Three Ways to Transform the US Government (And Your Business) #Innovation

In December, Innosight and Forbes administered a survey to get a field-based perspective on transformation. We're still crunching through the results, (but,) there was one emerging finding that seemed worth highlighting.

The survey had an open-ended question, "What organization do you think is best positioned to transform itself over the next 3-5 years?" The almost 500 survey respondents flagged close to 75 different organizations. The most named organization? Google. The second-most named organization? The U.S. Government.

I think the survey responses are another indication of the general hope around the Obama administration, hope that of course will dissipate if it isn't translated into action.
Organizational transformation is a tough task. Just about everyone has lived through a failed effort to transform a team, unit, or broader organization. Done well, however, a transformation can set an organization up for decades of success. Look at what has happened to Apple during this decade or IBM in the 1990s.

There are three lessons from corporate transformation efforts that could help the new government achieve its aims:

1. Transformation doesn't come from doing what you are currently doing better. It isn't just about doing what you are doing differently. It involves stopping some things, and starting others. Over the past two decade Procter & Gamble has exited many food-related businesses, stepped up investment in health and beauty businesses, and changed its overall approach to innovation.
2. Start small. Asking everyone to do things differently is a sure recipe for failure, because you don't know what you don't know. Get some early wins before expanding efforts.
3. Invest in the human side of transformation. It's hard to ask people to do what they are not capable of doing, or what they don't understand. Invest to build capabilities, bring in fresh mindsets, and develop a common language of change.

Succeeding with transformation is tough, but possible. And it is increasingly necessary; the "new normal" of constant change requires every organization to improve its ability to master transformation. Here's hoping that the glimmer of hope that appeared in our survey is realized. via blogs.hbr.org

Jim Woods is president and founder of InnoThink Group. A global management consulting firms specialized solely in helping organizations of all sizes in all industries catalyzing top line growth through strategic innovation and hypercompetition. Jim has over 25 years consulting experience in working with small, mid size and Fortune 1000 companies. He is a former U.S. Navy Seabee and grandfather of five. Jim is board president of a charter school located in Colorado Springs whose sole purpose is to prepare otherwise disadvantaged students more competitively for college. To arrange for Jim to speak at your next event or devise an effective hypercompetition strategy email or call us at 719-649-4118 for availability. Subscribe to our innovation and hypercompetition newsletter.   

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