Invent Business Opportunities No One Else Can Imagine phần 9 ppt

The Spirit of the Garage

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How can you duplicate in a big company the conditions conducive to

the creative connections that existed in the garage? Most creativity paceset￾ters bypass hierarchy in favor of “ad hoc innovations pockets.” “Ad hoc”

refers to team formation on an as-needed basis, with members disbanding

when a project is completed. These pockets are free from rigid departmen￾tal and hierarchical affi liation so the right talent is able to bring their exper￾tise and perspective to a project.

To foster the conditions expressed in these pockets of innovation you

will need to:

• Develop perspective-rich work teams. The wording is important

here. The familiar business jargon of “interdisciplinary” and

“cross functional” work teams doesn’t adequately refl ect the

range of perspective required to stimulate innovation. Since

divergent perspectives are essential in the early creative pro￾cess, innovation is best accomplished by bringing together

people with different academic training, work experience,

professional affi liations, proximity to customers, and genera￾tional and cultural affi liations.

• Elicit the input of outsiders. At appropriate times, it is necessary

to actively include the viewpoints of customers, wholesalers,

suppliers, and strategic alliance members.

• Play the best players available. In sports, a coach wouldn’t think

of resting the team’s superstars on the bench during a cham￾pionship game. When the stakes are high, you play the best

players available. The rule is the same for trendsetters: elite

people work on elite projects. Why confi ne top talent to a busi￾ness running on autopilot where their contribution is slight,

when they could be participating in a newly conceived venture

with incredible upside potential? Departmental affi liation takes

a back seat to penetrating potentially golden opportunities.

• Mix and match to achieve the right group chemistry. Divergent per￾spectives are only a starting point. Managers must balance team

diversity with supportiveness. Supportiveness includes features

like: shared excitement for the team’s goal; willingness to help

Invent Business Opportunities No One Else Can Imagine

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teammates through setbacks and diffi cult periods; and respect

for the unique knowledge and perspective that other mem￾bers bring to the table. Supportive fi t among team members

combined with a diverse array of talent produces the ideal

combination for sparking creative endeavor.

• Allocate time for creative thinking. A sad but true fact for the

time-conscious businessperson: Creativity takes time. Many

busy work teams settle for the best idea arising out of

a brisk brainstorming session and then move on to what￾ever is next on the to-do list. Unfortunately, brainstorming

largely surfaces ideas people already have contemplated, not

the ingenious ones that come from unexpected connections

of ideas. Original thinking is the product of holding out for

better solutions, looking at problems from different vantage

points, mixing knowledge from different fi elds, using dis￾agreements to shake up entrenched positions, and allowing

incubation time for creative ideas to emerge.

• Honor creative dissent. Intel is famous for its use of confl ict

as part of its self-questioning culture. Would-be innovators

do not present their ideas before an assembly of polite yes￾men. They must face a barrage of intense grilling and sav￾agely frank feedback. While the ensuing confl ict is blunt

and at times brutal, Intel team members learn to disagree

without being disagreeable. By allowing their people to air

strongly held differences, Intel believes the eventual solu￾tions are likely to be of better quality. The group norm of

harnessing contention to reach consensus on a quality idea

opposes the tendency to settle for a watered-down compro￾mise to preserve the peace.

• Share great ideas. Can we really afford to throw up our hands

in concession to hectic circumstances to explain the lack of

cross-functional conversation and intellectual isolation? What

is the opportunity cost in terms of connections that stimulate

creativity? Barbara Waugh, Worldwide Personnel Manager of