Lead with ideas not hierarchy. Most businesses have an org chart to identify who is in authority and what positions they hold. Unfortunately, all too often it’s not accurate. The real authority and the way things really get done are very different from the official organization chart. The same is true in families and teams and even entire nations. The only true authority is energizing ideas, not positions on an org chart. The Apple motto of “think different” is what great ideas are made of and great ideas are the hutzpah of authority.
One simple but powerful idea for leadership comes from “The Container Store” but really it is a recycled idea from Henry Ford in 1914. Pay people twice as much but expect and train more. The Container Store provides over 150 hours of training to employees. Let's face it, we do have a wage crisis in this country but some of it is our own fault. Cheap labor is just a lazy formula for short term gain. In the end it is those great ideas and the productivity improvements that will win the day and those don't usually come from people who "feel" like and are treated like they are at the bottom of the food chain.
Certainly ideas are not enough to beat the competition and become a leader but when companies are willing to open themselves up to the input and ideas of their entire workforce rather than just their executive team it fosters trust. That trust in turn energizes the buy in and everyone begins to believe that they are a part of the company and the company is part of them. So, it really is the ideas that lead but they don't just come automatically they need the right seed bed and preparation and care. Better ideas come from practice so don't just do an annual idea quest and call it good for another year. Ideas don't always come on schedule and really need an infrastructure that provides a conduit to the kind of support that can foster its development or pull the plug. Great companies facilitate the generation of ideas from all members and as a result facilitate the development of the individual and the entire organization in the process.
One simple but powerful idea for leadership comes from “The Container Store” but really it is a recycled idea from Henry Ford in 1914. Pay people twice as much but expect and train more. The Container Store provides over 150 hours of training to employees. Let's face it, we do have a wage crisis in this country but some of it is our own fault. Cheap labor is just a lazy formula for short term gain. In the end it is those great ideas and the productivity improvements that will win the day and those don't usually come from people who "feel" like and are treated like they are at the bottom of the food chain.
Certainly ideas are not enough to beat the competition and become a leader but when companies are willing to open themselves up to the input and ideas of their entire workforce rather than just their executive team it fosters trust. That trust in turn energizes the buy in and everyone begins to believe that they are a part of the company and the company is part of them. So, it really is the ideas that lead but they don't just come automatically they need the right seed bed and preparation and care. Better ideas come from practice so don't just do an annual idea quest and call it good for another year. Ideas don't always come on schedule and really need an infrastructure that provides a conduit to the kind of support that can foster its development or pull the plug. Great companies facilitate the generation of ideas from all members and as a result facilitate the development of the individual and the entire organization in the process.
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