Robert’s Rules of Innovation: A 10-Step Program for Corporate Survival lays out ten key imperatives to help businesses create a structured, repeatable innovation process in order to successfully deliver growth through innovation in business. Piggybacking upon this fundamental framework, the newly published Robert’s Rules of Innovation II: The Art of Implementation provides a roadmap for success through innovation by demarcating the elements that must be present to properly execute the ten imperatives to innovation.
As discussed in Robert’s Rules of Innovation II, mastering CEO-speak is one element that can help innovators see their new ideas that they’ve researched and proposed actually acted upon by their company’s top management and most senior leaders—the C-suite. Also known as the “suits” (often of the very expensive European or bespoke variety), these senior leaders usually have many positive attributes, but as disenchanted innovators will tell you—they also can have a difficult time pulling the trigger on a new, innovative idea or direction for the company.
So what exactly is CEO-speak? According to Robert’s Rules of Innovation II, CEO-speak is “quite simply…the language of C-suite executives. Mastery of this language is a pathway into their hearts and minds. Your abilities in this area can mean the difference between a home run and a strikeout.” Imagine this scenario: you’re about to step into the elusive executive conference room at your company to pitch your innovation to the bigwigs. You’re shaking in your boots/Air Jordans/freshly-shined brogues, hands are clammy if not dripping wet, and your breakfast of innovation champions (three dopio espressos and some rogue almonds you found loose in your desk drawer) is precariously churning in your stomach. You’ve put in the hard work, which likely was afterhours and off-the-clock, as the majority of companies don’t give their employees set aside time in the workday that allows them to innovate in ways that interest them but don’t always fit into their set work projects and job descriptions. Your moment is now; don’t let it slip away. As mentioned in Robert’s Rules of Innovation II, “I have been told by the disenchanted innovators—the C-suite executives can have a hard time pulling the trigger on a new direction or a refreshing innovation. The disenchanted innovators I hear from boldly give their presentations—which are loaded with facts, figures, and details—see the heads in the room nodding, seemingly in agreement, and then (they tell me, mystified) … nothing happens.”[2] So how does one get their company to follow through on the new directions one has proposed and research—to take action on their idea and actually implement the innovation? One effective way to increase the chance of such follow-through and implementation is to master the language of CEO-speak to convince top management to support your innovation. Here’s an abbreviated version of how to speak their language. If you want to learn even more on this topic, check out Chapter 3 “Master CEO-Speak” in Robert’s Rules of Innovation II. Last but not least understand what is important to them, use of existing assets, capex spend, growth and marketshare…all the things they worry about. To learn more about how to master CEO-speak as an effective strategy to increase the chances of your idea becoming a reality, check out the new innovation in business book Robert’s Rules of Innovation II: The Art of Implementation. [1] Robert’s Rules of Innovation II: The Art of Implementation (See p.44) [2] Robert’s Rules of Innovation II: The Art of Implementation (See p.44) [3] To learn more about the interplay of timing and innovation, check out these two previously published posts on this blog: “No Instant Coffee Here: What Starbucks Teaches Us about the Importance of Timing and Innovation (Part 1 of 2)” and “A Slow Brew: What Starbucks Teaches us About the Importance of Innovation and Timing (Part 2 of 2)”. [4] Robert’s Rules of Innovation II: The Art of Implementation (See p.48) Then sign up for your FREE account from Idea to Value to not only get great pieces of insight like this every week, but also free training on improving your creativity and company innovation capabilities from some of the world’s leading innovation experts. What did you think of these insights? Let us know in the comments, and don’t forget to share and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.Consider Your Timing
Build Consensus
Communicate Clearly and Regularly
Manage expectations:
The Devil Can Sometimes Be the Details
“KISS”
What Would Jimmy Stewart Do?
There is No I in Team
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Robert F. Brands
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