Are You Prioritizing Innovation Over Skill?

Are You Prioritizing Innovation Over Skill?

by | Feb 14, 2023 | Planning

Skills are the groundwork for excellence. And the mastery of any skill requires time and commitment. While innovation is necessary for progress, skills are the backbone enabling advancement.

"The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways." - Robert Greene

I recently had minor surgery to get a pacemaker. The experience, skills, and attention of the supporting nurses and staff were amazing. They know their jobs and execute the needs of the surgeons superbly. In a similar instance, it appears that Damar Hamlin, the football player, was saved by the skills of the emergency team that cared for him. They integrated knowledge, experience, and teamwork to revive and save him almost immediately.

We frequently underestimate the role of knowledge, experience, and skills in solving many issues. Take the Southwest Airlines holiday disaster as an example. The lack of knowledge, planning, and care led to a system-wide meltdown and the disruption of millions of travelers’ plans, from which they are still trying to recover.

In general, we neglect the importance of balancing planning, skills, and experience with innovation and intuition. The more history, expertise, and data, the more analytical and proven methods are preferred. The more uncertainty, change, and volatility, the more intuition and innovation are required. However, our organizations seem to be moving towards more uncertainty and volatility and, therefore, require more thought in our decision-making.

Cartoon of boss telling employee "This is a really innovative approach, but I'm afraid we can't consider it. It's never been done before."

Utilizing skills to forecast and plan:

While we all value analysis and A.I. to improve results, we sometimes ignore the accuracy and validity of that analysis. The pandemic has made much of the data from 2019-2021 less reliable in forecasting. Economic, political, and environmental changes can impact the assumptions and process of our analysis. For example, higher winds and higher water temperatures from climate changes have worsened the impact of weather. Structural changes like the war in Ukraine, crime, and inflation can also affect our assumptions and analysis.

Timing and situation should also greatly affect analysis versus intuition. While many understand product life cycles, we forget how age, competition, and technology can affect our progress. For example, over 60% of advertising is over the Internet rather than traditional media. Age is another factor we frequently ignore. Many politicians and managers continue to serve despite waning capabilities and energy.

With uncertainty high in many areas, requiring more intuition and innovation in our planning, we can trust that skill and experience will successfully inform intuition.  

Chart breaking down components that indicate mastery of skill

Capitalizing on innovation:

There are many opportunities to capitalize on the need for intuition and innovation. The pandemic stimulated new opportunities like work from home and virtual learning that need to be allowed to reach their potential. For example, small Universities are sharing courses with other local Universities to expand the offerings to students. These need more analysis and objective thought rather than simple opinions to have success.

When dealing with innovation and change, psychological issues need to be managed rather than feared. Hatred and threats are the tools of the extremists. They need to be managed, understood and not allowed to disrupt our efforts. In particular, we need to build positive relationships and improve communication.

The most frequent issue inhibiting progress is bias. Our enthusiasm or mindset frequently cause us to overestimate markets, ignore competition, and not consider the issues in execution. Again, the more we can rely on skill, the more we can eliminate bias.

So, how can you balance innovation with skill to improve the way you run your business?

Replace Hierarchy.

Most organizations are based on hierarchy, but this system is obsolete and, more often than not, fails. It is a structure that rewards people at the top who may not be competent rather than seeking expertise. We should constantly be striving to improve and that is impossible to do if we rely on an inflexible system. The world is constantly changing and we need to adapt accordingly.

See also: https://startupconnection.net/2021/12/business-success-the-crucial-need-for-innovation-and-new-structural-paradigms/

Include Diversity and Debate.

Informed decisions require a variety of input and diverse skills to manage that input. It’s always important to consider various perspectives and options. As technology becomes more complex, additional expertise, teamwork, resources, and responsibilities are required to manage operations.

Pay Attention to Data.

Frequently, we think we know best, even when data tells us otherwise. Too often, analytics are ignored due to pride or a “we’ve always done it this way” mindset. In recent years, data is informing us that consumers want to associate themselves with and buy from socially conscious companies. Taking a stance on social, environmental, and political issues is increasingly becoming a must-have for business success and consumer loyalty. 

"The goal is to turn data into information, and information into insight." - Carly Fiorina

Focus on Process Not Plan.

Many experts tout that the holy grail of a successful business lies in the plan. However, the process of implementing that plan is far more important than the plan itself. Generally, plans are static, lack insight, and are missing operational details. Not surprisingly, this results in poor execution. For example, plans seldom predict and account for rapid changes in the economy. A successful plan is flexible and can adjust accordingly when those inevitable and unexpected obstacles arise. 

Consider dieting. You can design a great weight loss program, but if you can’t properly implement that program into your lifestyle, you aren’t going to lose any weight.

See also: https://startupconnection.net/2018/05/business-planning-is-a-process-not-a-formula/

Balancing intuition and skill doesn’t have to be as complicated as we make it out to be. Think about an incredible guitar player. Before they can write an incredible song or play a mind-blowing solo, they need to know the basics of playing the guitar. The same goes for any endeavor. Before you can get creative, you need to master the skills that will make your innovation a success.

Dr. Bert Shlensky, president of Startup Connection, prides himself on his ability to define what is unique about each and every business. He works closely with individuals to develop a personalized approach that targets specific areas of concern and offers solutions based on his 40+ years of experience. His expert team will address your particular needs while working to save you time and money.

You can reach Dr. Shlensky at: 914-632-6977 Or email: bshlensky@startupconnection.net

Skill Is Only the Start of Successful Change

Skill Is Only the Start of Successful Change

by | Oct 7, 2021 | Planning, Startup Main

It is always incredible to see the training, skill, and excellence displayed at the Olympics. However, the passion, focus, and commitment are even more impressive. When working toward a goal, we want to see that our efforts are producing successful change. Yet, too often, the majority of our focus is centered on analytics, expertise, skill, profits, and science. Unfortunately, these tools sometimes ignore other critical requirements for successful change and better decision-making, such as: passion, focus, trust, effort, risk, and commitment.

I hope that my passion will be a marketable skill

These elements of successful change are frequently lower priorities because they are difficult to measure and make analysts uncomfortable. For example, decision makers frequently hate considering risk, despite the fact that it is present in almost every issue. Additionally, due to the high levels of uncertainty involved, we are often slow at measuring results in periods of rapid change like a pandemic, inflation, and new innovations.

"You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, 'Why not?'" - George Bernard Shaw

Change is hard, even when it’s successful change, we are often hesitant to adapt.

As a business consultant, I constantly hear, read advice, and see comments focused on worries, concerns, caution, etc.—basically, all the old paradigms related to achieving business success. In my experience, more attention needs to be given to the areas that are difficult to measure. Some suggestions to accomplish this include: 

  • Positive thinking is vital. A good chance at success requires a balance between reality, paranoia, action, and positive thinking. An interesting tactic is to focus more on how you succeed with some clients than fail with others.
  • Positive thinking does not necessarily mean avoiding or ignoring negatives. Instead, it involves making the most of the potentially bad situations, trying to see the best in other people, and viewing yourself and your abilities in a positive light.
"When you've finished your affirmations, dear, don't forget to put your trousers on."
  • Create a positive culture. Say please, thank you, and show that you care about people via praise and encouragement.
  • Accept that operating a small business is a process. Recognize that you will make mistakes. Your goal must be to develop, test, measure, and adapt rather than give up after the first or second problem.
  • Encourage open communication, a sense of realism, and focus on problem solving. Be sure to constantly assess your situation. Develop expert support and, when appropriate, have discussions with outside and inside colleagues.
  • Be prepared to pivot quickly. The market changes constantly and so do your customers’ lifestyles. So, you need to be able to shift along with it. By expecting that your market can change from year to year, you’re being proactive in your thinking, and can create flexible plans to adapt to these changes.
  • Know your sh*t, but be ready to listen. There is extensive research supporting the idea that people don’t change unless they believe in it.So, when given the opportunity to argue your case, try to emphasize the benefits for the other party. It’s well proven that tactics like collaboration, trust, and listening work better in decision making than dictating, lecturing, and proclaiming false expertise.
  • Develop, test, measure, and adapt. Many plans, forecasts, and proposals are done in a static format with one dimensional analysis and results. They’re usually flawed because we live in a more dynamic and interactive world. For example, branding, marketing, pricing, and operations all must be viewed as an integrated program rather than separate and isolated activities. Similarly, businesses need to have alternatives at the ready, as well as a process in place to adapt. Mistakes will occur, but remember, Steve Jobs got fired and Tom Edison tested thousands of light bulbs before succeeding.
  • Understand your goals, resources, and risk. In particular, really understand your market analysis, competition, how and why your company is different, and why customers should care. Are you focused on long-term growth or quick profits? While testing alternatives is a great strategy, ensure that you are focused on priorities that you can execute well and that will have the most potential.
"Skill s are cheap. Passion is priceless." - Gary Vaynerchuk

Analytics is an incredible tool for improving progress, developing alternatives, and measuring outcomes. However, in order to achieve successful change, it needs to be supplemented with passion, effort, commitment, and focus. Without these, it’s much easier to throw in the towel when things get difficult. You may have been born with the innate skills necessary to win countless gold medals, but without the drive, determination, and dedication to go for it, those natural abilities may not reach their full potential. It’s the passion that pushes you to succeed.

Dr. Bert Shlensky, president of www.startupconnection.net, offers experience, skills, and a team devoted to developing and executing winning strategies for businesses of all kinds. This combination has been the key to client success. His books for the business entrepreneur: Marketing Plan for Startups and Small Business and Passion and Reality for Business Success, are available at www.startupconnection.net.   

Dr. Shlensky is a graduate of Sloan School of Management at M.I.T. He served as the president of WestPoint Pepperell’s apparel fabrics business & President and CEO of Sure Fit Products. Having provided counseling to over 2,000 clients, he now focuses on working with select startups and small businesses.

Contact us at: 914-632-6977 or  BShlensky@startupconnection.net