Going Electric: Tales of Innovation
Humans within a work culture are motivated by stories. Look at the famous founding myths of HP and Apple in the garages, of Fred Smith and FedEx, and many others. When new salespeople are hired, smart companies allow them to shadow the veterans until they know the War Stories by heart—another example of how stories define a culture and become its primary ambassador and sales vehicle.
Innovation is one of those words that mean something different to each person that hears it. When you describe the while framework as an Innovation Process the confusion compounds exponentially. The word Process is more misleading than the word Innovation.
“First, they didn’t have a viable plan for scaling their growth. A plan cannot predict every possible pitfall, but it gives you a roadmap for finding your way and highlights key assets and resources you’ll need at certain levels of growth. You’ll be able to have a sense of what’s needed and can adapt more readily, more creatively with this plan. It pays to do your homework.”