Being Innovative or Staying Innovative? (How to keep the fire burning?)

Recently I've met a very inspirational person during a conference in L.A. who also happened to be the CEO of one of Fortune 500 companies. Long story short, after talking to him, I was inspired to think about my past working experience as a Project Manager and re-evaluate the things that I could've done better had I known them sooner. That's a small drone airplane presented in Dubai in late 2019, btw.

What are we told since childhood?

'You are so special', 'Think outside the box', 'Change the rules' - aren't these the things almost every parent tells his children sooner or later? Thinking outside the box, for example, has led to so many innovations in the world! And yet the first thing we do when we come in to work - is 'do NOT break the rules', 'only do what's in YOUR primary responsibilities', etc.

How many employees are working from 9-to-5, and do their best btw, but as soon as that 5 o'clock hits - they are out of the office, and they LOVE not thinking about the job outside of it? Another question. How many people you actually know, who not only love what they're doing but also constantly trying to improve their work efficiency and style AGAINST all the odds and all the other employees surrounding them, who are merely doing what they're told? I know just a few.

So, did our parents lie to us or was it our own decision of not trying to innovate things around us and just 'go with the flow'? I think it's us! A very small and yet powerful example from my past is coming up.

Our Mentors. Listen to them, but trust your gut more.

As soon as we start a new job, we all are usually assigned to someone who's been with the company for an extensive period of time and knows 'how things go around here'. Or, we are given a long 'company codex' to read to realize how to behave in this new work environment. And when we ask questions about the procedures that take place, we are usually either given 'the look' or redirected to item #3 on page 10, paragraph 2.

How can you be innovative or a 'special child' in the environment when all the rules have already been figured out? That's very tough to do, I'll tell you that! But the very idea of not being able to be heard should be a fire starter of your inner desire of being innovative!

Back to reality. Reality hits you hard, bro!

It's 2006. I'm a project manager. I've just started in a new company that has all the rules already in place, and all I need to do is make sure all the proper reports are filled in daily by each employee / Scrum master, team leader, etc. Make sure all my teams track everything so I could show the documents to my superiors when requested.

Room for improvement? - Sure. Lots! I could learn all the processes by heart and follow them even more perfectly [Sarcasm]! 'What about a personal touch?' I dared to ask my account manager, who happened to have 150 employees under his wing and has been working there for more than 10 years already. He just smiled back, because he had to be somewhere (probably give account to his superiors or shareholders).

Should I tell you that all my feeble efforts during the next 2 years were NEVER met with 'yeay! let's try this!' approach? Why? Cause I had to prove my worth, and earn their respect first...but it was MY team I was talking to every day. It was MY team which shared with me their pains and victories, and it was MY team which I was eager to develop!

'Change the rules!'

So what I did was: I started believing in my guts rather than in the old and outdated rules. And it paid off! Yes, they hated me. Yes, they fired me after a while for being a saboteur of their 'religion'...but! I gained the most beautiful experience in the world: the desire of staying Innovative! Ok, now that the intro part is over, let's get down to business!

What can a Project Manager do to grow and stay innovative?

Tip 1. Time tracking. Weird, right? Is there anything else that can be done with time tracking? But did you actually try to keep track of individual failures? I mean keep track of how many times a single person in question has failed something? And more importantly, keep track of what was the cause of the failure. Your elaborate comments and observations in this tracking document would help you identify what your employees are doing wrong, and what aspects they need to improve. Or it could help you realize that you don't need to work with a certain person anymore and you will make a crucial decision faster.

Keep track of failures, to see how the team/individual performs over time. Because 2 years in - and you will forget how good or bad the person was.

Tip 2. Ask for Budget. Whatever your stance on this subject is - I believe that you can truly understand its worth, only if you have practical experience in managing at least a minimum of $100k+ budget per year. I didn't have and I've never dreamt of owning a budget at first. But then I realized, that it's possible, and you just need to make a proper budget plan, list as many benefits as possible, present it to your superiors, and, if they are not stupid enough - the ice will break. About 90% of people like to get things for free (unfortunately). They almost never realize, that there's no such thing as 'for free' in business and that there's always 'a catch'. I was buying and giving my employees 'free' Apple Airpods, MacBooks or conference tickets, and it made them happy, and they didn't ask for a raise as often as they should've. I saved thousands by spending hundreds. But my executives at that time didn't believe when I was telling them about the need to have a budget, so... use your imagination and manipulate numbers, lie if you have to - but get that freaking budget for yourself! I mean I was the only manager in the company who did. So everything is possible if you build relationships with people around you. Which brings me to Case 3.

Tip 3. 'Look harder'. This is a famous line I remembered from 'The Lion King' movie. It basically means: you have to always look harder and NOT be satisfied with the 'Status Quo'. But let me guess, every one of you thought about your primary responsibilities just now, am I correct? Like: I'm a Senior Biz Dev, I'm responsible for Business Development - where else should I 'look harder'? Just open your eyes, and pay attention to people. There are actual human beings around you. Some of them might require more attention than the others. Some need slightly more praise or a little bit less pressure to perform better. Some just require a small-talk, and of course my favorite, those who don't want to be disturbed (AKA Professionals).

But you already do that, right? you are a great leader / senior executive. What else then? Talk to people outside of your field of responsibilities. Go talk to recruiters. Or a Chief Marketing officer. Ask them what keeps their fire burning. I'm 100% sure, that you will find a person with this look in the eyes, that will be glad to share his 'crazy' ideas or new studies to see your reaction.

Look at the coffee beans. Yeah. Do you like coffee you are drinking? Multiple surveys show that 80% of employees hate the coffee that is being served at the office. So why not talk to someone about it? Do the change. Be the change!

Tip 4. Don't believe 'No-s'. I once worked for a small company where there was just 1 printer for 3 floors. I was sitting on the 2nd floor, and the printer was on the 3rd. I asked to move it on my floor because I was involved in testing tons of printouts for some Real Estate agency in NYC. They said 'no'. Why? Because all the accountants and the 'bureaucracy people' were located on another floor. I didn't take 'no' for an answer, and long story short, there were 3 weeks when the printer was located on my floor, and 1 week on another. But fast forward 3 months and they bought another printer for 'the company'. Because I kept asking for a printer day by day by day... 'No' - was not an option for me.

Believe in yourself. Do good things and care about your employees and employer! And they will promote you and your ideas. I'm not talking about ass-kissing. Only a special breed of people is doing this. As soon as you see it - pin in down! Don't talk to people like that, don't cooperate with them: they should feel lonely and miserable. Engaging into their games will only make you feel worse. Trust me, I've been on both sides of the table.

Tip 5. Do your work and stay Positive. Whatever it takes - always do you freaking job to the best of your abilities. No slacking! If you have too much job and don't have time for a break - it means that you need an assistant. Ask for it.

Staying positive means that you fully understand that the work you do, and the place you work for - is YOUR OWN choice. So why not Innovate and love it?

Cheers!