INNOVATION AND LEADERSHIP

• Lotfi Saibi, Founder of 4D Leadership House,• Consultant in the USA and MENA• University Lecturer and public speaker• Business Coach• Professional of leadership development • Graduate of Harvard University with a Masters

Degree in Operations Management & BS in mathematics

• lotfisaibi@4dlh.com (216) 29 156 157

WHERE ARE THEY NOW

• AOL, Kodak, Blackberry and MySpace, E F Hutton, Compaq, General Foods, MCI WorldCom, Eastern Airlines, Pan AM

Were all industry leaders that either refused to innovate FDH, did not innovate, or invested in the wrong areas THEY ALL VANISHED

INNOVATE OR DIE

• “It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”

― Charles Darwin• The greatest single threat to a business’s

survival is lack of innovation.

WHO OWNS INNOVATION

• Innovation “something new” • products and services, • business processes, product/service

delivery, business designs, or • new ways of managing.

• If leadership is about looking into the future a Leader = an Innovator

MYTH about INNOVATION?

• When it comes to innovation, the myth of the lone genius dies hard.

• But the truth is most innovations are created through networks -- groups of people working in concert.

EXCELLENCE IN INNOVATION A LEADERSHIP ISSUE

• Excellence in leading innovation has far less to do with the leader having innovative ideas; it has everything to do with how that leader creates an innovation engine:

• Culture, • Values, • Organizational Structure and Processes• The case of two US auto makers

ENGINE

• Engine allows us to reach CRITICAL MASS OF INNOVATION SUSTAINABILITY and achieve a competitive advantage

• Risk Taking - encourage curiosity, disruptive innovation – Google, Sony)

• Challenging the Status quo – focus on the why and less on the how - Apple

• Freedom of Expression – idea bank @Google• Focus of capabilities as well as competencies• Navigators not mechanics of the engine

ASK AND YOU WILL RECEIVE

• Do they believe what you believe?• Do they have trust in the leader and one

another?• Are people motivated (emotions, actions)?• How people want to lead and be led? • The function they can best serve to add value;

and • The required tools to adapt to change in

positive and meaningful ways.

IF IT IS THIS EASY WHY ISN’T EVERYONE DOING IT?

Two common themes reveal themselves as major obstacles to innovation:• NO COMMUNICATION: The failure to

effectively leverage the expertise of employees, and

• BAD GATEKEEPERS: The failure to react effectively when new ideas do arise.

COMMON HEADACHES

• No Communication:– Org. structure (i.e. teams divided by expertise)– Physical setting (different locations)– Silos effect (task definition)– The reward structure (personal or department

objectives)– Example of the Telecom company

COMMON HEADACHES

• Bad Gatekeepers:– When “expertise” becomes the currency Experts become best “judges” for good ideas Egos get in the way Information is not available or distributed in a timely fashion Too much focus on R&D and not enough on people expertise in one area may blind them to innovation in other areas.– Good to Great and L5 types

SOLUTIONS

• People with complimentary talents need to talk more.• Rapidly test and refine ideas-bottlenecks sap the energy

and demotivate the right people.• Small is good – rapid and agile (new metric/google per

employee revenue/timetomarket)• Think twice about who to promote to leadership

position• Synergy and energy• Be an early adopter of new technologies• Listen to your customers more – Steve Jobs

Thanks for listening

And wish you the best of luck

Lotfi Saibi