Leadership-Management Synergy

Leaders: Lead improvisation. Managers: Provide structure.

► Resulting synergy: Jazz of Innovation... More

Leading With a Growth Attitude

Establishing an attitude of relentless growth is what enables an organization and its people to achieve their goals.

The spirit of relentless growth keeps fresh ideas flowing and reinvigorates your company. The relentless Growth Attitude establishes a context within which corporate executives lead by setting direction, creating strategy, securing resources, defining organization architecture, and ensuring that learning occurs. The Growth Attitude should start at the top and work its way down your organization.

 Case in Point  Thermo Electron

An example of how effective creative leadership helped to keep innovation and entrepreneurial creativity and energy alive was the approach taken by CEO George Hatsopoulos of Thermo Electron Corporation. He allowed each new project to spin off as a separate company, with Thermo Electron as the majority stakeholder. While thought by some to be primarily an innovation in capital financing, he believed it provided a strong incentive to employees, while at the same time being helpful in bringing in funding. His approach has been an ongoing success⁶

Developing Innovation-Adept Culture

Establishing the culture of innovation requires a broad and sustained effort. Though changing a company's culture is never easy, with the right leadership, cultures can be reshaped and amazing results can accrue. Establishing an attitude of relentless growth is what enables an organization and its people to achieve their goals.

The spirit of relentless growth keeps fresh ideas flowing and reinvigorates your company. Thus, "the primary challenge facing market leaders is to institutionalize an environment where every decision and direction can be constantly and safely reassessed."⁴

New Systemic Approach to Innovation

Until recently innovation has been seen principally as the means to turn research results into commercially successful products, but not all research leads to innovation and not all innovation is research-based. Innovation is systemic. It arises from complex interactions between many individuals, organizations and their operating environment. Firms which are successful in realizing the full returns from their technologies and innovations are able to match their technological developments with complementary expertise in other areas of their business, such as manufacturing, distribution, human resources, marketing, and customer service... More