May 19, 2009

Constructive Emulation: the Key to Innovation

The quest for the original idea, the break-through solution; the silver bullet - how often is it achieved and is it really necessary for success?

In most cases I would say NO! The fact is there is an absolute limit on the number of truly original ideas that can be discovered and transformed into business success. Sure, you can point to the social media applications and Apple’s iPod product line to conclude that originality is alive and well in the business development world. But relative to the amount of business seeking activity, silver bullets are few and far between.

In any event I don’t think they are truly necessary for organizations to build a BE DiFFERENT strategy to thrive and survive. In my book and my seminars I spent a great deal of time discussing the importance of getting your plan ‘just about right’ and executing it pristinely and flawlessly. I suggest that roughly 20% of your time be spent developing the essence of your plan and 80% on figuring out how to implement it. The issue is that rarely is competitive advantage the result of the essence of a plan; rather it comes with people working together day-in and day-out in the trenches executing it better that ‘the bad guys’.

I have learned that the most effective way of ‘getting the herd heading slightly west’ is to research the plethora of ways others are conducting business and find an idea that excites you. Take the idea, morph it to fit the particulars of your organization and then execute it relentlessly and with emotional energy.

My term for this process is Constructive Emulation: Learn, discover, adapt and execute.

So, go find an exiting idea that you think will work for your organization. Convince your colleagues that it has real potential and get on with it. The Holy Grail Home Run doesn’t exist, but small productive steps do!

Cheers, Roy Osing

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Leadership | Permalink
Posted 5.19.09 at 08:14 am by Roy Osing | Read Comments (0) | Leave a Comment