1. Introduction Innovation Leadership Collaboration Conclusion
The New Workplace
Creating the
21st-Century Business
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2. Introduction Innovation Leadership Collaboration Conclusion
Message from PCG’s Founder and President
“Succeeding in this post-recession, globally integrated and
highly competitive business landscape requires focus on three
innovation and technology. Second, you need to develop your
leaders so they can succeed in this business environment,
to enhance collaboration, you must learn how to access and
leverage the enormous talent around us.”
Bridgitt Haarsgaard
President and Founder
Point Consulting Group
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3. Introduction Innovation Leadership Collaboration Conclusion
Creating the 21st-Century Workplace
Old rules are no longer an option.
“Companies must stay competitive in the
complemented by smartphones, replaced by tablets and enhanced current business landscape. Although we
by cloud computing. Our managers are now neither wholly classic
top-down nor modern bottom-up; to be successful, they must be constantly hear about the 2020 workforce,
agile, highly involved and exceedingly results-oriented. And our we need to be operating ahead of the curve,
teams are now expanding and contracting at the drop of a hat and
spread across the world. today. Companies need to focus on the
So, how do we navigate this new work environment to achieve the
results we need and stay ahead of the competition?
deliver in a present-day context. Our
By developing the right skills, engaging the right people and using
the right technologies, our workplaces can improve performance, present-day consumers are informed, agile
heighten employee engagement, increase productivity and deliver
on strategic goals. We need to stay focused and current in order to
come out ahead.
Bridgitt Haarsgaard
President and Founder
Point Consulting Group
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4. Introduction Innovation Leadership Collaboration Conclusion
The Current Landscape
Looking Forward
Innovation in Business: Our Chief Concern
Innovation is a TOP concern for most senior business
leaders. In a recent IBM study (Capitalizing on Complexity: Insights
descriptions have innovative qualities built into them and some
1. One of the biggest challenges is the rapid escalation of
complexity in business, which will only increase in the coming pervasive. A cultural shift in leadership
years. and team approaches to innovation
2. need to happen to truly
this complexity in a global environment. change a company’s
3. Creativity is the single most important leadership competency for DNA — to truly
businesses seeking a path through this complexity. stay competitive.
In sum, senior leaders recognize that innovation is their pivotal
integrate it into their workforce. While they are enrolling in classes
on creativity and bringing their teams along, this alone doesn’t
embed approaches to innovation into the company culture.
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5. Introduction Innovation Leadership Collaboration Conclusion
Looking Forward
Eight Ways to Embed Innovation into Your Culture
Tone at the top.
1 encouraging employees to provide feedback and listening to ideas from all
employees — from entry level to senior leaders.
Craft brand messaging around innovation both internally and
2 externally. Knowing that the company values innovation and that senior leaders
progressively toward goals.
Examine hiring practices. If
3 1990, you have a problem.
candidates who are creative and will not only contribute to the position, but also
take it to the next level.
Take advantage of the current talent market. Attract talent from
4 customers as well as the needs of employees and teams.
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6. Introduction Innovation Leadership Collaboration Conclusion
Looking Forward
Eight Ways to Embed Innovation into Your Culture
Restructure work teams so you can get more from them. Don’t
perspectives on old problems.
Reward people for innovative approaches and ideas.
6 Create formalized recognition programs that encourage creative
behavior.
7 RIGHT talent
Invest in new hire and high potential programs to attract the
innovative ways.
Use technology to streamline processes and capture ideas. Social
8 media, chat programs, and crowdsourcing platforms — even used
internally — cast a wider net for solutions and make your team a shining
star.
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7. Introduction Innovation Leadership Collaboration Conclusion
The Current Landscape
Looking Forward
Leadership: Which Way Forward?
Leaders today are caught in the middle of two worlds: First, the old
“command and control” archetype that ruled for so many years — the model that
automatically empowers leaders with authority, creates straight-line decision-making
teams.
When our current, more seasoned leaders were hired, they were under the command and
control model, but now they are being asked to shift their style 180 degrees. Managers
today need to operate in a 24/7 work environment, manage a global team, integrate new
challenged like never before: they need to manage their business, people and process —
concurrently.
Both new leaders who have been managed and mentored by command and control styles and
experienced leaders who have implemented them are now embedded in new systems with
new expectations. So, what should leaders do: choose between their grandparent’s style that
there is a
successful middle road grounded in innovation and collaboration.
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8. Introduction Innovation Leadership Collaboration Conclusion
Looking Forward
How Leaders Can Prepare for This New Approach
1 leader looks like.
people-managing by identifying who the talent needs to be, where they are in the
can identify high potential candidates and groom them earlier in their careers,
resulting in organizations that aren’t blindsided by the curveballs thrown at them
at faster and faster rates.
Organizations need to invest in strong leadership programs.
2 need to be prepared to take the captain’s chair at any point. Businesses get bought
need to be ready today
companies are in these very situations and are caught without strong leadership.
and range of current challenges.
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9. Introduction Innovation Leadership Collaboration Conclusion
Looking Forward
How Leaders Can Prepare for This New Approach
3 positions, for example becoming the head of a Big Brothers/Big Sisters
organization in their city or a work-sponsored volunteer program
challenges?
Find opportunities to cross-pollinate talent. Find
4 alliances with similar or complimentary functions, either internally
clothing, detergent, lotion, toilet paper, etc. After a while, this victim
these products to the people who need them.” Success requires not
only creating/sourcing the right product, but managing the product
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10. Introduction Innovation Leadership Collaboration Conclusion
The Current Landscape
Looking Forward
2011 Talent with 1995 Technologies
THE REALITY:
to the “decision-makers” can more easily gain recognition for new ideas. But as teams become more dispersed, this simply can no longer
happen.
THE FACT: Present-day workplaces are permeable, global and remote. It’s a fact, many teams are outsourced or restructured, but
THE DISCONNECT:
hierarchies; they work individually for recognition; and they use telephone calls, emails and face-to-face meetings as their only means of
communication.
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11. Introduction Innovation Leadership Collaboration Conclusion
The Current Landscape
Looking Forward
2011 Talent with 1995 Technologies
Yet the business landscape is anything but
status quo — our employee and customer bases
are globally dispersed, our workplace is 24/7, and the
disconnect creates more headache than opportunity.
Contemporary businesses are asked to do much more
with fewer people and resources. Using technology as
a rash substitute can create tremendous frustration
and cause teams to go in two disparate directions,
culminating in:
a break-down in team dynamic because of the
pressure
or a strong synergy to work through the pressure Breakdown in
team dynamic Strong synergy
Without strong team synergy, you don’t know what due to pressure to work through
pressure
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12. Introduction Innovation Leadership Collaboration Conclusion
Looking Forward
Collaboration for Creativity
Collaboration is key for creativity
and your company’s
ultimate success.
Know your talent – no matter where they work.
Collaboration supports the need for 1 know where talent lies across your entire organization.
leadership and the output of innovation.
All companies have the ability to create collaborative
Create a virtual “Collaborative Mobilization”
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teams. In an environment where people can share
ideas, push one another in healthy ways, and use
whole-brain approaches, more creative solutions
surface and succeed. WHO the key employees
are, WHERE they sit, and WHAT role they can play in the
organization. In this scheme, employees collaborate in
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13. Introduction Innovation Leadership Collaboration Conclusion
Looking Forward
Collaboration for Creativity
create detailed role descriptions for US and India counterparts
require mandatory feedback to peers, locally and abroad, every week (this helped eliminate discrepancies in communication
+ =
Creative
Knowing Collaborative Work
Mobilization Environment
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14. Introduction Innovation Leadership Collaboration Conclusion
Preparing for NOW
The world of business is becoming increasingly
complex. Succeeding in this globally integrated
and highly competitive business landscape
is a challenge for even the best and brightest
organizations. By focusing on creating strong
leaders, embedding innovation into your
company’s DNA and creating collaborative
mobilization, companies will succeed and win.
Contact PCG to see how we can help you create
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15. Introduction Innovation Leadership Collaboration Conclusion
PCG Working Paper Series
by Point Consulting Group. It includes thought-provoking discussions, interviews,
research and writing on what it means for companies to remain ultra-competitive
in today’s workforce. Point Consulting Group engages senior leaders and provides
them with tools to stay focused, innovative and collaborative in a world that is
changing faster than we can imagine.
For more information, please contact us at:
info@pointconsultinggroup.com
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