Chapter Eight: Encourage Collaborative Development
Challenge: Coming up with the creative ideas is only a beginning. It must be refined and implemented. The challenge is to break down the silos and involve all the people who would be affected.
Solution: This chapter describes four leadership practices that encourage collaboration across departments and disciplines. The active collaboration not only ensures that the idea will be fully evaluated and developed; it also positions the organization to successfully implement it. When people from different departments, varied backgrounds and different perspectives work together to refine a new idea, the result is likely to be far better than what any one of them would have come up with on their own.
When you ship an overnight package in the U.S. through FedEx it is processed by at least five departments – Domestic Ground Operations pick up and deliver the package, Airport Operations load and unload the airplane, Flight Operations fly the airplane, Sort Operations sort the package in the national or regional hubs, and Information Systems keep track of the package. Any change in one area would affect all the others. Introduction of a new product or service to any of the five departments can also affect other departments including sales, marketing, materials planning, training, maintenance and human resources. Therefore, complete development and refinement of the raw idea demands active collaboration among all the affected areas.
Innovation isn’t just about having great ideas. It’s about developing them, leading with vision, and executing tenaciously. Madan Birla clearly understands this and provides a window into an iconic company that created an industry by shattering a customer compromise and continuing to raise the bar through innovation.
Steve Preston
Executive Vice President, Strategic Services
ServiceMaster
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Chapter One: Innovating and Outperforming the Competition
Chapter Two: Overview of FedEx's Innovation Journey
Chapter Three: Why Organizations Don’t Innovate
Chapter Four: The Five Dimensions of an Innovation and Performance Culture
Chapter Five: Engage Employees in the Enterprise
Chapter Six: Expect and Help Employees to Continually Grow
Chapter Seven: Create a Secure Environment
Chapter Eight: Encourage Collaborative Development
Chapter Nine: Tap Employees' Commitment
Conclusion: Continuing to Lead the Way
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