The problem: No battle captain. Since new ideas often come without an organizational home, says Smith, they usually lack a champion. And yet, moving an idea through the organizational gauntlet to reality requires entrepreneurial leadership. The landscape of companies is littered with good ideas that died because they were orphans. The solution: If you genuinely want to carry an idea forward, designate a battle captain who is clearly responsible for that idea and who is authorized to make it happen.
The problem: No moral courage. Smith cites a lesson of Ulysses S. Grant: "Grant used to say that he knew officers who would risk their lives in battle, but who lacked 'the moral courage' to make decisions for which they would be held accountable." In today's corporate environment, new ideas are inherently risky -- so much so that even corporate mavericks fear taking on something that might flop. "People want someone else to make the decision," Smith says. "And absent that, they will just sit on an idea." The solution: Make it clear that your organization values risk taking. Align incentives so that those who make big things happen get big rewards, while those who try to make things happen but fail aren't flogged. And when someone does fail, says Smith, "hold that person up as a model -- as someone who had the courage to try."
Contact Larry Smith by email (lksmith@fastcompany.com).
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