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| NEW CONSTRUCTION
STRATEGIES ARTICLES |
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| Southeast
Construction Magazine: January 2005 Issue |
Innovation: The Path to Greater
Profits - Part 7
By Ted Garrison |
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In
the first six parts of this article in Southeast
Construction, the author explained the
importance of innovation and discussed the first 10
of 12 critical traits of an innovative company. Here
he explores the last two traits and provides a brief
overview that allows readers to evaluate their own company’s
performance.
11)
Innovation is the result
of focused, disciplined, and rigorous mental processes:
All
of the previous traits have discussed creating a focused,
disciplined and rigorous mental process. This
is accomplished by making people think about innovation,
getting people to take action, holding them accountable
for their efforts and measuring the results.
However,
unless the process starts at the top of the organization
and the efforts in the field are supported - whether
they work out or not – change will not occur.
In other words, unless innovation becomes a culture
within your organization, innovation will be hit or
miss at best. Therefore, Companies must create
a senior management-sponsored process to seek out creative
ideas, implement them, measure the results and reward
the innovators.
12) If you want innovation,
then you need to reward it – and that includes
the mistakes:
The
final, critical ingredient is the reward. Surveys of
employees indicate the number one motivator for them
is recognition for a job well done. Therefore,
if you want innovation to succeed then you must acknowledge
and reward it.
You
can get creative here. Maybe on a weekly basis list
the top ten small innovative ideas. For major
innovations, maybe there is a special bonus. But clearly
those that innovate must be recognized at bonus time
and when promotions are made. If you want innovation
you must reward it.
A little
secret: if you are going to provide awards or special
bonuses, let the employees vote on the ideas, or at
least be a major factor in determining the winners.
If everyone is involved in the process, everyone’s
awareness of innovation is raised and its importance
is reinforced.
Now
that you explored all 12 traits, I suggest you go back
and review all 12 traits and rate your company’s
performance on each of the traits. (Note: If you
don’t have copies of the six previous article
– you can find all of them on Ted Garrison’s
website www.TedGarrison.com under Articles.) Rate your company from zero to
eight on each trait with eight being all the time and
zero being never. A four implies that you meet
the standard 50 percent of the time. Then tabulate your
results. Give yourself four points just for taking
the test and add up your scores from each of the twelve
traits.
If your
score was ranged from 0 to 59 you are in serious trouble
since you failed Innovation 101! You need to drastically
change the way you are conducting business. If
your score ranged from 60 to 69 you get a “D”.
You
seem to understand that innovation is needed but you
need to improve your performance. If your score
ranges from 70 to 79 you earn a “C”.
While this may seem okay, it’s really not!
Average contractor gets lost in the crowd. Those companies
in the top 20 percent make more than double the profits
of those in the lower 40 percent.
If
your score ranges from 80 to 89 you get a “B”.
You are certainly on the right track, but don’t
let up because there is still room for improvement.
If your score ranges from 90 to 100 you get an “A”.
Congratulations! Your company is a leader in the industry.
However, don’t get complacent because innovation
is not a destination, but a journey. Don’t
slow down and rest, because you may lose momentum and
suddenly find those behind you rushing past.
Innovation
is maybe one of the only two sustainable competitive
advantages – the other being continuous learning
– but in order to maintain that advantage a company
must continue to work at it. |
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THE END *
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Ted
Garrison, the author ofStrategic Planning
for Contractors, works with businesses
in the construction industry. He can be reached
at
Growing@TedGarrison.com
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