Hold The Politics
Organizations everywhere are being held back by the very people they have put into place to further the growth of the company. Wether they are individuals that are entrenched in their current position and are warding of the threat of another competitive employee or just people who like it the status quo the way it is. It's really sad. So many companies have the influence, money and creativity to deliver really great products but are limited only by the staff in which have empowered. Want to make a difference?
Let some people go
Is it harsh? yes. Will it work? probably. Brining in new fresh minds that are ready to shake it up is the right decision. Look for the best of the best and the show stoppers. Figure out who is getting in the way of getting things done and remove them from the situation as soon as you can.
Smaller Teams
Empower a small team of truly talented people make all the decisions from idea to reality on some initiatives. Keep the groups small enough that they could share one large pizza and be fulfilled. Like so many reality television programs empower you teams to vote people off their island if someone is not a team player or has a hidden agenda.
Less Money
Provide very little resources to each small team. Constraints are a good thing and it gets people to deliver practical solutions to problems instead of throwing money at the problem. The teams that can continually deliver innovation in the form or design, style, price and positioning are the ones that should be rewarded.
Less Time
It's a fact. No matter how much time you provide to a team of people they will procrastinate. They'll find ways to have meetings, not be too concerned and try to slap everything together at the final moment. How do you get around this? Make every situation the bottom of the 9th, do or die, no time to have a meeting. People will wait anyhow so you are better off giving them little time to waste.
Sweat The Small Stuff
Your teams will be forced to deliver impact rich yet practical solutions to problems. If they try to go too big and miss the deadline or spend too much then they have failed. The big ideas should be simple and clever. Right under managements as well as the consumers nose. Something as easy as removing a useless process, changing a price, modifying your sales pitch or allowing customer to do something they have been asking to do for a long time. It's all about the details, the solution should be so simple that getting it perfect the first time shouldn't be difficult.
Let the customer decide
People that are too close too the product some times look for the way to overly benefit the company at the expense of the customer. It's only natural. So watch how the customers react to the idea and continually tweak it until it welcomed. Test it, and review the results before you do a full roll out. Too often people inside the company can't see things from the customer's point of view. Most of the time customers will give you even better ways to refine the concept before it is ready for prime time. Don't be afraid to gather feedback publicly or make a mistake. You'll never create value if you aren't willing to break a few eggs.
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