The Only Bailout That Will Work...
“If you can't pay for a thing, don't buy it. If you can't get paid for it, don't sell it. Do this, and you will have calm and drowsy nights, with all of the good business you have now and none of the bad. If you have time, don't wait for time.” - Benjamin Franklin
It is just me...or does it seem like the only people really panicking about America's economic "crisis" are the people on Wall Street? Let's be honest, this is a mess of our own doing. Greed and opportunism got us into this mess. Don't for a second, however, think that I am some bleeding heart liberal...for surely I am not! However, something needs to be done to calm the jitters that will certainly ripple throughout not only the American economy, but the global one as well. And while the current "bailout" plan may buy us enough time to actually solve the underlying problem, what of the next hogs to the trough (ie. automakers, airlines, etc.)?
And what does this all have to do with innovation you ask? Well, there are going to be some victims of this current turmoil...and that is a good thing. There needs to be visible and painful punishment and loss in order to reduce the odds of this kind of thing happening again. But there is also INCREDIBLE opportunity out there. Don't believe me? Ask Warren Buffett, fat and sassy with Goldman Sachs in his portfolio for a comparative song.
And it isn't just bottom feeding opportunities either. Organizations that break the trend, who are cautious but not spooked, who are wide-eyed and not teary-eyed...indeed these are the organizations who are going to get busy filling their innovation pipelines with ideas, prototyping new products, running trials on new services and getting ready to launch marketing campaigns when the crisis begins to subside. They will be the new members of the Fortune 500 and Inc. 500.
Sadly, on the flipside, those organizations that stood paralyzed in fear, afraid to break their beloved process rigidity, unable to justify the numbers that really didn't matter anyway, do anything to simply tread water and make the next quarter's numbers not look so bad will simply fade away either to oblivion or obsolescence. It is the stark reality of business. Which side are you on?
It isn't too late to start changing...to start thinking of new ideas...to start moving again...to ignore those we leave in the rearview mirror. Those of us who need to start rebuilding the future have to get going...see ya!
It is just me...or does it seem like the only people really panicking about America's economic "crisis" are the people on Wall Street? Let's be honest, this is a mess of our own doing. Greed and opportunism got us into this mess. Don't for a second, however, think that I am some bleeding heart liberal...for surely I am not! However, something needs to be done to calm the jitters that will certainly ripple throughout not only the American economy, but the global one as well. And while the current "bailout" plan may buy us enough time to actually solve the underlying problem, what of the next hogs to the trough (ie. automakers, airlines, etc.)?
And what does this all have to do with innovation you ask? Well, there are going to be some victims of this current turmoil...and that is a good thing. There needs to be visible and painful punishment and loss in order to reduce the odds of this kind of thing happening again. But there is also INCREDIBLE opportunity out there. Don't believe me? Ask Warren Buffett, fat and sassy with Goldman Sachs in his portfolio for a comparative song.
And it isn't just bottom feeding opportunities either. Organizations that break the trend, who are cautious but not spooked, who are wide-eyed and not teary-eyed...indeed these are the organizations who are going to get busy filling their innovation pipelines with ideas, prototyping new products, running trials on new services and getting ready to launch marketing campaigns when the crisis begins to subside. They will be the new members of the Fortune 500 and Inc. 500.
Sadly, on the flipside, those organizations that stood paralyzed in fear, afraid to break their beloved process rigidity, unable to justify the numbers that really didn't matter anyway, do anything to simply tread water and make the next quarter's numbers not look so bad will simply fade away either to oblivion or obsolescence. It is the stark reality of business. Which side are you on?
It isn't too late to start changing...to start thinking of new ideas...to start moving again...to ignore those we leave in the rearview mirror. Those of us who need to start rebuilding the future have to get going...see ya!
Posted by Paul Williams at 9/26/2008 7:39 AM 
Categories: innovation management, Creative Problem Solving, Idea Management
Categories: innovation management, Creative Problem Solving, Idea Management
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