Invention Verses Innovation

Leadership requires innovation to address the grayscale of today's business dilemmas -- innovation that demands follow through, but not necessarily originality.

Brahms did not want to build upon others, so he did not complete his first symphony until he was 40 -- what a waste.

Technology as a Competitive Edge

there is no doubt in today's business world that technology, when used creatively, can be and often is a competitive edge.  the proof of that idea is all around you, from the early successes of Microsoft and IBM, to today's positioning of Google, Face Book, or Twitter.  technology (along with strategy and culture) is one of our keys to business success.

the issue (risk) is that many of us invest significant capital and intellect in technology too early in its development cycle.  technology has a life cycle, just like we as humans do.  that life cycle runs from euphoria to maturation, and takes many years to complete.

i have told my clients for many years that technology takes about 10 years from laboratory proof of concept to useful functionality in the field and even longer for technology maturity.  you do want to scan the horizon for new technologies and you do want to think about how those emerging technologies can and will change your business, but you do not want to invest until the technology reaches a reasonable level of maturity and stability.  i know of two states that invested in the hype of hydrogen fuel cells over 15 years ago under the belief that they would be powering cars on our roads very within 5 years of their investment and have yet to see any return on their capital.  in fact in both cases the investment is a complete loss.  hydrogen fuel cells will come and impact our economy, but not for a number of years even now.  the same is true for solar photo voltaic.  many states and business jumped on board to an industry that was competing on price alone in an overcrowded manufacturing space.  that industry is now in the late stages of a painful restructuring which wiped out almost all prior investment.  a painful and costly lesson for early investors.  broadband is another example.  its later than anticipated arrival at some early level of maturity in the U.S. wiped out billions in capital investment.  the list goes on.

watch technology, invest in it and use it to differentiate your company, but only with the right timing in mind. patience is a virtue.

Business Strategy

the development of a great business strategy is a tedious and demanding task.  i am not speaking here about many of the so called business strategies that i see in the market which are simply short lists of high-level trends or longer lists (oftentimes 100 or more) of detailed desires with no priorities or implementation estimates.  i am speaking here about professional, well-focused strategies resulting in no more than 2 to 3 (hopefully fewer) major directional thrusts, each with a priority, "go, no-go" test points, and a well thought out implementation plan.

everyone business needs a strategy, but few are willing to invest the time and energy (mental and physical) to develop a great one.

if you are thinking about developing a business strategy, here are a few thoughts which may assist you in your thinking;

• a strategy cannot fix or repair poor leadership.  if leadership is micro-focused in areas of personal interest rather than providing visionary leadership for the whole company, developing a strategy is just wasting money
• strategy development is a company process.  the process team itself should include one to three of your best, most promising professionals.  that way they live the process and understand the "why" of the resulting direction
• when you undertake business strategy development and implementation within the company, you also simultaneously undertake cultural change.  cultural change if done well can be many times more demanding than the strategy process itself
• the strategy process is brief; any process that does not produce a major milestone or a final product (depending upon the complexity of the industry/company) within three to four months, will likely dissolve into meaninglessness through its own entropy
• if you require outside (your company) assistance, hire a professional with strategy competency even if that professional is a novice to your industry; look for strategy experience over industry experience. there is an old saying; "when faced with a dilemma, the expert sees few options while the novice sees many".  in today's rapidly changing world, you need the "many"
• strategy development requires a baseline; an understanding of how your customers and competitors perceive your company today, as well as how they perceive your products and services.  take the time to do this work
• there is no perfect or standard business strategy development process.  the process varies by company personality, market opportunity and current market position
• the resulting strategy can build upon the thinking of the world today, not just upon the great minds within your company.

Alessi is a company who's strategy called for the use of open network innovation to compete in the difficult home products marketplace.  their strategy didn't call for hiring all the bright minds that they needed, but to use open network innovation to propel their company ahead of the competition.  read about them, there are many lessons to be learned

Be In the Moment

so you are now the CEO of a start up company.

want the business/concept to succeed,

don't work in/for the business.

be the business that you want to create.

be in the moment with your whole being

Your Professionals Are No Longer In College

many of our colleges today still teach in the same way that they did a century ago; by lecture, in a fixed classroom, at a fixed time, and in vertical silos by subject matter.  yet anyone who spends much time around the young, wired, self-empowered professionals of today knows that they learn at their convenience, by topic area across many different subjects and disciplines.

we can't change colleges today or possibly even tomorrow, we must wait for the economics of their inviable situation to hit them in the teeth before they are likely to change.

but, we can operate our companies in the way that stimulates the learning and experimenting methods of these "o so valuable" young professionals.  we can allow them every day to explore their company and work environments across divisions, departments, offices and customers (outdated components?).  we can give them the freedom to learn and contribute to the company in ways that we never thought of before.  we can allow them the freedom to learn something new every day and explore their own potential while materially accelerating the company and its markets.

don't act like our colleges.  hold onto your professionals by allowing them to experiment and grow at their own pace.

Me Inc.

in the past we often hired career professionals into our company and, if we were lucky, they would stay for years.  personally i was with Booz Allen Hamilton for 20 years and now have been an independent consultant (Me, Inc.) for 15 years (yes i am an old fart).

not so today.  many professionals today will have 7 to 9 different associations (positions across companies) in their career, especially in areas of high demand such as information technology, biotechnology, marketing/branding, etc.  to be successful professionals today you must build knowledge and create your personal competencies around the image of Me, Inc.  as Me, Inc. you can chose to move across companies on your own terms or even if you want to stay with your company, but are forced to move due to closure or lay offs, you are one of the select few who can find another association quickly.  as a professional i have long believed that the only security a person has today in this volatile business world is what is in her mind; the daily learning, innate curiosity, the lessons learned, etc.  your mind is your business identity and value added.

for a company, this means that your core competencies must be routinized, yet always evolving.  it means that professional must be cross trained across internal disciplines and competencies and the best and brightest incented with new learning and challenges on a day to day basis.

the new world is here; a world of Me, Inc. in a loose partnership with Company, Inc.

The Many Faces of Leadership

being an student of the arts, there are many types of art that i enjoy seeing and learning from.  though i am not particularly fascinated with the impressionist period, i am drawn to Picasso's portrait of Dora Maar.  the reason has nothing to do with art, but more to do with another passion of mine, business leadership.

when Picasso painted this portrait he exquisitely expressed the personality of Dora Maar through a single image. we don't have time here to go into all the details, but i encourage you to explore Picasso's expression by reviewing a web search on the painting.

my point here is that the painting expresses well the personality of a business leader, such as the CEO of any emerging to major company.  if you will notice the painting presents a full frontal view, with Dora looking directly at you. this in my thinking is the public face of the CEO, as they represent the company brand to the broad market of customers and business partners, as well as to the board.

the painting also presents Dora in profile, looking immediately to her left.  this in my thought is the CEO presenting and living the brand, mission, vision and strategy to and with the professionals of the company.

lastly you may notice that her left eye is facing inward, in a concept of self-exploration or even contemplation. this to me represents the role of the CEO in self-examination, ego control, and checking of whether she (the CEO, not Dora)  is being true to her own nature and to the personality and competencies of the company.

CEOs are not born leaders, they are just people who understand themselves sufficiently to lead, each in their own way.  that is a leader:

• you do not have to be born with specific characteristics
• you do not have to wait for a tap on the shoulder
• you do not have to be at the top of your organization
• you do not have to be defined by your issues or your genetics

the challenge is to understand yourself well enough to discover where you can use your leadership gifts to help others -- and we all have some of those gifts.

two people can have identical experiences, yet one blossoms into leadership while the other is depleted.  it isn't your experiences that shape you, but what you make of them, particularly of inflection point people and events (inflection points, a later conversation).  it is what and how you learn every day that will make you a better leader.

                                                                 inuit symbol for a leader

The Board as Asset

seats on any board, especially start up and small companies, are as precious as diamonds in a necklace.  fully functional boards that contribute both during and between formal meetings are rare, but can be built.

in my thought process there are several reasons to select a person for your board:

• they are a significant investor, but one with intelligence, experience and common sense -- money does not always bring any of these
• they offer significant management expertise which is unavailable within the start up team
• they possess extensive market space, functional, or technical depth beyond any of the founders or management team
• they bring raw intellect, structured thinking, and energy to the table and are willing to commit their time and energy
• they have strong connections within the professional community, market space, or potential business partners
• they have charitable money (non-profits or for profit charitable B corporations only)
• they provide diversity in backgrounds and education -- not exclusively a list of Harvard or any other MBAs

build your board around these criteria and you will likely create a board who can fly cover for and provide insight to your management team, as well as completing some real work.

also, consider rotating your board on a three to four year schedule.  new people bring diverse, often out of the mainstream thinking.  Diversity is a very powerful enabler of creative solutions to dilemmas and cross-market space pollination.