Download - Innovation and innovative teams
Innovation and innovative teams
Jimmie JohanssonRichard Berntsson SvenssonKashif Ahmed Khan
Agenda
Creativity and Innovation The innovators Team structure Managing innovative teams The innovative team environment Rewards and recognition The management team
Creativity and innovation
What is Creativity?New ideas
What does it mean to be Innovative?Transforming ideas into actionContaining processes like: research,
development, manufacturing and marketing
Innovation (1/4)
Industrial innovationPortable radio Boing 727
Risks of failure IBM’s OS/2Technical focus, not marketing needs
Innovation (2/4)
Knut Holt Study 23 organizations were studied
“Four of the firms had made no inquiries to potential users, six had made too few inquiries, two ignored the result, two had misinterpreted
the answers, six were committed to preconceived designs and three failed to
understand the environment to which their products would be subjected.”
Innovation (3/4)
The chase for the first spot Reverse engineering
“There are really two risks in research and development…One is whether the technology will succeed. The other is whether it will satisfy some market requirements. If you hang back and wait, you can be in a position where you can know the answer to both questions, and catching up can take a lot less time than the original effort.” George Mechlin, Vice President for R&D in WestingHouse
Innovation (4/4)
Risks with reverse engineering Fast pace of technology
Is it always good to be first on the market? Maybe when turning directly to users
DVD - BlueRay
Operating systems, network protocols and database systems.
Innovators
InnovatorThe creative person that find solution for a
problem Champion
Can be innovatorFights for the idea to turn into action
SponsorMakes the action happen
Discussion point
Is reverse engineering a good approach to successful innovation or is it more important to be first on the market?
Team structure (1/3)
Concepts of team structure Taylor's method Drucker
Teamwork Commitment
Team creativity A team performs better then the individuals alone Jelled teams increases the chance of success
Team structure (2/3)
Basic structure Official Individual Private
Structural conflicts Interaction between the basic team structures
Group ethics Unwritten team ethic Settle own disputes without outside help
Team structure (3/3)
Group behaviorWork groupProcess groupCombat group
Managing innovative teams (1/4)
Team leader style Top-down or bottom-up? “The manager’s function is not to make people work,
but to make it possible for people to work” Team dynamics
Closed Random Synchronous Open
Managing innovative teams (2/4)
Personal needsLearn members to think by themselves
Political vs. technical solutionsDifference between political and technicalPolitics often used to describe people-related
work Crystallizing the team
Loosely coupled individuals
Managing innovative teams (3/4)
CommunicationCommunication with the manager is important
Open communicationGroup discussion?Concerns management Involve members with right knowledge and
skillsHonestly presented
Managing innovative teams (4/4)
Managing conflicts Avoid early polarization Focus on the issues Do not deal separately
Intergroup conflicts Resolve issues them self Bring parties together Subcommittee Reduce stakes Agreed technical solution
Discussion points
Is group ethic important? Should teams settle their own disputes?
What is the manager’s function?“The manager’s function is not to make
people work, but to make it possible for people to work”
Is the communication with the manger the most important?
Innovative team environment
Office environment How people are organized Size of working group
Problems that can affect innovative environments negative
Actions for establishing or maintaining innovative environments (1/2)
Establish program for further develop promising people
Provide time and resources to good innovators Provide promising innovators and champions
with sponsors Make groups in organizations not resistant and
stagnant to new ideas
Actions for establishing or maintaining innovative environments (2/2)
Monitor outside technical and market development
Provide a good communication program to make sure manager and their workers interact
Provide the professionals with modern tool, space and support
Reward good work
Discussion points
Is a smaller organization more innovative than a larger one?
Is a more open landscape better for creating new ideas and innovations than a room where you can just fit a small group?
Rewards and Recognition (1/1)
Fertile imagination of creative people Inadequate recognition of creative people Pelz & Andrew’s Study
Comparison of people who resigned and stayed in the organization
No talent recognition
Both award and incentive plans can be highly effective based on the needs of the company
Award Programs (1/1)
Few people make difference in the failure and success of a project
Manager’s know these people but rarely appreciate their work
Recognition ProgramsBasic idea is to reward significant
achievements as soon as possible.”Golden Banana” Pin
Recognition Programs (1/1)
Top people’s recognition is essential Aggregate of smaller contributions can
have an enormous impact Minor advance should be encouraged
Letter from the bossPat on the back
Rene McPherson’s observation
IBM Award Plan (1/1)
Formal & Informal Awards Informal Awards
Range from $50 to $ 1500 Can be given at manager’s discretion
Formal Awards Divisional Management grant sums up to $25,000 Corporate Awards range up to $100,000 or more Reserved for unique accomplishments Presented at Annual Gala Recognition Dinner FORTRAN
$250,000 presented to an IBM fellow and eight of his prior associates
Industry Award Plans (1/1)Six Corporate Compensation Awards
Company Award Amount
Annual Savings
Award (%)
United Technologies $2,900 $19,791 14.6
United Technologies 2,500 40,000 6.3
Western Electric 3,910, 26,000 15.0
Schering Corp 1,125 5,000 22.5
Johnson & Johnson 6,798 46,500 15.0
GAF Corporation 3,580 29,000 12.3
Total $20,993 $166,291 12.6
Award Guidelines (1/2)
To qualify for an award, achievement should beClearSignificantWorthyResonably consistent with other awards
Give awards in public with plenty of publicity
Award Guidelines (2/2)
Maxim of Charlie Beacham, Lee Iacocca’s mentor at Ford”If you want to give a man credit, put it in writing. If you want to give him hell, do it on the phone.”
Large Team’s achievements Special Momento Avoid giving cash to large groups
Never give awards before the achievement has actually been accomplished.
Incentive Plans (1/2)
Aimed at more fundamental demands Sustenance Comfort
Incentive systems include some elements of recognition
Common use of various types of Incentive pay systems.
New organizations rely on them to attract and retain technical talent
Incentive Plans (2/2)
Survey of 105 firms of Boston Over 80% of firms in High Technology had bonus pay
plans 33% of the rest opposed it
These plans are widespread and popular among employees.
Limited evidence of support for organizational economic value
Can be used to stimulate peripheral behavior
A Caution On Recognition Programs (1/1) W. Edwards Deming
Famous 14 pointsVarious recognition and reward systems can
be counterproductive Keep focus on the work Use rewards and recognition Make sure they dont become disincentives
The Management Team (1/1)
Top manager and immediate subordinate managers make up the management team
Most important single group in the entire organization
Make key operating decisions, set priorities and determine quality of work as well as working environment.
Contention Management (1/3)
All organizations (medium or large) involves great many conflicts.
Inadequate resources and tight schedules Need of Central Group Paul Lawrence & Jay Lorsch Study
Contention Management style leads to most effective group performance
Contention Management (2/3)
Basic ground rules for contention management are:Awareness of management teamHelding team member responsibleResolution of disagreementPrescence of all concerned partiesMaking sure all issues are explored and
understood
Contention Management (3/3)
Effectiveness of contention managementExposes organizational’s latent conflictsStrengthen’s trust & avoid’s distrustProvides motivationMakes environment more challengingHelps in finding solutions in disagreement
IBM Personal Computer & PC Junior(1/1) Late 1970’s Frank Cary IBM CEO Don Estridge assigned as Project Manager Job well done, IBM became a Hero from Zero Long term disaster
DOS Program and Microsoft Hardware and Intel Chip
PC Junior and contention Management
Business Principles and Strategies (1/1) Every organization develops its own
principles & strategies Keep into consideration the following
guidelinesAssume technology will improve rapidlyDo what is best for customerWatch for fundamental changes
Managing the Contention System (1/1) Guidelines
Put product managers incharge of the product programs
Make the organization as an open houseTop Management should protect
organizaitional’s long term principles, goals and strategies
Management Roles (1/1)
Management team vs technical team Management team consists of
representatives People depend on managers for support Managers must insist on their
departmental interests Experiment in Group Dynamics
Team Co-operation (1/1)
Manager’s face complex array of pressuresDepartmental PressureTop Management Pressure
Need of middle groundDefend group’s interestsNeed of broader consideration
Management Scope & Perspective (1/1) Job descriptions and tables of
organizations Rigid vs Loose definitions First Line Managers and supervisors Technical executives Senior Management
Transparent Management (1/1)
Transparent managers Instruction passing is done without
responsibilityNot a normal management attitudeSenior managers force their subordinates to
behave in this mannerDon’t blame the senior managementDon’t lose respect of people and management
Building the Management Team (1/1) Building ambitious, contentious and
aggressive managers into a team is not easy.
Steps in building management teamRespect views of the team Involve team members in decision makingEncourage team members to work together
Discussion Points
Should there be awards and recognition programs in the company and how do they stimulate the peripheral behavior?
To what degree should the organization publicise the awards and the ceremonies?
To what an extent is the contention management responsible in the success/failure of project and how?