Create a wildfire of enthusiasm. This happens when every one’s fingerprints are on the Strategic Plan. Turn spectators in your organization into genuine participants, willing to dive into action. HLL’s mission ‘Bushfire’ led by the MD and CEO Nitin Paranjpe inspired 4000 employees to go out into the market for 6 days. They went into 15,000 shops seeking to create perfect stores. The Idea Bank scheme at ICICI harvests the ideas of thousands of employees and provides built-in rewards, for teams that actually ‘tame the wild ideas’ and implement them.
It was Ravi Venkatesan of Microsoft India, who focused on Innovation Blow Back (IBB) in his company. IBB happens when innovations developed for the poor are now being brought by rich nations like Tata’s Nano. His company offers a computer with 3 mice, so that poor children in village schools can work on the computer, three to a screen. Our poverty makes us the Innovation Laboratory for efficient, low cost, high quality innovations, like shampoo in sachets, developed by a small new entrant, Velvette Shampoo. Create innovations for the common man.
Everyday the 90 day blueprint has a plan attached or a thinking tool attached. If you would like to try it in your company, create a few small cross-functional commando teams of 5 to 7 action warriors. Let all teams follow the 90 day plan, led by an innovation champion who has direct access to the CEO. Innovation requires going away from normal practices, cutting against the grain, so ‘Top Management’ support is critical. START TODAY!!!
