Business Week's "Champions of Innovation"
June 16, 2006
This week, a great headline story in Business Week Magazine discussed the unheralded world of some amazing business innovators. More specifically, it discusses how these innovators exist at the C- level of companies and business, and how they are rapidly impacting an industry rife with practices like outsourcing or commoditization of products, which increase competition. As we’ve seen in examples from the change agent paper, innovation is one of the major factors that differentiate someone who is a leader in title, from someone who is a real change agent. For those in the article to be deemed, "Champions of Innovation" from the companies in the "IN25" (many of which have been already known for great innovations), these leaders must be doing things that are fundamentally different enough to earn them recognition as forward leading thinkers.
"Champions of Innovation" focuses on 5 key innovators who vary in roles from talent scouts to venture capitalists, but what impressed me most was what they had in common amongst each other, and with other change agents in the government. Not one of them waited to be labeled as an innovator change agent by others - they were confident in their abilities from the get-go, and pushed forward aggressively to get their ideas noticed and used. Several innovators were using both the artistic and scientific sides of their brains as early as high school to spark creative solutions for interesting problems. Whether it is Marissa Myer with her continued support of an open social network at Google, or Claudia Kotchka with her video-yearbook style of networking together employees at Old Navy, all five innovators understand that getting others to share their innate creativity is vital to realizing their vision. These innovators play different roles, but their commonalities are clear. As innovators and change agents, their power lies in how they manage people - understanding what kind of motivation, specific language and leadership enable those around them to succeed.
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