Winning in innovation

You either win or lose

An organization that is mature and stable should employ a strategy of ongoing, proactive thinking, response and adaptation to the dynamic, changing and somewhat unforgiving competitive environment it is part of – ‘alive and kicking’.

In this highly competitive arena, the rule for any organization at that point in its evolution is that
you either win – among other things because you have something different, something new, smart and useful, or you fall behind. If that is your guiding concept and strategy, then these two keywords should become an essential part of your organizational vocabulary: innovation and creativity!

Generating repeated success

Still, the bottom line is that new ideas, however good they might be, must be practical, applicable and ultimately actualized. In other words, the organization’s challenge in this regard is to implement new good ideas successfully!

Given the definition of winning as ‘the ability to generate repeated success’, a key prerequisite for the successful completion of an innovative project – and the next one, and the one after that… is being a winning organization. One in which the staff is composed mostly of people who are winners by nature – particularly those in key positions.

So, who are these winners? And what makes someone a winner? Don’t we all want to be winners either
in our personal life, but also in the context of our organization a winning organization?

Being a winner

First of all, being a winner means continuously and repeatedly generating success as opposed to success being something that most people might achieve sporadically. You may be surprised to learn that being such a winner is not necessarily about having a high IQ or being exceptionally gifted.

Think about it – haven’t we all heard of super- talented people whose careers somehow fizzled out,  while some ‘slow starters’ or ‘late bloomers’ went on to achieve greatness against all odds?

So, if it isn’t necessarily IQ or a raw talent that determines our chances of success, what makes someone a potential winner? Well, it is a combination of maximizing personal potential and continuously improving mental strength and developing skills.

Pushing beyond the limits

The practical outcome of this combination is a constant pushing of the performance and achievement rate, way beyond the limitations of our natural talents. But, how do we do this and what is the secret? How do winners keep on breaking their own records while continuously beating their personal best?

Integrating three elements

Being a winner means you always have to integrate the following three elements:

• The warrior: not only believe that you deserve success: feel that you owe it to yourself. Deeply, and genuinely, believe that no matter what, there is always a solution. As a result, you are willing to confront the harshest obstacles.
• The thinker: be responsible for translating the motivation to succeed into optimal decision making.Strictly apply the principles of T-CUP (thinking correctly under pressure) – a user- friendly ‘manual’ of twelve rules for great decision making.
• The skillful: be responsible for translating those winning decisions into winning behaviour. Courageously debrief yourself. Learn meticulously from both your successes and failures. Keep on getting better and continuously break your personal best.

A winner in the mirror

What this all means is that becoming a winner is no longer just a pipe dream – it is a right that can be attained practically.

True, it is a demanding lifestyle, but once you choose it, you’ll be hooked! And that is for one simple reason: we get quite easily addicted to things that are good for us and optimal self-fulfillment is exactly that. In his famous pyramid, Maslow defined optimal self- fulfillment as nothing less than the supreme human need. Winners, who are flesh and blood just like you and me, are right up there.

A winning team

In managing your team, getting every one of your employees to reach their own full potential is challenging, but definitely worth the investment. After all, if you can create a team of winners, this will lead to tangible results for your organization. The challenge is to get each and every one of your team members to push beyond their own limits.