Challenge

How the strategic planning process falters

By setting forth a challenge to the appropriate people, top management will encourage innovation. Furthermore, without a challenge, there may be no drive to innovate and nothing to provide the impetus. For example, President John F. Kennedy challenged the nation to land on the moon by the end of the decade.  Consequently, that one challenge opened a wide range of doors for this country. Therefore, think of all the inventions, developments and advances that have resulted from that one challenge.

As a result, transistors, micro-electronics, medical monitoring devices, telecommunications devices and many inventions came out of the space race

Furthermore, without that challenge, it is unlikely that all of these inventions would have come along as quickly as they did. In addition, the resulting technology has changed the way we live, do business and especially the way we communicate. Although they might have been developed in due course, but during what time periods and at what cost? With that specific challenge, the needs and preferences of the contributors to the project became known and addressed.  In conclusion, this is what needs to happen in your company if innovation is to happen.

Note:  This post is the third in a series of posts from Dana Baldwin’s article Creating an Environment for Innovation originally posted in Compass Points.  First, we discussed how atmosphere fostors innovation.  Second, we discussed  how internal communication encourages innovation.  The next post will discuss sources of ideas for innovation.  Attend the Simplified Strategic Planning Seminar to learn more about this and other aspects of Simplified Strategic Planning.

Author, M. Dana Baldwin

M. Dana Baldwin is a Senior Consultant with Center for Simplified Strategic Planning, Inc. He can be reached by email at: baldwin@cssp.com

© Copyright 2018 by Center for Simplified Strategic Planning, Inc., Ann Arbor, MI — Reprint permission granted with full attributionn this series will discuss how challenges can encourage innovation.