Innovate & “Amplify Human Imagination”

This morning Vijay Govindarajan of the Harvard Business Review posted a fascinating blog on innovation entitled Reverse Innovation at Davos. The article examines how innovation in developing countries is contributing to unprecedented growth and what that means to their rich, developed counterparts. At the end of the piece  Govindarajan challenges “Western multinationals” to begin to shift their focus, resources and power to these emerging markets suggesting that a failure to do so will result in missed opportunities.

This article reminded me of seeing Gary Hamel deliver a keynote  at ASAE a few years back on “The Future of Management,”  which focuses on the need for organizations (nonprofit and for-profit alike) to think and act differently in order to succeed.  At the heart of his argument was the notion that organizations need to continually innovate and revisit their strategies through new and often very different lenses. This, he suggests, often means redesigning and challenging longstanding management models to accommodate for a new approach to doing business.

It’s been two years since I saw Hamel’s presentation but his message of  ”strategic renewal” and a belief that every member of every organization can play a role in “continually generating hundreds of new strategic options” has always stuck with me.  With that in mind, and on the heels of a very enlightening piece from HBR, I found this presentation and thought I would share it for review.  Comments on favorite slides are listed below the presentation.

*This presentation was put together by Mark Sniukas.  His presentation can also be viewed here.

Slide 12 – Strategic Renewal  - Over the past few months I’ve been involved in several board meetings where the teams have reviewed their strategic plans through an innovative lens.  Meaning – they’re taking a look at the gaps in their plans to identify opportunities to develop new ideas, products, and processes.  This, I believe, is a product of strategic renewal.

Slide 13 – I’m not crazy over the repetitive use of the word “strategic” but I do like the idea of rebooting. In my opinion you can reboot just about everything.

Slide 14 – “Continually generating hundreds of NEW strategic options” – this is great.

Slide 28 – Continually reinforce the belief that innovation can come from anyone.

Slide 40 – Amplify human imagination.

In this day and age everyone is afforded the opportunity to innovate.  Leaders, teams and organizations alike should be taking full advantage of it.

We’re All Artists So Let’s Get Painting

Last week  I sat through  a presentation at my daughter’s art school. The walls of the studio were covered with paintings, sketches and drawings.  All were done by the students who range in age from six to 26.  Although the subject matter was all over the map, from cartoons to profiles to landscapes, they all had one thing in common – they were born out of creative desire.

As I sat there I couldn’t help but think about what creativity means in this day and age and how, even though many of us may not consider ourselves to be creative (as in Van Gogh), the opportunity for us to introduce creativity in everything we do has never been greater.

Dictionary.com defines creativity as – the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.

I prefer the definition offered up by Dr. Nancy Andreasen of the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and author of The Creating Brain. During an interview with NPR  she states “creativity is an intellectual capacity that is not directly related to intelligence. And it is capacity of seeing new things, new relationships, create novel things, and it spreads across the arts and sciences…the point I make is the genius is somebody who has the capacity to think outside the box and have original ideas, produce beautiful things, things that are useful to society and so on.”

Mantelpiece at the Art School

I’m not exactly jazzed about using the term “think outside the box” but in today’s marketplace we, as professionals, have the opportunity to be creative in everything we do. More importantly, in many of our workplaces creativity in nontraditional environments is not accepted but almost expected.

Today, it ‘s not enough (or fun) to continue to do things the way we did last year, last month, or in some cases last week. Sure, there’s something to be said for maintaining process, but the beauty of today lies in our ability to employ creative approaches to everything we do.

In a way we’re all artists so imagine the “to do” list as a canvas and let yourself create a new landscape.

Make Them Look Up

The Promise Land

Over the holidays I became a fan of Wegmans Food Markets, a growing supermarket chain that sat atop the 2005 Fortune 100 “Best Companies to Work for List.”  If you’ve ever been to one then you know it has outstanding food at reasonable prices and the in-house market makes you think you’re somewhere other than heading for the baked goods aisle.

As if this weren’t enough the customer service is what some consider to be the best in the industry, and perhaps one of the best in the entire service industry.  Much has been written about the “employees first, customers second” philosophy Wegmans adopted, an approach shared by the likes of Microsoft, Cisco, and Marriott, to name a few.  However, what struck me most wasn’t the free ham being doled out by the charismatic butcher (who happened to keep my daughter and I entertained for over 15 minutes), or the cheese guy with the cool accent who led me to the “brie” promise land. It was the train.

Above the heads and perhaps missed by some was a train that ran inconspicuously throughout a part of the store. I’m not even sure I would have seen it had it had not been spotted by my keen-eyed four year old. Yet when I saw it I couldn’t take my eyes off of it.  Each aisle I turned down I checked to see where it was, whether or not it was still moving, and how far it had progressed since the last spotting.  It was pleasant, fun, memorable, and brought me to another time and place although I could never pinpoint when. It was a perfect compliment to an enjoyable experience during one of the busiest shopping days of the year. So why is this the train so important and why should an organization, a non-profit entity or a for-profit company care?

The Train by Jennifer Nicholson

The train represents a pleasant escape for the customer, the unexpected and added element to whatever experience an organization is trying to deliver.  It is the intangible little thing that may not make immediate sense, or speak directly to a mission or vision, but it manages to breathe a little life into an engagement and perhaps makes an incredible difference in an experience.

For Non-Profits
During last month’s ASAE Technology Conference there was a session on how organizations should consider using online games to increase membership for their organizations.  Generally I agree with this and think perhaps there’s a real opportunity for games (or other things) to change the experience for members. It certainly can’t hurt for organizations to continue to think differently. However, what can’t be missed by nonprofits and for-profits alike are the other elements that also make Wegmans great: its commitment to its employees, to its customers, to quality product and to reasonable prices.  I also think there’s an opportunity here for organizations to over analyze and ultimate kill the idea of using games to engage (not necessarily recruit) members, especially if they think too much about the outcome and not enough about the value of  what I call temporary escape.

For Companies
It’s time for every company to continue to add elements to the experience it delivers to its customer base.  Consumers are faced with so many choices and options that it may just be the companies that concentrate most on providing an escape to their own experience that outlast the rest. By fine tuning the fundamentals (mentioned above) and figuring out how to make them look up, the experience will become unforgettable.

Embrace Fear, Accept Failure, Be Patient

If you are contemplating a place on the social stage then you will have to embrace fear, accept failure, and be very, very patient.

Embracing Fear: What keeps most people from engaging online? Fear. Plain and simple. Fear that the words won’t come out right; Fear of being judged on every post; Fear that what you have to say isn’t as important or as smart as you think it is. It’s fear that keeps us from moving forward and it’s fear that will keep you from engaging if you let it.  My advice – embrace fear by letting it drive your curiosity. Use it to first motivate thought and then action. Fear is a powerful emotion and when channeled appropriately can be a great motivator. And the good news is it eventually  goes away.

Image: iStock

 

Accepting Failure: Just past fear lies failure, and it will happen.  The hard part is accepting it and learning from it. In most cases we’ve been told that failure isn’t good but when it comes to social engagement it’s necessary. Once you’ve accepted failure as a part of the process then I recommend reading How to Teach Yourself to Trust Yourself, by Peter Bregman. It’s a quick read and one that I recommend revisiting every month or two. It will change the way you feel about your online presence and your “voice.”

Be Patient: Building an online presence (beyond Facebook) will take time so it’s important to be patient and not get frustrated. It simply takes time to get into the rhythm of online engagement. However, you will get better with practice, learn some really important stuff along the way, and create a community that you will come to appreciate.

Wrap Up
A few weeks ago I was part of a team that reviewed Open Community, a new book by Maddie Grant and Lindy Dreyer that examines how associations build community online. These three concepts (Fear, Failure and Patience) were interwoven throughout the book and was the inspiration for this post. It’s a terrific book and a worthwhile read whether you’re involved in a professional society or an association, or simply have an interest in online engagement. Click here to see our video review of Open Community.

Three Reasons to Keep it Simple

Tonight I returned from ASAE’s 2010 Tech Conference in Washington, D.C.  with a brain filled with all sorts of  ideas and agenda items. Among other things the conference offered valuable sessions on social media and content  strategy, the importance of curating content and the convergence of marketing  and IT departments and philosophies.

It was well worth the two days spent away from the office and for the most part left me inspired. However, a funny thing happened to me as I stepped off the train at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia and it was, perhaps, the most enlightening moment of my trip. As I ascended up the stairway and made my way through a back hallway I stumbled across this chalkboard which  stopped me dead in my tracks.

Train Schedule on Wheels

There’s no way of knowing exactly what this particular schedule is used for but it’s not the schedule that appears in the main lobby (pictured below),  or the small digital screens hanging in other areas of the depot. However, in its simplicity lie lessons that can be applied to anyone involved in content, technologies, social media and marketing.

Lesson #1 –  Just because it’s simple doesn’t mean it isn’t useful. It serves the same purpose as the other schedules, even without the flashing lights and sounds.

Lesson #2 – It  accomplishes the same goal as the other schedules – it communicates specific and relevant information to those that need it.

Lesson #3 – It’s accessible.  It doesn’t over complicate the message.

These three rules can be applied to just about any form of communication including those used in social spaces. Too often we get lost in the “noise” around us or distracted by the flashy tools available at our fingertips.  Because of this  we tend to forget all about the value in simplicity and how, if applied properly, can actually advance our goals easier and faster.

Flashy Schedule Image Credit - http://www.trainweb.org

 

Opportunities for Growth

I finally got around to reading a blog post by Chris Brogan that’s been waiting for me for who knows how long. It was titled “How to Write Three Blog Posts a Day” and as a new blogger and a fan of his work I thought I could pick up a thing or two that I could put to use. Fortunately there were more than a few nuggets of information and when I was finished I came to an unexpected realization – that the “how to’s” in his post can easily be appplied to just about any scenario including how to improve upon our approach to business, relationships and networking. As I sit on plane headed to Chicago there are two that stand out in my head.

Embrace Imperfection – His point was that your blog will have mistakes so get over it and move on. Wow, what a relief. This is huge and a huge relief to those that are immobilized by the fear of failure.  If only we were able to adopt that philosophy in our everyday lives and on a consistent basis. Think about how ones approach to work would be, not to mention the outcome.

Seek Opportunity for Content – There’s plenty of things to write about as long as we’re looking for the opportunity. I agree but for all of the non-bloggers out there I would say replace “content” with “conversation” meaning star talking and listening to everyone around you. More often than not conversations lead to discovery which leads to many things including personal and professional growth.

These were two of many tips I was able that resonated with me. Oh, and one other included the notion of stealing time to write when you can which I’ve done here on my approved electronic device in seat 10 C.

Developing Your Informal Advisory Board

I recently met with a colleague to discuss an upcoming project which ended in a discussion about the state of our industry.  We talked about current business models, how marketing and social technologies are changing management and how additional opportunities are popping up everywhere for all types of organizations, for-profit and nonprofit alike. As a web guy he’s got his own perspective on today’s environment and as a business development/marketing guy I’ve got mine.  We often see things differently but in most cases we find common ground on the big issues facing the industry and the changing marketplace.

At the conclusion of our conversation it occurred to me that he, like a handful of others, are a part of what I have come to refer to  as  my informal advisory board.

Web Guy (mentioned above) – I look to him to provide me with two things – the deep, behind the scenes data on webby stuff and the information, language and know how I need to better position and develop products that come out of that space. (blogs, web sites, apps, etc.)

Who to call?

Social Media Guru – This person lives in D.C. and most of my contact with her is through SM. Whenever I’m confronted with a challenge in this space or have a new idea it goes to her first.

Proposal Men (2) - One works for a large risk management/consulting firm while the other works for a large manufacturer/supplier within the oil industry. Both live and breath proposals so from time to time I bounce ideas off  of them.

Executive Director – Because I work for a firm that manages professional societies and associations I frequently engage this person in conversations about being a leader among leaders.  I look for this person to provide me with a grounded perspective on the day-to-day realities of nonprofit management.

Business Coach (2) – A financial advisor and leasing executive who both recently broke out their own. We’ll typically talk strategy,  approaches to customer service and just about everything that has to do with sound and/or progressive business practice.

Life Coach - This person serves as a general sounding board for whatever is going on. Typically it’s whats nagging me, driving my interests or potentially forcing me to make a game changing decisions.

We all have our circle of friends or advisors but rarely do we consider why we need them.  Here are three reasons why they are important:

1. Real Input – You’ll find whatever you want to on the Internet but what you can’t pull from YouTube is real input from real people that is specific to your situation.

2. Perspective - This is a byproduct of  real input and is perhaps the most critical . Your advisors can provide a perspective that you may have never considered.

3. Ambassadors - By engaging your advisors you will automatically create ambassadors for yourself, your business, and your objectives. To fully understand just how important ambassadors are to business today you may want to check out Six Pixels of Separation by Mitch Joel, Relationship Economics by David Nour, or Socialnomics by Eric Qualman.

Today, technology makes it easy to develop and maintain formal and informal relationships.  Embedded within these relationships reside a core set of resources that can become part of an informal advisory board. By identifying the strengths of the individuals within  this group members are able to provide unfiltered input and perspective to ideas, challenges and opportunities. Building an informal advisory board and recognizing when to utilize them are essential tools in such a rapidly changing business environment.

The Ripple Effect of Customer Service

Last week I wrote Three Tips to Transforming the Vendor Relationship, a short blog about engaging vendors and the importance of  changing your perspective when viewing business relationships.  Shortly after it was published I shared the post with my brother, Howard, who in turn, shared the following email correspondence with me.  Howard works for Netzsch Pumps – North America, a “manufacturer of specialized industrial equipment that provides proven solutions for a broad range of demanding industries.” The correspondence below represents a terrific example of how the  ”thank you” process from customer to vendor can transform a business relationship and enhance the relationship.

Email to Howard -

From: Michael Taylor [mailto:mtaylor@ewprocess.com]
Sent: Monday, November 01, 2010 11:08 PM
To: Riggs, Howard Jr.
Subject: RE: Request for Proposal – Positive Displacement Pumps 

Howard,

Thanks for jumping on this so fast!  The customer service of some of the manufacturers that we represent is getting worse, while Netzsch appears to be getting better and better.  We don’t always take time to thank those who are doing a good job, so I just wanted to let you know.  Several years ago, I would not have rated Netzsch very highly in the customer service area, but they continue to get better and better.  It may not pay off immediately (or maybe it has – I don’t know), but as many of the competitors tend to get worse, you will see increases in business because of your proactive attitude.

Thanks Again,

Michael Taylor
EW Process

Once the note was forwarded to the president it became both a testimonial and rallying cry for the entire company. The president forwarded the following email to the entire company.

From: “Streubel, Thomas” <thomas.streubel@netzsch.com>
To: “NPA-Internal_Sales” <NPA-Internal_Sales@netzsch.com>
Cc: “NPA-All_Email_Users” <NPA-All_Email_Users@netzsch.com>
Subject: Distributor feedback 

Fellow employees,

Please read the e-mail from Emory Wilson. They are our Industrial Distributor in the Carolina’s and one of our larger distributors in terms of sales. Please read what they have to say. It’s a nice start into the weekend or into the new week depending when you read this. We are doing the right things and customer service will pay off. Let’s continue to do a good and even better job and let’s make the life of our distributors easy. If we help them to make more business they will start running and chase every single opportunity and turn them in NETZSCH orders and secure jobs for all of us.

Thanks to all; this is the feedback we are looking for .

Have a good weekend
Thomas Streubel
President
NETZSCH Pumps North America, LLC

The timing of the correspondence could not have been better as it really drives home the message of developing unique relationships within your business community; and how those relationships often unfold and blossom into productive, company-wide communications.  It illustrates how the actions of one sales representative (Howard) drove a customer (Michael) to write a thank you note and how that message was used by the president of the company (Thomas) to rally his team.

Today’s business environment is ever changing but in the midst of  this change fundamental business practices, such as going the “extra mile,” can often lead to a ripple effect of positive energy. The above exchange provides an opportunity to view the result of last week’s “Tip #1″ from the vendor perspective, which is rare and unique. It also provides a terrific example of how one person’s commitment to customer service resulted in an unanticipated response from a customer which then created a chain of reaction within the company.

The fascinating part about this exchange is that in all likelihood the customer (distributor) has now gained company-wide recognition that will vault his company to being more than “one of the largest distributors” to Netzsch. In turn,  Netzsch is now rewarded with those qualitative returns that often  appear outside the bottom line.

The end result: Relationships are important and while “getting it done” is good, doing it great is better and there are many leaders out their that commit themselves to going the extra mile. In return they solidify business relationships and even, as in this case, elevate the relationship to a new level.

We are always looking for more stories to share so please feel free to share your story about how your actions may have played a role in transforming traditional business relationships.

A special thanks to Netzsch and EW Process for sharing this correspondence.

Three Tips to Transforming the Vendor Relationship

Last week I traveled from Philadelphia to Maryland to spend an afternoon with the team at ACGI, a a software developer for the association management community. The company I work for,  Association Headquarters, recently invested in one of their products and it was my job to meet with the ACGI team to learn more about the system and what it had to offer.  This experience got me thinking about the roles customers and vendors play and how today’s marketplace affords us an opportunity to re-examine, if not redefine, the ‘norms’ often associated with institutionalized and/or traditional business relationships.

 

Vendors at the Floating Market - Thailand

 

Whether you work for a nonprofit organization or a for-profit company there’s a good chance that you deal with vendors on a regular basis.  From purchasing goods or services to negotiating items of interest on behalf of your company, vendor engagement is what we do, and frequently. But how many times have we stopped to thank our vendors for being…well, our supporters? How many times have we taken the time to view the relationship from their perspective? Or, how often do we think about what we, as customers, can do to make their lives easier or provide them with additional business opportunities.

Here are three simple steps to creating “friendors” out of vendors and possibly changing the way you do business, drive business, and redefine business within your community.

1. Send them a “Thank You” card.  The next time you engage your vendor in a significant project be sure to send them a Thank You — and not in an email.  Take the time to write a card and put it in the mail. They’ll love it, especially since they typically send them to their customers. And if you think of it be sure to make it personal.

2. At the conclusion of the next transaction (and once you’ve completed step one), ask your vendor how you can help them get more business AND how your unique relationship and individual expertise can lead to additional business opportunities for each of you. It may be as simple as reaching out to people within your immediate communities or simply spreading the word online.  More often than not, the vendor/customer partnership can lead to additional opportunity.

3. Finally, and depending on your situation, step 3 may be the most difficult step.  Schedule a time to meet with your vendor at their facility. There is no better way to tell a vendor how much you appreciate their business than visiting them at their office. In doing so, you will not only create a “friendor,” you’ll create an advocate for you and your company.

It’s no longer business as usual, so it’s important that we don’t continue to engage in business as usual. Reversing roles, extending interest, and developing unique and strategic relationships isn’t as difficult as it may seem and can be beneficial to our long-term success.

We’re Coming!

Hang in there -I’m almost there.