Innovation Theater vs. Innovation Mindset

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Rethink your Leadership:? Invitations for Non-Vistage Members

Two upcoming events open to qualified non-members.

On Friday, July 26, Jay Rifenbary (2017 Speaker of the Year) offers a “No Excuses” foundation to “enhance your ability to lead, manage, sell, and most importantly set a positive and professional example for yourself and others. You will gain a greater level of personal understanding leading to a more satisfying, fulfilling, and productive career.” Click here to register .??

On Thursday, August 29, 2024 hear from ‘Atomic Habits’ James Clear on How to Get 1% Better Every Day.? 10 am -11 am CST.? Click here to register .

In this Issue

1. Theater vs. Reality
2. AI and Careers
3. Family or?Team?
4. How to?Run Your Business
5. Hybrid Hell
6. Econ Recon

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Theater vs Reality

As leaders we don’t want to do things just for show. We want our actions and words to result in substantial change. In other words, we don’t just want it to be “theater” – performing for the sake of performing.

This comment rings true for innovation. Innovation doesn’t occur because we use tools for innovation ?like whiteboards, walls plastered with sticky notes. If that is all we are doing to spur innovation we might be prone to “innovation theater” – only the appearance of innovation.?This article from Kellogg School of Management, Innovation Requires an Environment of Creative Risk , explores how to create a thoughtfully designed environment that gets everyone involved and moves from ideas to action.

True innovation requires not just the right methods, but the right mindset—one that enables or, better yet, encourages people to offer creative, potentially risky ideas in a forum that encourages and rewards brave conversation. David Schonthal

The author cautions, “If you really want to change paradigms, you must be willing to accept that there is no such thing as true innovation without risk.”? Avoid the pitfalls of innovation theater in your organization, read Innovation Requires an Environment of Creative Risk.

AI and Careers

The so-called “War for Talent” has created a hot job market in recent years, but the emergence of AI is threatening to replace the jobs that have traditionally been the on-ramp for many young people early in their careers.

This short article from INC. profiles accounting software company Intuit’s recent announcement that it would lay off 1,800 employees:? 10% of its total workforce.

This may a sign of things to come. “Layoffs at high-profile companies like Intuit signal that a technological tipping point is near, and along with it, more fallout for workers.” This has many C-level executives, “thinking that AI's invasion of the job market is well underway.”

AI-Related Downsizing is Growing More Common.? Is this the Future of Business? Then watch this video from Mark Cuban On the Future of Jobs and the surprising areas where he feels your kid should be focusing upon.

Family or Team?

The basic organization unit of society throughout history has been the family, so it’s not surprising that?many businesses have tried to incorporate the idea of “family” into their workplaces.

This works well, until it doesn’t. This article from Ideas.Ted.Com warns that “a company is not a family.?And what’s more- a company should not try to be a family.” Learn “Why a company is not a family- and how companies can bond with their employees instead.”

Another short article brings?a successful CEO’s perspective to the ‘company as family” phenomenon. Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and two other entrepreneurs share their thoughts born of experience, in a short HBR article:?Your company is not a family .

How to Run Your Business

The late Peter Drucker once remarked that “Companies don’t make money. Companies make shoes.” What he meant was that every business exists to fill a need (e.g., shoes) in society which will be rewarded with profit if done effectively.?

Management should focus on the “shoes" or whatever it does that its customers really want. The money will follow.

If you’d like a specific example of a leader that believed, and lived, this conviction, look no further than Bill Hewlett and David Packard, the eponymous founders of technology legend Hewlett-Packard.

In 1960, David Packard gave a talk at his company that explained “why companies exist.” You can read it on the Farnam Street blog :

You may also want to read the whole story of the company in Packard’s memoir “The HP Way”? for the inspiring tale of?how two entrepreneurs began in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, CA and ended as business legends.? This is not a story about a technology company,?but about how to run a business.

Hybrid Hell

One of the biggest challenges of senior management is striking the right balance between the attractiveness of remote work and the business’ need to have the team together?in the office. Some executives call it “hybrid hell.”?

With it still being a seller’s market for talent, you might take time for a worthwhile article from Chief Executive Magazine:? “The dichotomy between remote work and the traditional office setup is not a binary struggle. Each side brings something special to the table, and employers can still attract employees—even younger generations—with an in-office policy.”

Learn why You Don’t Have to Offer Remote Work to Solve Your Talent Challenge .

Econ Recon

Time flies! We’re halfway through the year. Strong stock market, the labor market is holding its own and inflation is flattening. Check out these two perspectives on what’s ahead for the second half of this year’s economic game:

Vistage Speaker Marc Emmer ’s The Strategy Page:? Mid-Year Economic?Edition offers a short and concise analysis that suggests that ”Recent data suggests the economy is at an inflection point in terms of inflation, wages, and productivity”?

ITR Economics’ latest FedWatch features economist Taylor St. Germain suggests some sluggishness and slowing in 2024 but a good economy for 2025 and 2026.

Thank you for the privilege of your attention this week. Wishing you a productive week.

Sue Tinnish, PhD,?Vistage Chair, Facilitator, & Executive Coach

Find me easily at: 847.404.7325, [email protected] , Twitter:?@STinnish, LinkedIn: www.dhirubhai.net/in/suetinnish , Website: https://vistage.com/chairs/sue.tinnish