If it threatens the system, expel it. It happens in business as in nature.

 

Do you remember the labyrinth puzzles we did as kids? Try to do them from the outside in and it always took more than one go. Do it from the middle out and it always went right.

Strategic direction is a powerful tool.

So here’s the dichotomy: to be successful we must anticipate the need to change, design to change and then act to change. Having this effect in and on a business is always going to be difficult for an individual, unless you are an autocrat with the power to alter everyone’s behaviour to suit your plan.

Data and experience tell us that, as the number of people around you rises, the inclination for the majority to see your vision diminishes, there being greater diversity of ideas, thinking and agendas.

Lots of non-commercial organisations are good at harnessing diversity of thinking and talent and driving to a common goal. Think of a sports team. All the players come from different places but the goal is explicit, literally. The best teams are brilliant and seamless. But stick a quarterback or a goalie in a silo without a view of the game and see how the team does.

We advocate giving the team the best reason to do something and then letting them get at it.

As future thinkers, our mission is to reveal the future and give you a view of your options, comparatively. We provide a clear and focused view of the product and services that your company could create / develop / adopt to meet future consumer demand. The job is then to navigate competitor activity and launch into a landscape that has been assessed – innovation justified, if you will.

The trick is to leverage combined creativity. Instead of letting the team come up with a million reasons for not changing, why don’t we work out where we want to go and let them use their instinct to tell us which scenario works best and how we are going to get there.

Without the culture of innovation being embedded in a company’s DNA, and without the institutionalised demand that everybody plays their part in innovating, every day, it is left to the innovation department. Who wants that gig?

“Doing something meaningful means changing something for the better.” Seth Godin

“Great companies make change for a living.” Michael Schrage

Drop us a line at helpme@room44.co.uk and let’s see how we can help each other.

Intelligent application of artificial intelligence. Innovation justified.

www.room44.co.uk

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