"The bottleneck is always at the top of the bottle" - Peter Drucker

What is it about innovation that is so frightening to corporate leaders?  Is it the risk?  Is it the knowledge that many good ideas don't pan out?  Is it the continued worry about stock price and earnings statements?  What ever it is...get over it!!!

If I had a dime for every time I have witnessed a great idea ignored, or only paid lip service, I'd be on easy street.  Every employee has an idea, some great, some so-so, on how to better do his/her job, better serve the customer, or develop a ground-breaking new product or service.  Some have bravely tried to move their idea forward, while others keep the idea to themselves.  I've always said that the number one killer of great ideas is the idea generator themselves...with number two being middle management.

It is nice to see corporate creativity and innovation principles making a comeback, but if we don't start embedding these concepts into the corporate culture soon, I fear that we are simply going be talking about another "flavor of the day" business model.  The one thing about innovation is that it can't really be "in style" now, because it never went "out of style."  Business leaders just forgot how important it was for awhile.

So, corporate leaders, are you in or are you out?  Either way, here are some steps to get out of the way of your best innovators...your employees:

• Hire smart, creative people who don't think like you
• Support risk taking
• Start an idea generation/management/evaluation system TODAY
• Give employees time to think
• Teach people how to listen to their ideas
• Change your corporate mindset from "duck and cover" to "growth"
• Rediscover your imagination
• Think like your customer, not like your shareholder

Have a great TWO weeks!!!  I am off to give my half-day workshop at the 2006 ProjectWorld/World Congress for Business Analysts National Conference in Orlando.