Jim Woods : How Innovation is a Tactical Decision

In 1862 Europe poised to recognize the confederacy, the unthinkable seemed unlikely. The Union was going to lose the war. Wrote Lincoln, "We must change our tactics or lose the game."  To Lincoln it was clear the old ways would no longer resolve new challenges. 

Layered beneath today’s strategic plans organized to ad nauseum and mission statements with all the fervor of stale bread are carry over premises formed years ago during the Industrial Revolution. Day after day leaders and staffs are reminded that these antiquated premises held to by the fearful or unimaginative, no longer address change in the new age of speed. Yet, they do nothing. 

 After months of one ineffective leader after another, the Union anxious for a victory, found one during a minor skirmish under McClellan. Eventually appointed to head the Army of The Potomac, McClelland hampered his ability to challenge aggressive opponents in a fast-moving battlefield environment. He chronically overestimated the strength of enemy units and was reluctant to apply principles of mass, frequently leaving large portions of his army unengaged at decisive points. Sound familiar?

 There is an important parallel to draw with current day leaders and managers. He, McClelland was phenomenal in perpetually assessing the enemy. He created one strategic plan after another. Stock piling ammunitions and supplies for a war that was already upon him.

 Today businesses are in no less of a war with McClellanesque leaders at the helm waiting for more favorable conditions before acting.

 I continue to admonish "leaders" to heed 5 constants: commoditization, shifts in consumer tastes, and hordes of nontraditional competitors, regulatory upheavals, and geopolitical shocks. While they attempt to remind me of conditions and circumstances at play restricting their abilities to compete. I reply, “Grow up. Perpetual victimization is your ever present melody.There are limits to the blame shareholdres will permit "leaders" to place at the feet of the economy." Knowing in advance of the 5 conditions of business should be enough for leadership to step out of mediocority.In this post many will exclaim my insensitivity to the complexities of business. And they are correct. I expect organizations to measure up. So do shareholders. Mediocrity in whoever wears its hat has no comfort with the market.

Hire Jim Woods to speak to your organization. Jim Woods is President and founder of InnoThink Group. A leading innovation and comnpetitive stratefy consultancy. We invite you to request more information on our consulting and speaking engagements. You may reach Jim at 719-266-6703 or  info@innothinkgroup.com

 

See How One Company Transformed Its Boring Products To Save Its Business

What color do men paint the Den? CIL Paints is betting it's not Butterscotch.

Recently, the Toronto-based company's managers looked at the marketplace and saw an opportunity: Paint-color names are all pretty ladylike.

If your industry is full of sameness and you're having trouble figuring out how to differentiate your products, here's an idea for how to inject something fresh.

Sometimes, all a product needs is a new marketing angle. CIL they held a contest on Facebook to rename some of their hues for an Ultimate Man Caves collection aimed at male shoppers. Talk to us about leveraging your capabilities.

More than 15,000 responses later, Fairytale Green had become Mo Money, and Butterscotch became Beer Time. Plateau Grey was 5 O'Clock Shadow. Juliet's Potion is now Zombie Apocalypse, Lexington Park is Dirty Socks, and Classic Liberty Red is Rust on my Truck. In all, 27 colors were renamed.

CIL then created a manly dream book of bars, bathrooms, bedrooms and media rooms decked out in the new colors to show how they could style up a man's domain. What do you imagine they can charge for these newly named colors? I'm betting, whatever they like. After all, there's no other paint being marketed this way, to this customer.

This isn't just a clever marketing trick. This is recognizing a market segment that's not on your competitors' radar and getting them engaged and interested in your products. Yes, women make most paint-color choices, but CIL's research showed men often give the final nod. And if a room is primarily a man's domain, why should he paint it Bone White when he could adorn it in Beer Foam?

In appealing to men, CIL didn't just man up its colors. It made them funny. It brought a different attitude to a pretty staid industry. The company is betting that will be a hit with younger male homeowners who're just starting to decorate. This could be a chance for CIL to land them as lifetime customers. via entrepreneur.com

Consulting, Speaking & Coaching. Driving Growth through Innovation 

Innothink Group is a strategic management and innovation consultancy. Where many consulting firms are reluctant to bear risks or tie their rewards to project outcomes, we decided to build a better model. We align our success with yours. We’re outcome obsessed, outcome paid, putting over a third of our fees at risk subject o hitting predetermined milestones. More than a guarantee we wanted from the outset to create true partnerships. 

For speaking, coaching or consulting inquiries contact: 

 

CEO Jim Woods

+1 719- 649-4118