Putting Our Differences to Work by Debbe Kennedy: INNOVATION: CRANKING IT UP A NOTCH

Want to spur INNOVATION? Create a divergent work force. Then harness high tech to let workers collaborate. That's how Cord Cooper opened in his article, "Crank The Idea Machine" (Investors.com - Leadership-Success / Investor's Business Daily). I was honored have my book, Putting Our Differences to Work quoted along with the work of Adam Richardson, author of Innovation X, and Tom Kelley, author of The 10 Faces of Innovation.

In the article, Cord Cooper creates a set of ACTION STEPS from our respective work and casts a spotlight on them. I wanted to comment on each of them, because they do work to crank the idea machine:

Seek opposites. It is true that we need a combination to generate the best ideas. We also need to learn to see DIFFERENCES differently, recognizing that each of us has a multi-faceted perspective to bring to the creative process. The graphic is from my book. It provides a glimpse of the differences we all bring --- and at the intersection where we meet and share them, the greatest IDEAS emerge.

Join forces. During the economic struggle and recovery, this is particularly valuable. You can generate a whole new series of products and services, if you join forces with trusted partners and each invest your existing assets to keep hard costs minimal. Go virtual and you can reach the world.

Learn by example. Hewlett Packard's Common Thread was a great role model for connecting people. In today's environment, social media in all its forms has given all of us a chance to learn from the best and the worst in how to creatively learn, grow, and connect with customers and partners. Another example, I mention in my book is the Greater IBM Connection, a global business networking organization for both past and presentIBMers. Imagine that talent pool!

Apply it. I learned first-hand that the virtual "town hall" beats a focus group in a conference room by leaps and bounds. HP's Common Thread proved it. We wanted to update a company business practice for the 21st Century. I wrote the original one, long before "virtual" was possible, so I knew how long it took. With the virtual town hall, the new version was written, reviewed by the world in HP Common Thread's "town hall," edited, approved, and launched online in just a few weeks. Formerly, a small domestic group would have met in closed groups with a limited number of perspectives and perhaps taken months of work and significant cost to get the same result. It was fun to see the virtual world come to life.

Grow. The decision to grow into virtual space was one of the best investments we made as a consulting company. We have continued to expand our offerings at the Global Dialogue Center, including our online conference center and also online learning programs for professional development focused on INNOVATION. Why? In our survey of over 2000 innovators and leaders in 2009, we learned that 84% were experiencing resistance to chance in some form or lacking in confidence to deal with it. So we're working to respond to this far-reaching inhibitor to cranking the idea machine.

Try her concept. I agree! Give it a try!

Don't limit. Totally agree with Tom Kelley! Take time to get to know people --- all their dimensions of difference --- so you can tap into the depth of their talent.

Go further. Again, I agree with Tom Kelley! Engage your team in INNOVATION at all levels. They won't let you down.

So thank you Cord Cooper for bringing together a divergent views to give us eight ACTION STEPS to take advantage of what we can do together.

Want to connect YOUR NEW IDEAS with your CUSTOMERS
and PARTNERS at a new level?
Join me and futurist Joel Barker ONLINE for How to Get Buy-In for NEW IDEAS - JUNE 3. It's a professional development class designed to help you breakthrough the NOISE and resistance you may be experiencing. Learn more...
WEBSITE: www.howtogetbuyinfornewideas.com

Warm regards to all!

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
founder, President and CEO Global Dialogue Center
and Leadership Solutions Companies
Twitter @debbekennedy @onlinedialogues

author, Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership,
and High Performance (Berrett-Koehler 2008)
Buy a Copy at Amazon.com