There’s nothing more frustrating for a leader than to see a great strategic idea die.
Great ideas frequently fail. No one follows up. Layers of approvals delay implementation. The cost is too high. Attention is diverted to other priorities. Everybody is already too busy. The list goes on.
When ideas fail, nothing happens. Perhaps inattention forced the idea into oblivion. Or, people conveniently forgot about it, retreating to their “day jobs”. Reasons (read: “excuses”) for the failure are conveniently conjured. There is no post mortem to figure out what really happened.
It doesn’t have to be that way. Insightful leaders avoid those pitfalls by taking four critical steps to bring their ideas forward.
They cultivate up front Critical Thinking. The leader and senior staff, sometimes with outside help, take time off from normal distractions to evaluate the idea from all angles, identifying and evaluating its most critical aspects, both positive and negative. The leader encourages and is open to honest debate. Early passion and excitement about the idea’s potential are tempered with cold, objective, realistic analysis.
Next, if the idea holds water, a Good Process is designed. This is an end-to-end set of steps that will translate the idea into action, through to fruition, on an expedited basis. My mantra on this is simple: “Good Process Yields Good Results; Bad Process … well, you finish the phrase”.
Then, the leader finds someone to “Own” the Process, along with the leader, and get the job done. This person is well-respected, knows the organization, has the right skill sets for the project and has ready access to the leader. The leader empowers the process owner with the people, technology and funding to succeed.
The final ingredient is Accountability to the organization through the board, executive and senior leadership. The key question to ask throughout is whether the new initiative is likely to create value with desired positive outcomes on a sustained basis for the organization’s customers, the people it serves and other stakeholders. If not, drop it.
But, if the answer is still a “yes” at the end of the process, then you have an idea worth pursuing. It might just be a great one.