The Passion Trap
Business and product ideas should be welcomed and generated from anyone within an organization. A culture of creativity and acknowledgement is key to a healthy culture. With that in mind, it is key to be able to channel those ideas into a framework of validation (or non-adoption) so that employees can be a part of the creative process, yet understand the system of checks and balances that must be weighed for the successful development of a product or service.
Why is this so important?
Passionate employees will generate these new ideas by default, as it is part of their DNA as a high achieving employee. Many times, these employees will trend to ideas that they are passionate about. During my time in the electronics industry, I was passionate about building products for the off-road ATV space because I rode ATV’s. Others were passionate about the construction industry because they grew up running these machines. Talking about ideas, trying to evangelize the need for the idea, and getting action within a company with the idea is all wasted energy and time unless you can put it into a meaningful framework that can be compared to other product strategies and business objectives. These “water cooler” ideas can also be disruptive to the organizations management team if they are lobbied to by the individual with the idea without the proper background, value proposition, market potential, etc. I have seen this happen in companies, causing rifts between the sales, product management, and engineering teams. Using a logical process of validation and viability gives the power to the idea generator to verify whether the idea is a plausible concept that will increase revenue and profitability with facts, not emotion.
How do we solve this?
We implement and evangelize a strategic framework which becomes the standard for any new business idea or concept. In order to be heard, there needs to be a minimum set of information completed, a “buy-in” per se. If the Strategic framework isn’t invested in and agreed upon by the concept team, then it goes no further.
By getting everyone on the same page from a strategy framework perspective, you remove the argument around process and focus on the product and the need for it in the marketplace. The burden of proof lies within the logical strategic framework, driven by the passionate employee that is responsible for creating it. This framework is a huge step to strategic alignment within the company.
Thank you for taking time out of your day to spend with me, I look forward to interacting with you in the future.
Until then live with passion and take care of one another. God Bless.