Some of the most innovative breakthroughs have come about as a result of chaos and destruction. Wait, before you tune out and think this article is about doom and gloom think again.
Think about this concept in your own life and in your business, you will notice that any time there has been exponential growth it has because something had to be blown up, destroyed or disabled. Maybe it was technology no longer serving the needs, maybe it was releasing certain people in the organization and maybe it was a major shake up in revenues. Whatever needed to be detonated made room for innovation.
When I came up with the concept for this article I based it on the consulting work I have done with numerous companies and the coaching I have delivered for many CEO’s and their leadership teams.
In my work I notice patterns, I get paid to observe those patterns, to shine the light on them and then help to identify what needs to be detonated and the exponential opportunities for innovation.
Some of the things that I believe need to be detonated in order to innovate are:
1. Detonate the past ( let it go, move beyond it, use what still applies and release the rest).
2. Detonate identity (leadership identity, rethink business identity and let go of hanging on to previous identity)
3. Detonate systems (those that no longer serve the business, those that add too many rules and those that are slowing down progress)
Now you may read these and feel that you can’t ‘detonate’ any of these things when in reality the leaders and companies who have sailed past their competitors have done exactly the three things above.
Ellen DeGeneres exemplifies the first one, she detonated her past TV shows – she would acknowledge but set about to create a brand new persona and identity that has endeared her to millions of people.
Oprah really embodies the second one, she willingly let go of her Oprah TV show identity which was highly successful and shifted to a producer identity and owner of the OWN network.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg embodies the third one by setting up unique share structures, open work spaces and flexible work schedules and keeps the rules to a minimum in his predominantly Generation X and Y workforce.
The reason we need to detonate to innovate is that something always has to make room for the new. We can’t have Spring without Winter and we can’t have Fall without Summer. Just like the seasons there are seasons in business.
The question for you reading this article is to challenge yourself to see where you need to detonate to innovate right now. Here are some questions to help you:
#1- Has growth stabilized and if so where are we complacent?
#2- Where do I know I need to ‘detonate’ but I am resisting because it will be uncomfortable and a lot of work?
#3- When is the last time that I ‘let go’ of my identity in my current role as CEO or leader and reinvented myself?
These questions are aimed at helping you to see that we are constantly evolving, we are living and working in times that do not allow for stasis.
To grow the business to the next level you as CEO and leader need to ‘detonate to innovate.’