Leading with Intellectual Integrity
One skill distinguishes the effective CEO: the ability to make disciplined and integrated choices.
by A.G. Lafley and Roger Martin, with Jennifer Riel

http://www.strategy-business.com/article/00186?pg=alll

Sorry for the lapse over the past two weeks. Took some time off!!

This is a great article that I strongly suggest you read. The following is just one topic that is discussed.

The Strategic Choice Cascade at Procter and GambleTo instill intellectual integrity throughout a company—as opposed to leaving its development to chance—some kind of explicit, ongoing decision-making process is needed. At Procter & Gamble, the method we used was known as the strategic choice cascade. Each year, we asked hundreds of company leaders, at all levels, to develop choices explicitly using this framework. The cascade consisted of five interdependent choices (see Exhibit). We said explicitly that none of these choices should be treated as “silver bullets” to solve short-range problems. Nor could they be made in isolation from each other.

How do you know if your innovation process is broken?

http://kmc.kaltura.com/index.php/kmc/preview/partner_id/24852/uiconf_id/1679292/entry_id/1_y7ou77ff/embed/legacy



Great insight from Rita McGrath of Columbia (see 3 minute video at above site)

I (Rita) outline five sure-fire indicators that your hoped-for innovations won’t work.  
1. The first is that innovation is on-again, off again.  It needs to be systematic, not episodic.  
2. The second is when big, existing businesses get to control the resources – remember, just because they are profitable today doesn’t mean they will be tomorrow.  
3. A third is when companies try to fit their innovative new ideas into the structure they already have.  Instead, you need to create structures that can support the innovative ideas that may not work with the one you inherited.  
4. How well are you connected to customer insights
5. Finally, don’t treat assumptions as though they were knowledge – that alone has meant more heartbreak for innovators than any other factor when doing new things.