cazh1: on Business, Information, and Technology

Facilitating Innovation: Establishing an Environment of Possibilities

I'm exchanging email with someone interested in establishing a skunk works, and they are asking some very interesting questions about the nature of innovation and the ingredients for an "environment of possibilities" ...

... things are ... [as they are] because someone already tried unsuccessful alternatives ... [This] begs the question: when it is required, how can rapid innovation be achieved?

Rapid innovation comes when the environment allows it and the skill sets enable it.

• An "environment of possibility" just means that folks are given some time to experiment with new technology, and access to the resources required to play around a bit.
Caveat: The challenge, of course, is that many folks expect the employer to allocate x% of their 40 hour work week, and provide training classes and server space to mess around with. Invest a little personal time and capital - in IT, it doesn't take much to build a solid development / test environment and start teaching yourself!
• I believe that the "innovation skills" are in everybody. But just like any other activity, success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration - individuals / teams / organizations need to build their innovation muscles by doing.
Caveat: A critical requirement for this piece is has to be ok to fail. The corporate culture must expect a failure rate for new ideas - remember, if it was easy, we'd probably already have thought of it!

... I value both history and future opportunity and am seeking a balance. Is this the same in your experience?

Well, Santayana was right - "those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it". But history should tell you specifically what tactics to avoid, but not necessarily what strategies will fail. Opportunity will be a mix of many things, and what was true at one time may no longer be true now. Look at imports from China - recent increases in transportation costs are making that strategy a loser for lower valued goods.

Process: How does ... leadership successfully position a think tank or innovation team so that it is (a) buffered from mundane corporate operations and politics while (b) it remains sufficiently connected to executive leadership and operating divisions for its ideas to be acted upon? (I'm assuming that the skunk works is outside the normal corporate business structure.)

Ah, this is an incredibly important question. Skills and environment aside, I've seen successful innovation happen only when the team was sufficiently empowered to get ideas implemented. Sometimes this comes from executive sponsorship from just the right person - but not as often as folks think! The cynical or weak of heart prefer to wait until they are granted permission to work on a project or idea.

The "drivers" that get stuff done do so because they have all the rah rah stuff (vision, drive, energy, whatever), but they also typically have knowledge of how things work in a company. Sometimes this means a long-time employee, who has relationships with the folks that control the key people, resources, and decisions. Sometimes this means the uber-techie who already knows how the various pieces of process and technology work, so they know how to call out the resistors when obstacles are thrown in the way (no budget! no approvals! too difficult! systems can't do that! it's against policy! yada ...). And you don't have to be a long-term member of the organization to be successful; experiences from multiple industries, organization, technologies, etc. can all be applied by someone with imagination and drive.

So, leadership needs to stack the deck for their innovation team by ...

• Carving out time in their schedules; don't just add this to everything else on their plate - take something off!
• Provide visible executive sponsorship. You need to be able to pull that card out every once in a while (You need to make this change because the CEO said so ...) - not often, but now and again ...
• Staff the team with a mix of long-term and newer employees
• Identify a team leader that has the right mix of hands-on technical (this cannot be a administrative role only - they have to be able to do something!), business, and relationship-building skills. They must be able to spot the opportunity through the hype, understand how it translates to business value, and then communicate that effectively and concisely to those who need to support it
• Hold their feet to the fire - the team should have goals and objectives, it's not a license to play!
• Let them fail! The most successful baseball players fail 70% of the time!

Also, the skunk works must remain connected to operations - they'll have to implement the "big ideas" eventually, and it's always good to remain grounded in reality. Make participation on the team a part-time thing for most; consider rotating different people in from various areas of the company, so everyone has a chance and all remain connected to the base business.

What lessons have you learned from the skunk works experience that you can apply to the innovation process? What broad, meta-issues and narrower specific issues has your project illuminated and solved (or at least, what questions has it posed)?

Aside from the organizational and change issues mentioned previously, I have found that innovation efforts often target things that are perceived as issues, but they are actually symptoms of more fundamental behavioral or structural problems. Web 2.0 tools and techniques are often lauded as new ways to unlock the wisdom of the crowds, connect with the new work force, or counter the flight of knowledge leaving the company upon retirement. Unfortunately, some of these efforts struggle due to what I call the Law of Large Numbers, which basically says that what works on the Internet doesn't always work at a corporation.

Also, it always seems to boil down to "Change Management" - an overused buzzphrase that just says change is hard (especially from a vending machine). There are many ways to address this (education, repetition, participation), but management always needs to understand that corporate operating processes typically don't catch on like consumer products - here today, gone tomorrow (look how fast the Apple iPhone turned over a new version!)

• Motivating Maintenance Programmers (January 6, 2005)
  
• Moving to Eclipse Ia - Relevance (June 1, 2005)
  
• Components, IT Responsiveness, and the Rosemont Horizon (June 22, 2005)
  
• My Favorite Paradox (August 13, 2005)
  
• Subtle Anarchy (August 22, 2005)
  
• The "Army Rangers" model for IT Professionals (January 2, 2006)
  
• Guidelines for Success with your Skunk Works project (June 19, 2006)
  
• Innovation That Matters - Substance Over Style (January 12, 2008)
  

Technorati Tags: design, development, entrepreneur, innovation, operations, people management, tech management

Invisible Technorati Tags: cazh1, FEI, Front End of Innovation, James P. MacLennan, jpmacl, MacLennan,

Labels: application development, design, development, entrepreneur, innovation, people management, productivity, project management, tech management

posted by James P. MacLennan at 10:39 PM | Permalink | 0 Comments

My Networking CV (or, What's In It For Me?)

As social networking sites proliferate and mature, we're all learning how to use these interesting new resources. True, it is just a modern take on "professional networking" - purposeful connections with different special interest groups, to share ideas and lay the foundation for current or future "opportunities".

I'm involved with a couple of organizations like this - I like to connect with peers, and I like to know what's going on in my city and in the industry. Recently I was talking with the organizer of one of these groups, and he asked what we could do to make our periodic meetings more valuable to the people that participate.

Most business meetings start the same way - a quick trip around the table, where everyone introduces themselves, gives their title and role, and typically talks about their expectations for the meeting, or what they want to get out of this next 60 minutes. That might be helpful at work, but when I'm at a networking meeting, there's a different dynamic involved.

To tell the truth - I don't really care what other people want to get out of the meeting … I'm trying to find out how they can help me. I'm looking for somebody who …

• … has experience in the technology I'm struggling with - or knows who I might call
• … can connect me with an interesting new job opportunity
• … has been at the company I am currently interviewing with, so I can get some inside information
• … is in the market for the goods or services I need to sell
• … has done whatever it is I'm trying to do and can tell me all the shortcuts

Yes, I'm here for myself - and I'm not all that interested in what you want. I'm interested in finding out what or who you know - not what you want to know.

In fact, if the meeting is large, I'll probably tune the rest of you out, spending more time thinking about what I'm going to say (so I don't sound stupid) than listening to you, because (again) I don't care what you want, but I know I don't want to sound silly when I speak.

Hmm, a room full of self-centered louts … how to warm up a crowd like that?

So, my idea for the Meeting Organizer was to turn the whole thing around; as we go around the table, everyone needs to present what I called their Networking CV (or Networking Resume). I need to explain to the folks around the table what I have to offer:

• Companies I've worked for
• What industries … pharma? manufacturing? financial? not-for-profit? high-tech?
• What business models … privately held? public? closely held? venture capital? entrepreneurial startup? Fortune 50?
• Roles in the business … developer? DBA? PM? Unit leader? Product Manager? Sales? Strategy? Operations?
• What technologies, and how deep is my experience?
• What kind projects have I been exposed to?

Remember, you only should take a few minutes to go through this - so how might I find out more?

• If you've got a detailed resume on the web, give out your site name - or give me a simple Google search term that will find you every time
• If you're in a social network already (ex. LinkedIn), let folks know that you're out there, tell them to send you an invite and you will accept it
• By the way - I'm on LinkedIn, send me an invite …

If we went around the table talking about this kind of stuff, I'd be listening intently to what everybody else is saying - because they're telling me exactly what I need to hear.

It might be a good idea to set some structure and ground rules around what people can and should say. You don't want folks to start bragging or going into too much detail. You just need to give out enough information to let folks know how you might help them. Not your accomplishments, but what you've been exposed to.

Now, at first blush this approach sounds both selfish and egotistical: I don't care what you want, just listen to how great I am. That's the stealthy, Zen trick behind this approach. By quickly identifying folks that I want and need to have conversations with, I will have more conversations, I will make more connections.

And the nice thing about those connections is that I'm coming to you for information - you're not trying to push yourself on me. I'm interested in the stuff that you know, but since you told me what you know, I'm coming to you. I am initiating the connection; you may be here to sell something, but I'm going to you to talk about your experience in this industry.

All of the first conversations are me asking you for something freely offered

Why is this important? Because when you start asking me for stuff, the ice is already broken. You may be trying to get new business with my firm. You may be asking if I know of any positions in my company.

Some of our multiple, future conversations are you asking me for something I may not want to give (money, time, or reputation)

However - the relationship has already been started, and it's built on mutual, opportunistic benefits, freely given. I know it's much easier to "do business" with folks you know - maybe that's the Chicago way …

So next time you're at a networking event, or putting yourself "out there" on these social networking platforms, try to make it clear what you have to offer. Your first visibility into the network, your first conversation, your first post on the board should focus on what you have to offer, what you will add to the network.

It might be a good thing - altruism, pay it forward, power of positive thinking …

It might be a bad thing - cynical manipulation, selfish, giving a little and getting a lot ...

But it is an effective thing …

Previously …

• Under New Ownership: First Impressions (July 31, 2004)
• Customer Service, Roles and Responsibilities (September 25, 2004)
• Customer DNA - A Different Take on Understanding Markets and Networks (June 11, 2005)
• Gee, this social network - presence - IM - knowledge management - collaboration stuff really works (September 25, 2005)
• Custom Code Bad, Custom Code Good - Notes for your Software License Agreement (February 26, 2006)
• Leveraging your Personal Network - Jobs, Tech Help, Connections (October 24, 2006)
• Open Source Insights on Enterprise Software Business Models (March 14, 2007)
• The Key to Success for your Next Job Interview (March 18, 2007)
• LinkedIn Networking Generates Some Hits; Thoughts on Facebook (April 4, 2007)
• Supply & Demand and Expectations for SAP talent in the US (April 30, 2007)
• Deja Vu: Comparing Enterprise Software to Big Pharma from the 90's (May 19, 2007)
• Marketing a Startup Business (1 of 3) (June 10, 2007)
• Integrated Supply Chain Benefits Go Beyond the Internal Stuff (November 11, 2007)
• Stop Thinking, Start Doing - Else Your Career/Skills/Network Will Fade Away ... (January 2, 2008)

Technorati Tags: collaboration, entrepreneur, Facebook, LinkedIn, Social Networks, Web 2.0

Labels: collaboration, entrepreneur, LinkedIn, Social Networks, Web 2.0

posted by James P. MacLennan at 9:12 PM | Permalink | 0 Comments

Making the internal pitch? Learn from the entrepreneurs

This article (see also here) led me to this next one (access limited by subscription, sorry) in Business 2.0, about making an effective pitch for a new business plan. The same tactics can and should be used when moving projects and initiatives forward in an "internal", corporate setting. Bullets from the article ...

• Elevator Pitch - This is the 30-second project summary that you must be able to deliver flawlessly. It's not good to babble, and it's OK to aggressively summarize if you have some backup material ...

<aside> ... like a high-level "quick" Project Proposal. I've used this approach in the past; create a two- to three-page writeup that succinctly lays out critical information for the project. You should be able to capture, in the space of a few pages ...

• Objective(s): What are we trying to accomplish here? What is our ultimate goal? Not necessarily everything that must be accomplished with this project, but enough to give the reader an understanding how this will fit in with corporate and IT goals and objectives.
• Vision / Future View: Here's where you can engage in a little storytelling, get the reader thinking about what could be. Don't worry, we'll bring them down to earth in the next section …
• Current Situation: The as-is, description of the opportunity / key challenges
• Solution Direction: Proposed solution - discovery and documentation, RFP / solicit bids, call a meeting, etc.
• Alignment with Current Information Architecture: Describe how this project / initiative / solution aligns with the stated Business and Technical Architectures (a Future Post!) for the company; which layer (Future Post!) the solution sits in, etc. Note that if the project proposes a solution that does not tie in to the architecture, we must call this out and explain why this deviation is necessary.
• Resource Requirements: If you have enough detail to lay out a big project team and/or cost structure, you don't need it here ... this section is primarily meant to capture notes about super-high-level expectations, or current tasks that are being carried out for background information, etc.
• Project / Process Ownership: Key - who's got a stake in this project? Who will help drive this through? Remember, if this is not purely a technical / IT internal project, there must be business ownership - capture that fact early!
• Assumptions, Risks and Constraints: Must always go into the project with eyes wide open. If there are none at this time, call that out - it at least shows you've thought through the big picture.
• Success Criteria: What will success look like? How will we know we are "finished"? Not enough projects / pitches lay this out, and it's a critical reason why projects seem to go on and on and on ...
• Summary of Benefits: What are the quantifiable benefits, and how will we be able to measure them?
• Plan of Action / Next Steps: Now what? Ask for the order, go for the gold, engage the reader ASAP!

(... back to the article) </aside>

• Realistic Goals / Market Analysis - should be based on stuff that is relevant to the business, and of reasonable scope. I like to go for a series of singles and doubles, no home runs (see also here). Note, however, that you should be building towards a reasonably clear vision of a future state (Future Post!).
• Differentiator - this is just stealing a page out of product marketing, and can probably be related to the concept of relevance.

Remember, everybody's a salesman.

Technorati Tags: elevator, pitch, proposal, project, objectives, relevance

Labels: entrepreneur, presentations

posted by James P. MacLennan at 10:35 PM | Permalink | 1 Comments