; by nations that protected flag-carriers with subsidies; by elitists who regarded flight, like luxury liners, as a privilege that could only be enjoyed by the few; by the cartel operators who rigged prices. The democratization he affected was as real as Henry Ford’s.” 

This week, you’ll likely make the mistake of asking a new hire how’s things are going. The new hire doesn’t quite understand the system yet. Beaming with joy at being asked for the first time, “What do you think,” the intern snaps a sheet of single spaced ideas into your hand. The first is how stupid the customer service department is being operated. The other is a litany of ideas on how to improve sales. You take the paper in clenched hands smiling politely. 

That my friend is how things get innovated. Not just changed. We are talking about creating value. Not a buzzword safe haven. Typically companies will find imaginative ways to replace such a person with someone who has never had an original idea, or an aberration on their resume. Someone who will when asked in a strategy meeting, “Any questions? They’ll reply, with silence. You’ll learn to ignore the raised hands challenging your opinions. And so the beat goes. 

In time what could have been a bright spot of rolling anger with “why do we do this,” slowly becomes absolution of purposeful change i.e. innovation towards embracement of mediocrity. Another word for pitched irrelevance. 

Now, be irritated with “This is the way things have always been done around here.” Take the energy from people who don’t give a crap. This is what makes an organization stand out. Jim 

Be sure to follow us on Twitter @innovatingbig

 

Posted at 12:26 PM in Business, Innovation, Marketing | Permalink

Technorati Tags: customer service, hiring best talent, human resources, Innovating, innovation, innovators, non conformist, radical innovation

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This will empower you: Cast aside by parents, Student Doubles as Custodian and Moves on to Harvard

(CBS News) LAWNDALE, N.C. - It's high school graduation season, and one young woman who is getting her diploma this evening is our choice for "most likely to succeed" -- because she already has, against some incredible odds.

At 6 this morning, long before her classmates were even awake, 18-year-old Dawn Loggins was already pushing a mop through her high school in Lawndale, N.C. -- where she also works as a custodian.

"I'll work two hours before school. And then I'll go to school. And then I'll come back and work two hours after school," Dawn said. Then homework when she gets home.

Home -- for Dawn -- is complicated. For years she moved around, sometimes squatting with her drug dealer stepfather and unemployed mother.

"Every time my stepdad would be arrested, we would have to move. Or my mom would use rent money to bail him out of jail," Dawn said. "There would be places where we lived where there wouldn't be power and water for extended periods of time."

But she always excelled at school. Then last summer Dawn returned from an academic summer camp to find her parents had abandoned her.

"I could never get in touch with them. Every time I tried calling them, it said, 'This number has been temporarily disconnected,'" she recalled.

They had moved to Tennessee.

Dawn moved from couch to couch until a counselor asked Sheryl Kolton, a school custodian, if she would take Dawn in. With a safe place to stay, Dawn flourished.

She was president of the photography club, the rock climbing club, the Spanish club.

 

N.C. student Dawn Loggins. Loggins spent much of high school homeless and served as a school custodian both before and after classes. She graduated June 7, 2012 near the top of her class and headed for Harvard.

(Credit: CBS)

Dawn: "I also started a community service project for soldiers in active duty service. National Honor Society, Beta Club, National Spanish Honor Society. ... Once I was given the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities, I did it. I just took off!"

When it came time to apply to college, a friend urged her to aim high.

Now she's showing off a letter that reads, "You have been accepted to the Harvard University class of 2016."

"I think that what got me into Harvard was my drive," Dawn said. "And the fact that I've been able to do so much, with everything working against me. Imagine what I'll be able to do when things are actually going like they should."

Tonight, when Dawn graduates from Burns High School near the top of her class, it will be Sheryl's face she looks for in the crowd.

"I feel like Sheryl allowing me to stay there has been the best thing that has happened to me," Dawn says.

As for Sheryl, her view is that Dawn "doesn't owe me anything."

"I think that a lot of people would have done the same thing that I have done, if they knew the circumstances," she said.

Dawn plans to pay for school with a mix of financial aid, local scholarships, and the money she saved from cleaning classrooms.

via cbsnews.com

 

Think of Start-ups as Shots on Goal - Robert Litan

With concern running high about the prospects for continued economic growth, two recent e-books show where the debate is centered now: on the question of whether we can, through sheer inventiveness, keep driving the productivity gains that lead to higher incomes. George Mason’s Tyler Cowen is pessimistic, seeing a “great stagnation” setting in. A counterargument comes from MIT’s Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, who find in the rapidly advancing technology of robotics and other productivity enhancers every reason to be optimistic. These opposing conclusions suggest once again why economists as a group are not all that good at predicting the future.

We’ll know who was right when the productivity numbers finally come in. But let me point out a number we can look at now to learn whether we’re on track or in trouble: the number of business starts.

That’s a number we know how to move. The key is to understand that innovation is not just invention. Even more, it’s a matter of commercialization. And the truly disruptive technologies that have advanced living standards most over the long run have usually been commercialized by entrepreneurs rather than established companies. Think of the telegraph, the telephone, the car, the airplane, computers (mainframe, personal, and mini), most software, internet search engines, air-conditioning—innovations that define modernity. All were brought to market by entrepreneurs.

To be sure, most start-ups don’t get very far, and only a tiny fraction grow to have the impact of Ford, GM, IBM, Microsoft, Intel, Apple, or Google. But the number of start-ups launched can at least tell us what the odds are that companies like those will be generated. Other things being equal, the more business starts there are, the more “shots on goal” an economy has to produce great results.

Unfortunately, things don’t look good at the moment in the United States. In the dozen years preceding the recession, somewhere between 500,000 and 600,000 new firms were launched annually, seemingly impervious to the business cycle. The crisis-induced recession of 2008–2009 changed that. In 2009 (the most recent year for which we have reliable data) new starts plunged to 400,000.

No doubt this depressing statistic helped to rally the bipartisan support we saw last spring for the JOBS (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) Act—legislation designed to promote new and growing businesses, especially those that want to go public, by reducing their cost of capital.

But more-comprehensive legislation is needed, to go beyond entrepreneurs’ capital requirements and also to facilitate their access to talent and opportunity. We need immigration reform to attract and retain high-skilled immigrants, particularly those who hope to start new businesses right away. We need reform of the technology-licensing practices at research universities that are heavily funded by the federal government. We need regulatory reform to update, modify, or eliminate excessively costly existing rules and to require cost/benefit justification for new rules.

Proposals to do all this have been introduced in the Senate. Given the impending presidential election, it will be a (welcome) surprise if Congress seriously considers them this year, although they have broad-based and growing support. But start-up legislation should become a congressional priority for 2013.

We can argue over the details, but we’ll make progress if we begin by agreeing on what drives economic growth and what must be encouraged: start-ups.

via hbr.org