roi: return on imagination

REAL ROI(Return On Imagination)

© Idea Champions, 800-755-IDEA

We dedicate this show to all top-of-the line

managers whose job it is

to watch the bottom line.

We know your job isn’t easy,

having to balance short-

term needs with long-term

development efforts.

We know you are operating under a lot of

constraints and everyone seems to be competing

for the same resources.

The innovators think you’re too

conservative and the

conservative folks think you’re too

innovative.

You can’t afford to fail and – at the same time –

you can’t afford not to try

something different.

Clearly, you need a breakthrough,

but you also need to make sure

things don’t break down as you

proceed.

It is in these rough waters that you find

yourself repeating the same 3 letters

whenever approached by a

starry-eyed innovator.

ROI

In French, it means “King.” In your world, it has become king. It is

the criteria you use to decide on what projects to

fund.

But ROI is a funny thing – a guess at

best, an attempt to foresee the

future (based on the past) and your

own gut feel.

What business leader doesn’t want

a good return on investment?

Anyone in their right mind (or is it

right brain?) would.

The problem is this: even the

savviest of business leaders

don’t always know what projects will

result in a good ROI.

And the challenge

becomes even stickier when you

are aiming for game-changing

ventures.

Who could have foretold Chester Carlston’s ROI

when he invented xerography?

Who could have guaranteed 3M’s ROI

when Art Fry came forward with the idea

for the post-it?

Who could have predicted Dell’s ROI when Michael Dell

conceived the notion of going direct to the

customer?

And of course, the opposite is true, as well. “Sure things”

don’t always result in a profitable ROI.

Petco bombed in its attempt to go direct to the customer. And Enron’s

creative partnership scheme? Polaroid’s

attempt to reinvent itself?

No one can deny the fact that ROI is a useful tool when it comes to easily measurable projects.

But it is far less useful when it comes to

evaluating the viability of an innovative new product or service.

Well then, what is a forward-thinking,

bottom-line oriented business leader to do?

Is there any hope?

Yes, there is. (And in the words of nobel-prize winning

physicist, Niels Bohr, the hope lies

in the basic paradox of it all).

“Now that we have met with paradox,” said Dr. Bohr, we

have some hope of making progress.”

And the paradox for YOU, as a key

decision-maker with the challenge

of growing your business during

these tough times?

How to take a risk without

seeming to take a risk that will be

risky for you to explain to your

risk-averse peers.

HINT #1: Small companies do this

better than big companies and start-

ups do this better than small companies.

HINT #2:

(from Albert Einstein) “Imagination is more

important than knowledge.”

AND SO... If you are trying to decide whether or

not to fund any organizational efforts

to spark innovation.

ASK YOURSELF:

1. Will it open minds?2. Spark new ideas?3. Challenge old assumptions?4. Teach new tools?5. Increase collaboration?6. Catalyze commitment?7. Quicken communication?8. Energize the workforce?9. Get results?

Yes, ROI is important.

All we’re asking you to do is expand your definition

of it to include a new, perspective…

Return On Imagination

The results won’t show up overnight, but then again how long did it take for vulcanized rubber to go from concept to execution? The PDA? The

post-it? The ball point pen?

Your company’s biggest capital asset? The collective brainpower, imagination, and commitment of its workforce.

Invest in that!

“If not you, who? If not now, when?”

Idea Champions • 800-755-IDEA