I often struggle to remember that not everyone operates the way I do. When I’m working I tend to be brusque and direct. It has taken years of evaluations, feedback and maturing to hold that tendency in check. People are sensitive, even in business.
I can be sensitive, but usually it’s limited to my personal life, for me: Business is Business and there is no crying in business. Thus, I’m always surprised at the amount of work required to smooth paths and keep people happy when a directive would be more efficient.
Sometimes that is a result of office politics, sometimes its a personal management style. What surprises me is when an organization’s functionality is limited because there is a lack of, or misplacement of, authority.
In this trying economic time, companies are seeking ways to engage and retain customers. Innovation is a buzz word. So the interesting question is how do businesses successfully transform an innovative idea into a new development, process or product?
Early in my volunteer career I would suffer through a painful 3 hour “board meeting” and leave frustrated because no decisions were made, no processes changed, no action was taken. So, within months I had begun inserting tasks and accountability into my committee work. Within two years I was leading the organization and if a board meeting lasted longer than an hour, it was because we were working and taking action.
The reason for the change; I was authorized to change the status quo. Our volunteers changed and we began to build a board of action oriented people. We still had the deep thinkers to provide the invaluable checks and balances viewpoint, but we were no longer bogged down by great ideas; we were implementing great ideas.
Organizations, whether profit or non-profit benefit from innovations. The key is to provide enough structure so that funds and actions are authorized. If a direct line of of reporting, responsibility and authority is not outlined, your innovations will die on the vine.
Innovations are not innovations unless they leap beyond idea to action.
Constance Ard August 4, 2009
