The Idea: The Grateful Dead never played a song the same way twice. After studying the likes of Jazz greats John Coltrane and Miles Davis, they incorporated live improvisation into every song they performed. Much like the Grateful Dead, great organizations embrace improvisation, dissenting voices and new ideas. There are five ideas from last year’s Ideas That Matter catalogue that sparked the most discussion. They are worth rediscovering because they encourage an entrepreneurial and improvisational mindset.
Idea #1: 10X Growth
At an Elevation Summit event this past year, Ryan Olohan of Google said that companies that grow at a “10X” rate (not ten percent), are uncomfortable being comfortable. These organizations do two things very well. They ask their team “how do we grow exponentially?” – and then create plans to achieve that expectation. They also ask one other important question, “is anybody else doing this?” This question allows them to create new businesses in an empty field. What else can we learn from 10X companies?
Companies that think 10X live where their customers live. They create community with their tribe and are a part of their ecosystem. They become neighbors. It’s a matter of appreciating how the consumer needs are shifting, rather than how the product should change.
Organizations growing at 10X don’t waste their time trying to squeeze the last dollar out of their budget. They are busy birthing the next generation of ideas.
Idea #2: Start With Why?
When someone tells you that something “just doesn’t feel right,” all the facts in the world will not change their mind. They need to understand the larger point of “why” you do business. When a customer doesn’t understand or trust “why” you are selling, more than likely they won’t trust “what” you are selling.
Though widely referenced, Apple understands this phenomenon better than most. A computer company that sells watches and phones and music – how is that possible? People purchase Apple products because they understand the soul of Apple first.
People don’t buy “what” you do; they buy “why” you do it. Always start with why.
Idea #3: Dance with Entrepreneurs.
Every retailer in America is trying to reposition their consumer experience to include a seamless on-line solution to compete with Amazon, Alibaba and other digital retailers. Target has been strong enough to look objectively into the mirror, and they have taken four steps we can all learn from.
Target has an innovation lab in San Francisco and is now partnering with Techstars, a startup accelerator, scouring the land looking for technology start-ups that influence all facets of the retail experience. Entrepreneurs see things through a different lens; they ask different questions; they view the world differently. Target hopes to collaborate with many of them in creating the future.
Do you have enough outsiders challenging your business model?
Idea #4: Quit Selling!
Most people are not as persuasive as they think they are. People hate to be sold to, and yet most people are always selling. The first step to effective persuasion is simply listening to what is stated, and even more importantly, unstated. Trying to persuade others is a part of the human condition – but most of us do it poorly.
Blaise Pascal reminds us, “People are generally better persuaded by the reasons which they have discovered than by those which come into the minds of others.” When you are trying to persuade, remember that people only buy what they discover themselves.
Idea #5: Leadership is Felt, Not Claimed.
Despite the continuous references of “leadership” in politics, religion, and business books, David Foster Wallace reminds us that true leadership is a deeply powerful exchange. Leadership is felt, not claimed. More importantly, Wallace describes why people follow others and give them “authority” to speak into their lives:
“A leader’s real “authority” is a power you voluntarily give him, and you grant him this authority not with resentment or resignation but happily; it feels right. Deep down, you almost always like how a real leader makes you feel, the way you find yourself working harder and pushing yourself and thinking in ways you couldn’t ever get to on your own.”
Leadership is a heart connection. And though we can hone our communication skills and improve what we do, true leadership is about serving others, and is something that must be felt.
Have the courage to risk big this
