Innovation. This, of course, is a much-hyped topic these days. Like leadership, there is a tendency to associate it with individuals, and to encourage firms to hire people who test well for creativity, or to manipulate them in such a way that creativity, in and of itself, results.
But also like leadership, innovation in organizations is not principally an individual characteristic – it is an organizational one. And you don’t create it out of nothing for no purpose other than for it to exist in your outfit. It is the echo of deeper work – work that any organization, of any size, can do.
This week’s The Economist has provided a briefing on Procter & Gamble. The piece covers a lot of ground, and is well worth reading. But for our purposes today, it builds up to a discussion of how this large firm can be so innovative – and increasingly so.
For one thing, it uses “open innovation,” which means that it will steal any good idea and make it into a winner for its customers and its businesses (see here for more on this). It began using this approach 5 years ago, and now half of its inventive solutions come from outside its own ranks.
But more importantly, it focuses relentlessly on the impressions, reactions, and needs of its customers, to the point of following people around in retail stores to record their responses, following them into the home to observe their attitudes when they open their newly purchased products, and noting how they use them (see here to learn about another company that uses customer knowledge to generate innovation).
Procter & Gamble knows its customers. It can look at their needs, and even its own products, from their perspective. This constitutes a broad fabric of knowledge, from designers to consumers, that is easily set to vibrate with productive energy when struck with a good idea – whether from inside or outside the firm.
Random fact #5: I am a musician.
Not like Steve Roesler. The success he enjoyed, and continues to enjoy, sharing his love of music professionally, is remarkable, and I never equalled it. But I think of myself as a musician nevertheless.
I got into it late – started playing the trumpet in the 5th grade. If you want to be really good, you should start much younger. Moreover, the trumpet may not have been the best instrument for me mechanically, although I love its range of expression. Later I added the valve trombone, the guitar, and the piano, although the latter was only so I could arrange music.
In my high-school years I played in the marching band, the orchestra, the wind ensemble, sang in the choir and madrigals, and had a jazz band and even a barber shop quartet. This, in the midst of swimming, cross-country, and track, as well as the rest of the usual teen-age hyperactivity.
All of that was pretty important, I have always suspected, to the way my thinking and outlook developed.
For example, I think one of the most useful things I did during this time was to study music theory on my own. In the course of this I learned that there is a phenomenon in music called harmonics. Here’s a simple explanation of it:
Imagine a guitar string. When you pluck a string of a given length, it vibrates and produces a tone associated with that length and tension. But did you know that it also vibrates in segments?
Picture the midpoint of the string. At the same time that the entire length of the string vibrates producing the root note, the upper half and lower halves are vibrating, producing faint harmonic overtones. Moreover, the string is simultaneously producing additional overtones as other proportional segments and sub-segments resonate in parallel with the underlying vibrations, producing a harmonic chord that rises ethereally above the basic note that is struck. It is this that gives the richness you sense in certain bass and cello tones, and it is not restricted to low tones or string instruments.
Harmonics, these melodic halos hovering above the music we play, are inherent in the physics in the instruments of our music. They waft into life and rise to the heavens when we make those instruments play.
Can you believe that this concept has been immeasurably helpful to me throughout my adult life?
As for this stuff about being a musician, it has even brought me back to the piano, as of about a year ago; this time not to write, but to play.
Today’s tag goes to Lee Thayer at The Leader’s Journey.
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Jim,
I’m enjoying the P&G post and related info.
And your take on it mirrors the false notion of heroic, indivualistic CEO’s being the answer to corporate performance. That is, Innovation is a systemic mindset in the same way as good management.
P&G’s devotion to customers is probably reflected in a similar passion for internal customers, if you will. It would be nearly impossible to sustain so much success for so long without systemic attention to satisfaction in as many ways as possible.
As for the music discussion: to be continued!
Hello Steve,
I certainly agree with your observation that good management must be systemic; otherwise, it simply doesn’t have meaningful, enduring existence at all.
The concept of internal customers is important. It receives passing mention here and there, but it is a key element of execution – thanks for bringing that up. It deserves more commentary.
And I look forward to more on the music discussion!
A lot of creativity (getting good ideas) involves going outside your regular channels and enriching the quality of what farmers call your “inputs.” A lot of innovation involves spending time with your customers, listening to what they say and watching what they do, asking questions and sharing ideas.
Among many things he did in his life, my father was often asked to tell young pastors what he’d learned in his pastoral career. It was the era when seminary faculty were talking about pastors taking on the corporate-like role of Pastor Director. Things like home visits were out. Strategy was in.
Dad thought differently. He told young pastors to visit their parishioners at home and at work. “If you call on your members during the week,” he would say, “you never have to wonder about what to preach about on Sunday.”
Wally,
My dad got thrown out of Catholic seminary, perhaps the beginning of the event trajectory that propelled me into the Marines.
But your father’s saying is just a perfect illustration of the point! Thanks again for a very illuminating comment.