Page 223 - Free the Idea Monkey

5. “Harold, this is an intervention.” If the above strategies don’t
work or you no longer have the willpower left to make them happen,
just put this on Harold’s desk:

HEY LEADER, LOOK Harold,
IN THE MIRROR This message is from someone in the
company who cares. I’d tell you who I am,
It is easy to blame but frankly I am afraid you might misinter-
chief executives and pret this note as something other than
senior management for an act of love or great respect.
not devoting enough
attention to introduc- First of all, I want you to know that you are
ing new products, but really, really, reeeeeeaaally smart. I learn
that is too simplistic an from you every time we are together.
explanation for why radi-
cally new products are I just wish, like the superhero that you are,
so rare. Us regular Idea you would use your powers for innovation
Monkeys deserve some good, not evil. Tell us how to construct new
of the blame for at least ideas — don’t tell us why they won’t work.
four reasons:
Anonymous

Successful, strategic innovations need more than a great
idea. There’s no shortage of new product concepts. We are willing to
bet you could come up with a handful of intriguing
ones in an hour if you set your mind to it.

But new ideas by themselves are worthless.
You need to move from idea to execution, and that is
where the majority of companies stumble. You need a
new product development process—one that is codi-
fied, efficient and repeatable, and one that allows
you to turn a notion into something you can sell.

208 T A K I N G T H E L E A D