How to Be Unreasonable — in a Reasonable Way

In Fast/Forward, Julian Birkinshaw and Jonas Ridderstråle observe that “the formulae for success that worked in prior decades offer only very limited insights into what might work in the future. This is because the business context keeps changing: not in the banal sense that we face increasing levels of technological change and higher levels of competition, but rather in the more fundamental sense that every source of competitive advantage carries with it the seeds of its own destruction. This is a version of the famous ‘Icarus Paradox’: the attribute or capability that makes companies successful in one era makes them susceptible to failure in the next era.”

They suggest that “the vast majority of front-line managers in large organizations have ideas for how to improve things. “To tap into this potential — this reservoir of bright ideas — and move forward faster, we need a better playbook…So here it is — a set of principles that build on a framework in Figure 9.2 [see Page 193] to help you become a bit more unreasonable, but in a reasonable way.”

Think different: “The starting point in being unreasonable is to have a slightly contrarian perspective — a point of view that differs from the established orthodoxy in your organization…Remember, though, that contrarian ideas rarely arrive fully formed.”

Experiment early: “The key idea…is that especially in these days many of us are seduced by the power of information [e.g. Big Data, analytics] and end up, as a result, in analysis paralysis. The cycle can best be broken through baby steps, small-scale action, by experimenting early and gaining feedback that focus our information-gathering activities.”

Locate the safety net: “You sometimes have to wait for the safety mat to be built…The alternative is to build your own safety mat, typically a body of informal support across the organization who have bought into your idea and will provide ‘air cover’ while you are still in the early experimentation stages.”

Seize the moment: “In the business world, the big opportunity is rarely clear cut but timing is still very important…When you have ideas that fail in your initial experiments don’t kill them — deep-freeze them so that you can defrost them when the circumstances change.”

Learn to reflect: “Our advice is to make time for reflection: to carve out a space in your day to make sense of the actions you have taken, the feedback you have received, the problems that need addressing, and to seek advice from colleagues, friends, or a therapist who understand your world sufficiently well that they will help you avoid getting into trouble.”

Perhaps you are concerned about protecting your bright ideas. Here’s some solid advice from Howard Aiken: “Don’t worry about people stealing an idea. If it’s original, you will have to ram it down their throats.”

Fast/Forward: Make Your Company Fit for the Future was published by Stanford Business Books/Stanford University Press (April 2017).

 

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