There are many components that go into a winning strategy. As we follow the season all the way to the Super Bowl, we’ve watched the NY Giants and New England Patriots come together at the right time with all the right ingredients to get it done. They have prepared and know their plays, but now it’s time to execute.
When the offense takes the field, the Quarterback is the one under all the pressure, as he runs plays that require him to make multiple micro-second decisions. Is the wide-out really open down the side line, or is the safety laying off to try and draw an ill-timed throw that can easily turn into a pick-6? And is the mismatch between the tight-end barreling over the middle and the line-backer trying to keep up with him going to go our way?
While we all love the heroic moments when the QB makes that once-in-a-lifetime pass, the reality is that football is about 90% hard work and 10% magic. If he gets creative or tries too much, his ability to execute can be challenged and interceptions will be abound - just ask Mark Sanchez and the Jets. The same applies to your product teams. Sure, they sometime introduce a feature that blows your mind, but the real money is made by combining genius ideas with reliable, solid development work. Just look at the iPhone or the iPad: 10% magic and 90% solid technology.
Have a Roadmap
Innovation is certainly about creativity, but almost as important as the ideas you execute on are the ideas that you don’t. It’s about harnessing the creativity that brought the group of innovators together in the first place, and driving it towards a goal. Documenting that in a road map will help you to articulate your goals and when you plan to deliver them. It also serves as an internal plan to focus your resources on the goal at hand.
Bringing it back to the Big Game, innovation is the ability to keep a team’s creativity focused. Being creative is one thing but adding ideas while staying focused is equally important. If your Quarterback audibles the play every time, the team will be in chaos. Just look at all the great leaders that promise to change the world but never deliver, those that have a solid plan know what they can promise and will live up to the expectations.
Don’t Be Scared to Commit - Be Transparent?
When it comes to the Big Game, a good Quarterback has had enough experience to know how to stick to the game plan. You need to translate that into your business. We know it is not easy to commit to a year long product roadmap while the environment is changing along the way. Just practice transparency and share exactly this with your customers and partners. Show what is committed and what is still being discovered so clear expectations are set but creativity lives on.
Read the whole story: Championships start with Strategy.
