During the 2013 PTC Live Global event in Anaheim, CA, I was able to make it to a morning keynote by Curtis Strong, the Director of New Product Development at Britax. His presentation discussed the fundamental differences between process & innovation, known results & experiments, recipe & discovery. He talked about how true innovation doesn’t come from following a process. It’s unpredictable, which can be frustrating, but with good systems in place and adherence to timeless principles a company can successfully tackle and profit from real innovation.
At the beginning of his presentation, Strong compared innovation to a chocolate chip cookie. Each year people come up with “new and improved” chocolate chip cookies. Are those cookies innovative? Strong’s argument was “No.” They’re tweaking a recipe. It’s easier to build off previous innovation than it is to be truly creative. The real innovator was Ruth Graves, the person that made the first chocolate chip cookie.
Ruth Graves didn’t have a known result. I can imagine there were a lot of failures, flops, and a very messy kitchen. With each failure something is learned. After gaining, capturing, and applying knowledge you eventually get the winning result; a proven recipe.
True innovation is more achievable when the right systems and principles are in place. Product development methods like Lean product development and technologies like Windchill PLM and PDM provide an environment where innovation can flourish.
Have you or your company ever been the innovators and the first into a market that didn’t exist? Let me know in the comments.
BONUS: Here’s an adorable Britax commercial that Curtis showed during his presentation. It doesn’t have anything to do with innovation, but I figured it’d be a nice distraction on a Friday afternoon. You’re welcome 🙂
I truly believe it’s the little things that set one organization apart from another. I was recently traveling on business and after a long day, decided to stop by the hotel bar for a glass of wine. Several minutes later I was handed the house red in an incredibly filthy glass. After the server literally disappeared, I surmised that I would be waiting quite a long time for a replacement and decided to drink it anyway.
The next evening, while avoiding the hotel bar, I ended up at a restaurant down the street. True to form, I ordered a glass of house red. Although the barkeep was extremely busy — with patrons at every seat around the bar — he took an extra 30 seconds to carefully spot my glass with a napkin. Seconds later a beautifully poured glass of red appeared in front of me.
I am often amazed by how many people choose to do the minimum required to fulfill the duty at hand. It is especially shocking when you realize that just a tiny bit of extra effort can have remarkable rewards. The price and the time I spent waiting for a glass of wine was similar at both locations, but how I felt in the two scenarios could not have been more different. It was that 30 seconds the barkeep took to make my experience exponentially better. I’d say that’s a pretty profound reward.
It appears to me that this behavior is contagious. The actions of an individual are often a good indication of the organization as a whole. Companies that pride themselves on doing the right thing and exceeding expectations share those values among individuals. This culture thrives as the heartbeat of the organization, radiating out to the customers who encounter it. The reward for elevating a customer’s experience can be a tip, more business from that customer, or the ultimate reward — a referral.
At EAC, this behavior is absolutely contagious. Doing it right and exceeding expectations are core to personal values and corporate culture. I am honored to work with individuals who are always willing to spot the glass.
So, do you serve your glass straight out of the dishwasher, or do you take an extra 30 seconds to make it spotless?
There are two forms of expectations – what we expect from ourselves, and how our expectations can influence others. How we manage those expectations is critical to how we view ourselves, our relationships, our experiences and pursue our goals. As parents, employees, even pet owners, we need to recognize how much control we actually do have.
As the son of a high school football coach, setting expectations (goals) was core to our household. My dad was always pressing his team for more… casting a vision of future success. He sold his players, their parents, his assistant coaches on the idea that future success was possible. Naturally, the same discipline applied to my siblings and I. We knew what our parents expected of us, and they managed those expectations as we grew into adulthood. I’ve heard the old adage “your kids will turn out just as you expect them to”. This could be restated as “your kids will turn out to what is acceptable to you”. If it’s acceptable for your kids to achieve C’s and D’s, skip class, hang around with “the wrong crowd” and not put forth any effort to do better, then that’s exactly what they will achieve. If I expect my kids to do their best, go to class, be involved in positive extracurricular activities, that’s exactly what will happen. This can also be extended to other parts of our lives, your pets, employees, employer, business, and interactions with others. You decide what is acceptable for you, but it is your responsibility to see your commitments through to the end. Notice that you are the common factor.
On the other hand, setting low expectations can be a two way street. It’s great that you accomplish everything you set out to do (not much) however, you haven’t had to commit, you haven’t had to sacrifice, you don’t accomplish anything or pursue a true goal. Personal confidence isn’t gained because very little is actually accomplished.
In business, setting higher expectations will provide a goal for us to work toward. Setting that goal too high can become discouraging because it’s truly unreachable. In stretching toward a goal, we need to be flexible in the recognition of the higher achievements, even though our results may not be 102% of the stated goal. 98% is still much more than we’ve ever accomplished and it still deserves to be recognized and celebrated. This allows the children/group/team/company to see the benefits of their work and feel the satisfaction for going above what they ever thought was possible. Confidence in themselves and their team follows, and that’s never a bad outcome.
Think about how you can reset expectations for your current situations. The opportunities to pursue success are all around us, in every aspect of our lives. Start small with goals you can directly control. Once you have met your own expectations, move on to other goals that you feel need to be elevated. Soon, you’ll feel like a coach on the way to winning the championship.
Go Team.
As summer finally inches closer, I can’t help but daydream about the rolling greens on a sunny golf course. I typically see golf as a chance to take a break from everyday thinking and recharge my batteries. However, on my last trip to the sand trap I realized that the process of golf is really quite complex.
Consider the process of a golf swing. First, you look at where the ball lies and Look where it needs to go. Then you Ask yourself what club might be best for the shot. Since most people don’t golf alone, you often discuss challenging parts of the course with other players or ask for tips for the best swing. After you determine your club, you will then visualize or Model what type of swing to use. Then, you Discuss (internally or with others) what you’ve learned and take a few practice swings. Finally you take Action and swing.
Although this process is usually subconscious and happens in just moments, it still is quite complicated. And guess what folks? This is problem solving at its greatest. This is LAMDA.
L: Look
A: Ask
M: Model
D: Discuss
A: Act
Although I use golf as a way to stop thinking about process, it turns out that it is truly inherent in nearly every part of my life. With the exception an occasional water hazard on the 9th hole, I consider myself a decent player and the LAMDA process promotes my continuous improvement. I’ll bet that you can also identify with this process. So, other than golf, what are processes in your life that model the LAMDA problem solving process?
I have spent a decade working with companies of all shapes and sizes. The second I walk into an office I can tell whether that company is thriving or dying. I’m sure you are familiar with the typical clues: Are the grounds kept? Is the receptionist ornery? Is the restroom clean? Is the decor updated? In any case, I believe that a company’s growth potential is reflected right in front of your eyes. A company’s success is often advertised proudly on its walls and on the faces of the employees.
Success is driven from the top down. Is executive leadership wiling to embrace technology and change or are they stuck in the old way of doing things? Those that do not prioritize change, especially product development dependent organizations, will eventually be left behind. Companies who are not willing to adapt or accept change as a part of their growth process will diminish like the fading paint on their lobby walls.
In many companies, addressing change is often pushed to the back burner as urgent matters often take precedence. I find that many view change as a manual necessity versus an opportunity for productivity gains and growth. As a result, few companies have mastered the art of change. As the saying goes: “Like a plant, you’re either growing or dying.”
The willingness to change is also true in our personal lives. We either embrace change or resist it. The good news is that change can be learned! According to the research of Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky, Professor of Psychology at UC Riverside, attitude is derived from 3 parts. 50% of your attitude is predisposed at birth through genetics. 10% is attributed to circumstances (success, health, family, money, etc.) The remaining 40% is left up to what’s called “intentional behavior”. These are learned behaviors, and by exercising these behaviors, your mindset can be changed.
Someone, smarter than I, once shared with me a strong piece of advice about living in a rut. He said, “The past only has power in your mind. Let your mind be a dream center for change, not a museum of the past.”
Click here for more about Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky’s Documentary on the Study of Happiness http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_(2011_film)
Managing change in an environment where the specifications originate outside the enterprise provides a unique set of challenges. This is the scenario for companies serving the engineered to order (ETO) marketplace. Communicating and tracking changes throughout the project’s life-cycle is critical to ensuring the solution meets the needs of the customer and is profitable for the supplier. The change can originate from multiple locations and at any time in the project. Changes initiated during the quote cycle will need a method for quick response so that the quote will reflect the request. Changes received after the order has been processed will need a method of review that will include costs and resource impacts.
One of the more challenging aspects of managing change for the ETO enterprise is the approval path for changes received after the order has been received. Sales will often push the change order through declaring that the proposed changes are within scope and should be “easy enough to do”. Or my personal favorite “can’t you just”. The decision on whether or not to accept the change needs to be a deliberate one. The change needs to be reviewed within the context and scope of the project by all functions that could possibly be affected. For most organizations this will cause significant delays, making schedule attainment nearly impossible. Instead the effects are dealt with as the project progresses, requiring huge effort to meet the demands of the schedule. The net effect is the amount of time and resources needed to complete the project will balloon. This will impact not only the project of immediate concern, but all other projects as well.
For a large number of businesses their ETO business represents a small overall portion of their total units sold. However that portion of the business often utilizes a disproportionate amount of the overall resources. Much of that wasted effort is expended closing the loop on the changes proposed by the customer as well as changes originating from within. Emails, phone calls, travel and sometimes even litigation are needed to resolve change issues. So why take on any ETO business? Most companies see it as a necessary evil, driven by a competitive environment and demanding customers. While I will not argue the need for customization here, I contend that the process does not have to be as uncertain as is practiced.
Changes from internal and external origins need to have a clear path for review and approval. The ability to measure the resource, cost, schedule and profit impacts, as part of the decision process will ensure that margin targets are met. While some may see this additional oversight as an impediment to responsiveness, the added control, associativity and transparency will drive increased efficiency. By making deliberate, informed decisions the development process will ultimately move forward more quickly.
