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Make Capitalism Thy Mission

More and more, we keep hearing the value of "capital", e.g. human capital, social capital, and financial capital. I particularly like the dictionary definition of capital provided by Messrs. Funk and Wagnall: "Wealth in any form employed in or available for the production of more wealth." Given this pithy definition as a framework for assessing your company's valuable resources, it's easy to see that capital takes infinite forms, from your knowledge workers to your office supplies. Perhaps, however, you haven't identified every area of your company's wealth, specifically that which can be used to generate more wealth. Following are some ideas that can be used for brainstorming (more next column):   Innovation Capital: Innovating is the act of creating value by the implementation of new ideas. A relatively new subset of innovation is called idea management, the collection, development and selection of business-focused ideas that deliver value to an organization. (Cummings, 2004.) The motto, "We've always done it this way" is not only passé, but also non-existent in innovative organizations. Identify all of the ways your company takes its existing products and services and makes them better. How often do you analyze their effectiveness and timeliness in the marketplace? Also identify how you investigate and assess your competitors' products and services and how you improve upon their ideas. Massachusetts-based Stephen Shapiro has developed "SpeedInnovating" (akin to speed dating but, hopefully, with more profitable results). In this multi- step process, participants engage in a series of idea generation activities in rapid- fire succession: random dot connections (forced associations to random objects), filters (standing in someone else's shoes), contrarian thinking (assumption-busting questions), associations (asking "what is it like?"), and yes and (an improvisational comedy technique). These brain-stimulating activities, according to Shapiro, enable participants to generate thousands of viable ideas in only minutes. Best practices in innovation translate into valuable capital that can effectively increase the value of your entire organization. More: www.cmomagazine.com/read/120104/idea_management.html www.thinksmart.com/mission/dna/index.html www.24-7innovation.com/innovationspeed.htm.   Design Capital: Another untapped area of corporate wealth is design. Often misunderstood, design is really the end result of innovation and creativity. It often manifests itself as a newfangled product or service, a clever gizmo, or some other invention that makes you ask, "Gee, why didn't I think of that?" At the Solo Cup Company, for example, one of their product development people recently innovated a new lid for the paper coffee cup. With a flick of a finger, the lid closes, preventing those aggravating spills when driving over speed bumps. With this one idea comes the potential for millions in profits. Brilliant design, also, is often the genesis of mega companies (think: Hummer or the paper clip). "Designs are judged on many criteria, not just beauty or innovation: The advantage to the user, the extended life of the manufacture, the reclaim advantage, morph opportunities, transformational prowess, internal power generation capabilities, and the benefit to society, to name a few." (Mark Dziersk, Editor of Innovation Magazine, Winter 2004. See the entire article at www.idsa.org/webmodules/articles/articlefiles/Dziersk_winter04.pdf. Design also incorporates your company's visual communication, including your logo, branding messages, building architecture, and interior aesthetics. Develop your design capital by initiating a company-wide design contest. Perhaps you're in need of an updated logo, a snappy new package design, or a fresh look in your reception area. It's quite possible you have design geniuses in every corner of your company. All you have to do is invite them out to play. More: Corporate Design Foundation www.cdf.org and Industrial Designers Society of America www.idsa.org.

Debra Davenport, PhD, is a Master Professional Mentor and the president of DavenportFolio, a licensed firm with offices in Los Angeles and Phoenix that mentors entrepreneurs and professionals. She is the creator of the Certified Professional Mentor® designation and certification program and the author of The Ten Commitments of Highly Successful People. debra@davenportfolio.com or (866) 232-6492.

     

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