Leadership: The Philosopher’s Stone of Innovation…? (Part 2)

Posted on February 26, 2008
Filed Under Gregg Gallagher, Innovation, Leadership, Management, Strategy, Strategy Execution |

Philosopher’s StoneThe other end of the spectrum re strategic decision-making is where it is totally driven by the leadership of the company. This is very often the case with start-up, early-stage and founder-run, privately held firms. The potential advantages are somewhat obvious: strategy is driven by a focused vision, factors which may not be effectively quantifiable can be considered in the decision, and the encumbrances and delays of “process” can be bypassed.

Of course, the potential downsides of a purely personal leadership-driven approach are also obvious: Key success factors may not be sufficiently considered or outright ignored, an imprudent balance of risk might result within the portfolio of opportunities (both too much or too little), and the development of a cadre of leaders within the firm that can create and manage innovation may be stinted (i.e., everyone waits for the guy/gal at the top to make these hard decisions.)

AndThe answer is that it’s not an either/or trade-off - it’s all about the AND!  Strategy and decision-making in the context of innovation should both be both process and metric driven, as well as allow for the spark of creativity, insight and intuition that only personal leadership can provide. The key challenge for leadership is to know when and where the balance between the two must be adapted to the circumstances. Sometimes you let your management team work all the issues through the process…at other times you have to step in - whether it be to breakthrough an impasse, or to course correct when you “just know” that path they have chosen is not the right one for your company.

While he is not widely recognized to be an expert in innovation project management, the observation of Kenny Rogers still applies: “You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em, know when to walk away and know when to run.”

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