Some of the best business ideas originate from countercultural roots, according to the Booz & Co. article “The LifeCycle of Great Business Ideas.” But many business leaders struggle with how to weed out the non-effective ideas and find the few gems. Understanding the business idea lifecycle, learning how to identify the best ideas and understanding trends of the future can help business leaders navigate this process.
Lifecycle of Management Ideas
When evaluating the sustainability of lifecycle management ideas, it’s important to evaluate the ideas in the context of the company. Performance is more relative than absolute. For this reason, the success of business ideas can’t be replicated in every company. If ideas can be replicated, the competitive advantage is lost.
The Role of the Business Leader
Managers with revolutionary business ideas usually have a different concept about authority and have a unique management style. These managers are dedicated to making the organization much different from when they started.
For example, P.V. Kannan, CEO and Co-Founder of 24/7 Customer, a company that focuses on outsourcing, developed a company that managed email (before companies routinely used email communication). He ran into a lot of resistance when marketing the idea to business owners. However, companies use email routinely today, which makes Kannan a revolutionary leader (although the idea doesn’t provide a competitive edge any longer). Kannan also launched a call center in India and received a lot of push back. The call center currently has over 7,000 employees and is a huge success.
Some business leaders aren’t confident there are many new business ideas in the marketplace. They believe that most leaders are taking existing ideas and tweaking them to improve success. Business ideas often go through cycles. What’s successful today may be obsolete several years down the road and then make a come back in 20-years.
Recognizing Good Management Ideas
Even the brightest leaders get confused about drivers and results. Management should invest time ensuring that data is independent and reliable. When testing the success of an idea, make sure the independent variables are truly independent and aren’t influenced by outside factors. If you don’t follow this rule, companies don’t have an accurate picture of what is driving the results.
For example, Kannan was asked by a large client to develop two new customer service measures. Customer service representatives were now required to end the call by asking if there’s anything else needed and saying “have a nice day.” However, by measuring the impact of these changes, Kannan found the new changes didn’t make a positive impact. In fact, customers were annoyed by representatives prolonging the conversation and wanted to get off the phone quickly.
Generating Larger Pools of Ideas
When coming up with good ideas, it should be generated from a large pool of ideas. This way, management can throw out the bad ideas, and hone in on the most promising strategies. Employees developing the pool of ideas should come from a variety of business units. When everyone in the room comes from the same place, the organization may miss out on a truly great idea. Conformity in this process will only lead to short-term results. More diversity provides more opportunities for long-term results.
Another challenge in implementing good ideas is taking the ideas from concept to implementation. As management teams go through changes, ideas often get lost in the mix and don’t see the light of day. Streamlining the process for rolling out new ideas will ensure the strategies aren’t sabotaged by unnecessary roadblocks.
Rolling out revolutionary ideas can seem risky. However, having good research to support the new ideas allows leaders to make educated guesses when the outcome is risky. Taking calculated risks provides an opportunity to win market share and boost long-term results. When planning new ideas, management should think outside the “boom and bust” cycles and build capabilities that have the potential to provide a competitive advantage for years to come.
The Future of Management Practices and Thinking
Generating ideas to create long-term success will require a higher degree of attention paid to daily events. Managing daily activities more efficiently will continue to drive better performance and revenue. Management need to change practices to become more accountable for results. Companies also need to develop new ideas that will keep pace with the changing marketplace. Executives of the future will need to focus on ideas for generating better data and improving the accuracy of decisions.
Resource:
Bridget Finn. “The Life Cycle of Great Business Ideas” Booz & Co, September 2008.
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Mark Jordan is the Managing Principal of VERCOR, an investment bank that creates liquidity for middle market business owners. He is the author of “Driving Business Value in an Uncertain Economy”, “Selling Your Business the Easy Way”, “Enhancing Your Business Value…The Climb to the Top” and co-author of “The Business Sale…A Business Owner’s Most Perilous Expedition.” For more information, contact him at 770.399.9512 or click here to email Mark.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Creating Messages that Stick
Communicating complicated messages to fragmented audiences isn’t an easy task. According to the article “Crafting a Message that Sticks: An interview with Chip Heath”, understanding how to create memorable messages allows the audience to visualize the end result which accomplishes long-term success. Chip Heath, a professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, has extensively studied why some communication strategies thrive while others fail.
Inspiring Employees
Some leaders are able to create messages that inspire thousands of employees, while other leaders struggle to make an impact. Often times, employees hear a presentation but aren’t inspired to make changes in their daily routines. Leaders may invest weeks or even months preparing these presentations without any significant results – because the message wasn’t “sticky” enough. Managers who change their communication approach can invoke that light bulb moment in audience members which inspires the desired action.
For example, the McKinsey Review discusses how John F. Kennedy proposed to send a man to the moon in 1961. This concept motivated thousands of people across the private and public sector. The idea stuck because it was surprising, bold and people could picture the outcome.
Prioritizing Messages
When creating a successful message, it’s important to understand that every message isn’t worth laboring over. For instance, the status update of your organization is important but doesn’t require a lot of work. Messages that impact the vision and future of your company, however, require an investment that will leave employees with a message that isn’t forgotten weeks and even months later.
Creating a Successful Message
Leaders may become so enthusiastic about their message that they present too much information to employees. When creating a message that sticks, Heath recommends keeping it simple. He doesn’t recommend dumbing down the message, but rather identifying the core issues and presenting these in a simplified way. This helps employees to stay focused and understand simple concepts instead of being bombarded with too much information.
Heath explains the result of creating sticky messages is employees who understand the actions needed to make an impact. Employees will come up with innovative strategies to accomplish the task at hand because they will have a clear understanding of the desired outcome. One example would be a company who is communicating a message of “maximizing shareholder value. The company needs to create a message that will stick with employees during their daily tasks.
Avoiding the “Knowledge Curse”
According to the McKinsey Review, when a leader doesn’t have success with communication, he may be suffering from “the curse of knowledge.” Psychologists have found when people know a lot of information about a concept, it’s very difficult to imagine not knowing anything. Consider an executive who has been working for a company for 30 years. He has come to understand what “maximizing shareholder value” means. This statement, however, may seem abstract to a new employee with little company experience. Making the concept simple and creating a visual of the outcome will help employees relate the message to daily tasks.
Creating Examples
An idea or concept sticks better when the leader paints a picture of the end result. A good story makes the presentation more portable. This allows the leader to adapt the presentation to a variety of audiences such as employees and board members. Since each audience has a different agenda, a good story will allow the leader to quickly customize the presentation without making as many changes.
Fine Tuning the Presentation
If you want to make your message stick, you need to spend more time making the presentation more concrete. Stay away from vague or abstract concepts and convert those ideas into strong statements and examples. Instead of saying you want to offer “exceptional customer value”, the leader might discuss a concrete example such as how customers get free gift wrapping with every purchase. This makes the statement less abstract and allows the audience to visualize the desired outcome.
When a leader finalizes a presentation, he should ask himself a few questions about the message. Test the message to make sure it isn’t too complex and check if you included enough stories. The leader should also make sure the message carries creditability and emotional impact. This will make it more memorable. Once these changes have been made, the message should be stronger and have more “sticking power.”
The Value of Employee Focus Groups
For messages that are extremely important, consider holding an employee focus group. This group should include employees from across the organization to provide honest feedback. Getting this feedback before rolling out the message to the entire organization will make your message even better.
Resource:
Lenny T. Mendonca and Matt Miller. “Crafting a Message that Sticks: An Interview with Chip Heath.” The McKinsey Quarterly, November 2007.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark Jordan is the Managing Principal of VERCOR, an investment bank that creates liquidity for middle market business owners. He is the author of “Driving Business Value in an Uncertain Economy”, “Selling Your Business the Easy Way”, “Enhancing Your Business Value…The Climb to the Top” and co-author of “The Business Sale…A Business Owner’s Most Perilous Expedition.” For more information, contact him at 770.399.9512 or click here to email Mark.
Inspiring Employees
Some leaders are able to create messages that inspire thousands of employees, while other leaders struggle to make an impact. Often times, employees hear a presentation but aren’t inspired to make changes in their daily routines. Leaders may invest weeks or even months preparing these presentations without any significant results – because the message wasn’t “sticky” enough. Managers who change their communication approach can invoke that light bulb moment in audience members which inspires the desired action.
For example, the McKinsey Review discusses how John F. Kennedy proposed to send a man to the moon in 1961. This concept motivated thousands of people across the private and public sector. The idea stuck because it was surprising, bold and people could picture the outcome.
Prioritizing Messages
When creating a successful message, it’s important to understand that every message isn’t worth laboring over. For instance, the status update of your organization is important but doesn’t require a lot of work. Messages that impact the vision and future of your company, however, require an investment that will leave employees with a message that isn’t forgotten weeks and even months later.
Creating a Successful Message
Leaders may become so enthusiastic about their message that they present too much information to employees. When creating a message that sticks, Heath recommends keeping it simple. He doesn’t recommend dumbing down the message, but rather identifying the core issues and presenting these in a simplified way. This helps employees to stay focused and understand simple concepts instead of being bombarded with too much information.
Heath explains the result of creating sticky messages is employees who understand the actions needed to make an impact. Employees will come up with innovative strategies to accomplish the task at hand because they will have a clear understanding of the desired outcome. One example would be a company who is communicating a message of “maximizing shareholder value. The company needs to create a message that will stick with employees during their daily tasks.
Avoiding the “Knowledge Curse”
According to the McKinsey Review, when a leader doesn’t have success with communication, he may be suffering from “the curse of knowledge.” Psychologists have found when people know a lot of information about a concept, it’s very difficult to imagine not knowing anything. Consider an executive who has been working for a company for 30 years. He has come to understand what “maximizing shareholder value” means. This statement, however, may seem abstract to a new employee with little company experience. Making the concept simple and creating a visual of the outcome will help employees relate the message to daily tasks.
Creating Examples
An idea or concept sticks better when the leader paints a picture of the end result. A good story makes the presentation more portable. This allows the leader to adapt the presentation to a variety of audiences such as employees and board members. Since each audience has a different agenda, a good story will allow the leader to quickly customize the presentation without making as many changes.
Fine Tuning the Presentation
If you want to make your message stick, you need to spend more time making the presentation more concrete. Stay away from vague or abstract concepts and convert those ideas into strong statements and examples. Instead of saying you want to offer “exceptional customer value”, the leader might discuss a concrete example such as how customers get free gift wrapping with every purchase. This makes the statement less abstract and allows the audience to visualize the desired outcome.
When a leader finalizes a presentation, he should ask himself a few questions about the message. Test the message to make sure it isn’t too complex and check if you included enough stories. The leader should also make sure the message carries creditability and emotional impact. This will make it more memorable. Once these changes have been made, the message should be stronger and have more “sticking power.”
The Value of Employee Focus Groups
For messages that are extremely important, consider holding an employee focus group. This group should include employees from across the organization to provide honest feedback. Getting this feedback before rolling out the message to the entire organization will make your message even better.
Resource:
Lenny T. Mendonca and Matt Miller. “Crafting a Message that Sticks: An Interview with Chip Heath.” The McKinsey Quarterly, November 2007.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark Jordan is the Managing Principal of VERCOR, an investment bank that creates liquidity for middle market business owners. He is the author of “Driving Business Value in an Uncertain Economy”, “Selling Your Business the Easy Way”, “Enhancing Your Business Value…The Climb to the Top” and co-author of “The Business Sale…A Business Owner’s Most Perilous Expedition.” For more information, contact him at 770.399.9512 or click here to email Mark.
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