Maynard Brusman

Innovation for Transforming Companies

One of my CEO leadership coaching clients needs to transform his company. Company leaders needed to transform the culture of the company by helping employees embrace change and become more innovative.

The CEO believes that increased growth can happen when employees unleash their creativity. He is open with is people about the urgent challenges the company faces. We are working on him becoming better at inspiring his people so that they and the company can thrive in the economic recovery.

The Transformation Imperative

Survival really comes down to change or die. In the ’80s and ’90s, companies could grow bottom-line profits by focusing on operational excellence. Today, most well-run companies have little fat left to cut.

In the Great Disruption, companies have two choices: Live with shrinking profits and increasing chances of extinction, or follow a completely different approach.

The challenge is steeper than eking out incremental improvements or expanding into new markets. It’s about reinvention or transformation. Improving what companies already do won’t be enough. You’ll have to perform in ways that are fundamentally different from your status quo. Perpetual transformation is the only way to thrive during the Great Disruption.

A 2008 Innosight and Forbes survey found that close to 80 percent of respondents recognized the fundamental need for transformation. About two-thirds reported allocating resources toward transformation, but only 12 percent said they were making excellent progress in their efforts.

Furthermore, 80 percent of respondents reported that the current economic climate increased the need for transformation, even as resource allocations remained constant.
Apple and IBM are often cited as having mastered perpetual transformation, which requires them to enter new markets and leave old ones. Companies rarely transform themselves through cost-cutting or improved operational effectiveness. While the latter is necessary to compete, it’s insufficient to drive long-term competitive advantage.

More often than not, companies fail when they try to go beyond their core business. But in the Great Disruption, they really don’t have a choice. Investing in transformational efforts in a brutal market appears difficult, but the alternative isn’t stagnation—it’s extinction.

Disruptive Guidelines
To develop a disruptive mindset, managers must master four areas:
1. Liberate resources for promising innovations by prudently shutting down dead-end projects and declining businesses.
2. Drive fresh growth by re-featuring existing products and services and reinventing outdated processes.
3. Mitigate risks by conducting strategic experiments and forging alliances with customers, competitors and suppliers.
4. Appeal to value-conscious consumers and fend off low-cost attackers by delivering “good enough” offerings at an affordable price.

Are you working in a company or law firm where enlightened leadership realizes the enterprise needs to be transformed to grow? Does your company or law firm provide leadership coaching and leadership development to help leaders become more innovative? Leaders need to help key employees embrace innovation.

One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is “Am I a transformative leadere?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent organizations provide executive coaching and leadership development for leaders who want to transform their organizations and become more innovative.

Working with a seasoned executive coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating leadership assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i and CPI 260 can help you create an organization that engages its people in innovation by encouraging them to actively listen to customers. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become fully engaged with the vision and mission of your company or law firm.

I am currently accepting new executive coaching and career coaching clients. I work with both individuals and organizations. Call 415-546-1252 or send an inquiry e-mail to mbrusman@workingresources.com.