Leadership & Business

Smooth and Silky is Not the Goal

Rough and crunchy can be good

Someone in my company came to me one day a few months ago and said, “Dave, Jack and Jill (names changed to protect the guilty) are yelling at each other again. You have to put a stop to it.” In turn I asked “Why?”

You see, Jack and Jill have had their fair share of conflict, and sometimes it gets a little out of control. While this can cause some short-term discomfort, I take it as a sign of health in my organization. If everyone just agreed all the time, I’d be concerned that no one was thinking or challenging the status quo.

Usually, when two or more people debate in my organization, one of three outcomes happen: 1) they come to an agreement, 2) they compromise or 3) they elevate the decision to me. Rarely does number three happen.

Argument is a form of group decision making, and it’s healthy. Here’s a litmus test: how often do your people and managers debate or argue? If the answer is “never,” you’ve got a big problem. Disagreements are born out of change; if you have no disagreements, you have no change; if your organization isn’t changing, you’re in trouble.

(Of course, when engaging in debate, certain lines shouldn’t be crossed. Arguing about an issue or a decision is one thing – a good thing. But personally attacking someone, or showing disrespect, is unacceptable.)

Taking away argument as a form of decision-making only stifles passion and ideas. The last thing I want people in my organization to say is, “Let’s just throw out the options and let Dave decide – that’s his job.” No that’s not my job. My job is to make sure I don’t make bad decisions. I guarantee, if I didn’t let people argue, I’d make a lot more bad decisions than I do today.

This is also one of the reasons I favor flat organizations. In flat organizations, everyone’s talent and ideas come into play at all times, people are encouraged to debate, and the best ideas rise to the top – not just the ones purported by more senior people. In other words, everything should be challenged so the ideas and decisions with the most merit rise to the top. Any other way is dangerous and often leads to poor decisions and sub-optimal actions.

So remember the litmus test. How often do people argue in your organization? Is everything always smooth and glassy? If so, maybe it’s time to crunch it up. Flatten your decision-making process, even if your organization chart has many levels. Invite more people into the conversation. You might find that respectful debate won’t destroy you, but will only make you stronger.

What if… Analysts cared more about Innovation

When I was a kid, Marvel Comics put out a series called “What if…?”  Each would fill my head with wonder as I read through the daydreams the comic’s writers came up with for heroes like Spiderman, Captain America, and the Hulk.

Jeneanne Ray let me relive this sense of wonder and excitement in BusinessWeek by sharing her fantasy conference call which took place in a (hopefully not too distant) future where Wall Street analysts understand the value of structured innovation, and corporate executives, seeing how an integrated innovation program directly effects their stock price, do as well .

I love this.   It’s very clever how Jeneane understands that while broad brush stroke innovation may never appeal directly to Wall Street, structured innovation and the value it creates, is something analysts could actually wrap their brains around.   And of course, pressure from Wall Street can always help change a company’s priorities.

As Jeneane says, “just as quality became a serious business discipline 20-plus years ago, and is now embedded in most organizations through standard operating procedures, innovation must be developed as a discipline. And we believe that, over the next 20 years, it will be.”

I agree wholeheartedly.  Innovation needs to make the jump from being perceived as an art to that as a discipline. 

However, what Jeneane left out is that, whether acknowledged or not, when implemented, structured innovation programs already add real value to companies that have implemented them by making them more productive and competitive.   And by helping companies succeed, they already do affect stock price.   

Now if we can just get the analysts out there to take notice…