"People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don't know when to quit. Most men succeed because they are determined to." George Allen

"Play the game for more than you can afford to lose...only then will you learn the game." Winston Churchill

"All the sugar was in the bottom of the cup." Julia Howe

Todays image: Last Shot in the Life of a Lens by Thomas Hawk. Awesome. Thank you!

It's that time of year when we get involved in helping clients imagine the new year just ahead. This year we are suggesting teams consider management innovation. Dr. Gary Hamel, our favorite business strategist, is writing and speaking on this very subject matter. From HBR last year (Feb 06)...

The Elements of Management Innovation

In most companies, management innovation is ad hoc and incremental. A systematic process for producing bold management breakthroughs must include

1. Commitment to a big management problem
2. Novel principles that illuminate new approaches
3. A deconstruction of management orthodoxies
4. Analogies from atypical organizations that redefine what's possible

To maximize the chances of a management breakthrough, you need to start with a problem that is both consequential and soul stirring. If you don't have such a problem in mind, here are three leading questions that will stimulate your imagination

1. First, what are the tough trade-offs that your company never seems to get right? Management innovation is often driven by the desire to transcend such trade-offs, which can appear to be irreconcilable...Your challenge is to find an opportunity to turn an "either/or" into an "and."
2. Second, what are big organizations bad at? This question should produce a long list of incompetencies...Push yourself to imagine a company can't-do that you and your colleagues could turn into a can-do.
3. Third, what are the emerging challenges the future has in store for your company?...If you scan the horizon, you're sure to see a tomorrow problem that your company should start tackling today.

Gary Hamel's new book is a must-read. The Future of Management (Amazon info)

Congrats & cheers: Dan Mason, Jennifer Donohue, Brian Thomas, Lenny Bloch, and team on a game-changing trend at WCBS-FM. Vinny Brown on a killer trend at WBLS. Drew Horowitz, Jerry Schnacke, Greg Solk and team Bonneville-Chicago on another incredible trend.