Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/655792
26 FEDA News & Views frontline employees and customers come hell and high water. (2) Visibly and constantly acknowledging staff contributions. (3) Apologizing with an over-the-top response after screw-ups. (4) Acknowledging that meetings are what you do as a leader, and turning them from "pains in the butt" into "paragons of excellence"—no kidding! (5) Becoming a Master of Listening through study and practice, and about 25–50 other things I can readily think of. The big stuff (vision) is not unimportant but long-term improved leadership effectiveness will mostly result from practicing and mastering that hefty bin full of tactics. 5 A culture of innovation must be embedded and nurtured by top management and made central to every leadership position. Who are the organization's innovators? EVERYONE. (Or else.) A culture of innovation turns every organizational unit— from six to 6,666—into a school house, a learning machine, a buzzing, blooming experimental laboratory. (FYI: It goes with- out saying, implementing and sustaining such a culture is a daunting task in most organizations. It requires daily attention, more or less forever.) 6 Simple as it is to say, but ever so hard to instill, there is a big secret and it is, "Whoever tries the most things wins." Innovation is Strategy continued "Move fast, break things" is Facebook's mantra—and it must become the mantra of all of us. Translation: Literally every- one must be trying and testing new stuff every day. There is an uncomfortable corollary to this, which is captured in the title of a recent book, The Paradox of Innovation: Whoever Makes the Most Mistakes Wins. To try a lot necessarily means to fail a lot. Leaders must understand this and make it a centerpiece of the strategy and culture of the organization. Good tries that fail are to be celebrated, not punished or hidden. And hustle on an unprecedented scale should go without saying. 7 Almost as important as lots of good tries is diversity. That is, every business unit must become a bubbling, crazy mix of views and backgrounds and tastes, feature constant intersection with outsiders of every fl avor—constant contact with those who make us uncomfortable. Side by side with this bubbling cauldron is a culture of curiosity. We only want team members—in every position—who question everything every day, keep asking more and better questions—then, of course, tying it all to those constant tries. 8 We are citizens of the world—the world is our source of playmates. The new technologies allow us to play with and partner with, day in and day out, practically everyone on the planet. Our source of ideas and partners is everybody, everywhere. This approach is not optional. 9 Social media is everybody's "game." One social media baron said, "It takes 20 years to build a reputation, fi ve minutes to lose it." (True.) And a big-fi rm fi nan- cial services CEO said he would rather have a single direct twitter conversation with a customer than spend millions on a Super Bowl ad. (Sensible circa 2015.) Add a dozen like radi- cal assertions and you have this: (1) Social media is ubiquitous and is everybody's business. (2) Stay as near to the forefront as you can and get personally engaged. Big Time. Best time to start this journey? Today. 10 There are two giant, still under-served markets: Women (who buy everything) and "oldies" (who have all the money). Women make the large lion's share of purchasing deci- sions—of commercial as well as consumer products and ser- vices. (In the U.S., for example, over 50 percent of purchasing professionals are women.) Every aspect of the organization, We only want team members—in every position—who question everything every day, keep asking more and better questions— then, of course, tying it all to those constant tries. continued on page 28 Changing the Way You Cook since 1990 800.988.8103 360.650.1111 woodstone-corp.com STONE HEARTH & SPECIALTY Commercial Cooking Equipment Discover why OVER 14,000 OVENS, rotisseries, charbroilers, tandoors, and planchas have been SOLD IN 80+ COUNTRIES worldwide. Made in the USA.