In this week’s thought leadership roundup, we take a look at innovation’s four shades of gray, how to avoid “group think,” and developing inspiring content for your audience.
Innovation Comes In Four Shades Of Gray
From Forbes:
“Many people define innovation in business to mean the development of new products. Let’s expand that description to include some of the gradations that should not be lost in this normally black-and-white polarization. There are shades of gray which all bring value in their own way.
The lowest-hanging fruit of innovation is the improvement in how you spend money. Why is this important? Because of the sales-equivalency of a dollar saved. Ben Franklin was actually wrong. A penny saved is more than one penny earned. Consider the following math: If your company’s net profit margin is 20%, meaning your profit is $200,000 on $1,000,000 in sales, every innovative idea that saves $1 in expenses is worth $5 in sales.”
Our take: It’s imperative in today’s rapidly evolving marketplace that company leaders not only understand the full dimension and impact of innovation, but recognize that a successful innovation program and strategy cannot be executed without considering every factor. Financial implications are only one piece of the puzzle; a well-rounded program is both fully researched and interconnected.
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A Method for Avoiding Group Think
From Insurance Thought Leadership:
“Charles Schwenk reports that numerous field and laboratory studies found that decision-making was much improved if someone on the team is brave enough to dissent. In particular, dissenters are most useful when organizations tackle complex, ill-structured problems—such as critical business strategy questions. Constructive questioning and debate increase the quality of assumptions, increase the number of alternatives considered and improve decision makers’ use of ambiguous information to make predictions.
But as leaders try to encourage constructive questioning and debate, they must remember that there’s a catch for dissenters.”
Our take: In a nutshell? Progress is rarely the result of placid compliance or constant discord, so it’s crucial that business leaders and teams acknowledge the importance of balance and work together to maintain it. If you’re not sure how to get there, this is the article for you.
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What Does It Mean to Enlighten, Guide and Inspire?
From Thought Leadership Leverage:
“We all have different ways that we internalize knowledge and you need to be able to adapt your approach if you want those various learning styles to receive your message. If your audience can’t process your content in a way that works for them (not you) then you do not have a chance to get them to even consider what you are advocating—let alone internalize and apply your concepts, models or theories in a meaningful way. Experiment, try new ways to communicate and test the efficacy of your experiments.
Once you’ve enlightened your audience, now you can start to guide them. Your role is partly to assist in the journey they have to take to implement change. Without your direction, that initial spark fades away and the opportunity for development will be lost.”
Our take: All too often, companies believe that thought leadership and robust content are nothing more than cleverly disguised product marketing tools. However, it’s about so much more than selling; it’s about driving change within a space, encouraging conversations that lead to new ideas and developments, and establishing your brand as an intelligent, mindful, and forward-thinking industry leader that cares about its customers — not just product development.
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