As a leader, how do you put your insights to work?
I’ve been paying close attention to how insights affect a leader; it shifts their understanding, attitudes, and behaviors. Great insights improve how they act and what they do next, including their approach to innovation.
You can put your insights to work in four basic steps:
- Recognize and embrace opportunities.
- Create a framework: organize ideas into plans or pilot projects.
- Test, assess, and if necessary, make changes.
- Execute.
Each step requires an open mind, and that you learn from mistakes. Test your ideas, revise when necessary, and have persistence and patience to wait for results.
Recognize and Embrace Opportunities
“Statistics suggest that when customers complain, business owners and managers ought to get excited about it. The complaining customer represents a huge opportunity for more business.” ~ Zig Ziglar
This is the gathering step, when you need a beginner’s mind. Focus on the client, and what may be going on in their mind. This is an essential, three-step process:
- Identify your target client.
- Identify problems the client is struggling to solve today. Clarify how your client is using your product or service (it may be different than you think.) Ask your client what they are trying to accomplish.
- Discover any signals that suggest the client is dissatisfied with the status quo.
Before you jump to solutions, ask “why?” five times in succession. This will help you identify assumptions, underlying issues, and help you get to the heart of the problem. Your “why” questions could be the form of “why?” or “why not?” After your five “why?” questions, move to “what if…?”
When you ask questions in context, using observation, listening, and empathy, you are likely to gain insights on client experiences, and opportunities for innovation.
Create a Framework
While your idea doesn’t have to be perfect, it must deliver better solutions. Research how other leaders solved similar problems and create your framework. Ensure that you include short- and long-term:
- S.M.A.R.T. goals (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-based)
- Required resources
- Anticipated revenues
- S.W.O.T. Analysis (strengths, weaknesses, obstacles, threats)
- Known (and unknown) assumptions
- How the solution aligns with your values, mission, and purpose
And remember: most innovators point to failures as their greatest success. It is most likely that your first idea will lead to a better one.
What do you think? How do you put your insights to work? I’d love to hear from you.You can call me at 561-582-6060, let’s talk. And as always, I can be reached here, or on LinkedIn.
