Welcome to the Innovation Department

I met with a huge multinational conglomerate and wandered through various lines of security and x-raying only to be shuttled to a holding area before I was finally greeted by our "host," who I then followed through several hallways into yet another secure area, where we met with the "Innovation Team."

The Innovation guys were great - they were, well, innovative. Lots of great ideas and enthusiasm.

But the experience left me with a lot of questions. Why have an "Innovation Department" at all? Wouldn't that imply that the rest of the company isn't innovative, that the employees didn't feel their calling was to be innovative - unless, of course, they were in the Innovation Department? How innovative, for that matter, is the name "Innovation Department?"

I wonder - perhaps the CEO said that they needed to be innovative and therefore that meant creating that department. But how will a small department alone be able to change that culture? Sounds pretty tough.

Shouldn't all of us be inspired and expected to be innovative? Wouldn't creating an "Innovation Department" all but guarantee that the corporation will not be focused on innovation? We have to watch that, despite all good intentions, that we can create an environment that actually works against our vision.



Barry LaBov
LaBov and Beyond
http://www.labov.com/

Performers are performers

Pick your favorite comedian. Why would you pay to see him (or her) perform? Well, for one, he's funny. But for another, he has to stay "fresh." You won't pay to hear the same material over and over. Staying fresh is a sign that the performer is passionate about his craft, that he's growing, developing, improving.

That was the beauty of great bands like the Beatles. Always something new, always progressing, always a reason to buy their new music. Never the same song with a different title. Never cashing in by dumbing-down their work.

Same thing at the office. A performer can "play well" and say the right things for awhile. But it gets old hearing the same cliche or office-speak or seeing the same behavior over and over again.

We're all performers. We need to make sure we're not stale - not singing the same song over and over again. Everyone around us knows it when we do; we have to face it ourselves.

The best way I know to do it is to catch yourself when you're saying the same thing over and over again - and question it. What am I really saying? Am I "mailing it in," or am I really, truly being sincere about my work or my idea or my assessment of the situation?

I'd rather be too critical of myself then have others do it for me.

Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
www.labov.com