Page 176 - Free the Idea Monkey

or more impressive to mankind, or more important ... and none will

be so difficult or expensive to accomplish. ... ”

Show of hands: who really thought President Bush’s announce-

ment will lead to innovative change?

Sadly, just as there was under

Presidents Clinton, George H. Bush, Think of a major initiative
Reagan and Carter, there has been in your company. Who is
a lot of talk about a radically new the one person in charge?

environmental policy, but very little

action. (In fact, the inconvenient truth

here is that Bush’s policy actually allows for a continued growth of

carbon emissions until the 2025 deadline.)

Still, there are great lessons for leaders here. Why was Kennedy

successful at mobilizing the country while subsequent presidents

have not been? And to broaden the question, how do the most inno-

vative organizations (and their leaders) move past the rhetoric and

actually produce results?

From our experience, effective innovation leadership involves

three elements: a bold declaration, accountability and tracking key

metrics. Let’s take them one at a time.

Declare It. People love to be led, to envision, to aspire and to

dream. We naturally gravitate toward a cause. Revolutionary com-

panies chase big dreams. Microsoft pictured

a computer on every desk; Walmart envi-

sioned affordability for the masses. Each

started with a bold declaration. Each

declaration came from a person (Bill

Gates, Sam Walton) who was commit-

ted to following through and keeping the

leadership around him accountable.

Account for It. (Ring)leaders know that accountability is key. It

was reported that President Bush met every day following September

11, 2001, with his national security adviser to review the top 20 on the

most-wanted terrorist list. He was committed to fighting terrorism.

As president, he was clearly accountable. To date there has been no

further terrorist attack in the United States.

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