Building a Winning Innovation Team

Today, at their first home game of the 2008 season, the Boston Red Sox will receive their rings for winning the 2007 World Series. Once thought of as underdogs, enduring an 86-year championship drought, the Sox have turned around their fortunes, winning two World Series in four years and appearing in the post-season four times in five years – a feat for any team (except for the Yankees who won four World Series in five years).

Part of the Red Sox success has been the recruitment of stellar players who possess the skills or “tools” to dominate both offensively and defensively. These five tools – pitching, catching, running, hitting for average, and hitting for power – rarely appear in one player. Historical examples of such players include Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Ken Griffey Sr., and Mickey Mantle. Currently, only Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez fit this description. The Boston Red Sox, however, have worked around lacking a 5-tool player by being a 5-tool team.

Looking at the roster for the Sox, there is a well-rounded representation of the five tools. David “Big Papi” Ortiz and Manny Ramirez excel at hitting for power, although both have questionable skills at running and catching. Outfielders Coco Crisp and JD Drew and third baseman Mike Lowell (2007 World Series MVP), however, stand out at catching and running. Another player skilled at catching, Kevin “Youk” Youkilis broke the record for most consecutive errorless games by a first baseman, at 194, on April 2, 2008. Youk, Drew, and Lowell also shine at hitting for average. The Red Sox’s bullpen, anchored by Josh Beckett and supported by Clay Buchholtz and veteran pitcher Curt Schilling, consistently holds opponents to few (if any) runs.

The Red Sox roster and success demonstrate the importance of diversity in building and developing a team. BoSox manager Tony Francona has built a team that has at least three players supporting each of the five tools and every position on the field. Of managers appearing in at least 20 post-season games, Francona has the highest winning percentage.

Research done by our partners at the Centre for Research in Innovation Management (CENTRIM) at the University of Brighton in the United Kingdom found that the most successfully innovative organizations in the world follow a five-phased “journey” of innovation – Searching, Exploring, Committing, Realizing and Optimizing. The actions needed in each phase are supported by specific skill-sets and mindsets. Like 5-tool players, 5-phase managers are rare. While many of us have the aptitude to excel in each of the phases, typically, we will specialize or have particular ability in only one or two.

Companies who, like the Red Sox, build 5-phase teams are most likely to see success. Examples of successful 5-phase organizations include Hewlett-Packard, New York Police Department, and Toyota. These companies have organizational capabilities in all 5-phases and are highly regarded for their innovative culture.

You, too, can build a 5-phase team. It starts with an honest appraisal of each individual’s current capabilities and a plan for developing (either through acquisition or training) the skills that the team lacks. Barnes & Conti’s two-day Managing Innovation program provides a hands-on opportunity for managers to understand the key practices in innovation management, reflect on their strengths and weaknesses as managers of innovation, and develop behavioral skills that drive, foster, support, and improve organizational innovation practices.

What phase do you support the most? To identify which phase of the Innovation Journey best describes how you help your organization move ideas into action, visit: http://barnesconti.com/media/whichavatar.html To learn more about our Managing Innovation program, visit: http://barnesconti.com/programs/innovation.html.

Grace Boone is Barnes & Conti's Marketing Manager. She's been a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals and Ozzie Smith since age nine, but now supports her hometown Oakland A's.

Sites we like...TheBuriedLife.com

“What do you want to do before you die?”

If there was a top ten list of most unusual cocktail party questions, I think this would be one of them. Johnnie, Dave, Duncan and Ben, the four men behind www.theburiedlife.com, are traveling across the country asking ordinary people and celebrities this question while checking off their combined list of 100 things they want to do.

It’s an interesting question. We encourage you to visit their site, make your list, and start moving ideas into action.


Please feel free to leave a comment. What do you want to do before you die?

Autumn Newsletter on Barnesconti.com

We've released our latest Barnes & Conti Newsletter. You can read it by clicking here.

Articles in this installment include"The dog ate my passport" by Kim Barnes on using influence in a tough situation and "Innovation and Project Management" by Jeffrey Belding. As always, the newsletter includes updates from Barnes & Conti and a delicious recipe.

Where in the world is Kim Barnes...

Hanoi, Vietnam

This is the second in a series of posts from our CEO Kim Barnes. Kim, the author of Exercising Influence: A Guide for Making Things Happen at Work, at Home, and in Your Community (Pfeiffer, 2007), has the opportunity to travel frequently to present our courses throughout the world.

Hanoi is...hot, humid, bustling, noisy (the primary means of outdoor communication is the horn), dynamic, smoggy, full of contrasts, life-threatening to pedestrians. Two hours of it both fascinated me and set my teeth on edge. Bicycles, rickshaws, cars and endless streams of motorbikes jostle for space on the streets and occasionally the sidewalks, which are filled with formal and informal vendors and shops. Sidewalks along the side streets have become parking lots for motorcycles; I have to sidestep along the street in competition with the traffic. Women carrying the traditional baskets slung from a pole vie for space with tourists and young businesspeople talking on their mobile phones. A young basket-carrier asks if i would like to take her photo, knowing that I will then feel obligated to buy her bananas. I am offered rides in taxis, on motorbikes, in rickshaws in between the informal vendors suggesting that I will want to buy whatever they are showing me - one man asks "Why not?" in perfect English when I refuse. A man from Michigan is working the tours desk of the tourist office when I stop to see what might be on offer for a day tour when I am finished with business here. He had a Vietnamese girlfriend in the States, came to visit her family and never left - except for one visit when he was stopped for driving while honking his horn, he said. It was hard to get out of the habit.

There is evidence of the French occupation everywhere, though mostly behind the scenes. huge Gothic cathedral stands near the hotel. A hospital named after Ste. Marie sit behindA shops selling traditional crafts and fruit. The penchant for keeping one's hair dark does not seem to have arrived here as yet, there are many grey-haired people, some bent
from years of work in the fields, I assume - they must find the squads of American tourists amusing, given their memories of the war...

Alternative Energy Still Needs Traditional Leadership Skills

Alternative energy could be the single most important issue that we face in the 21st century. Moving our global economy away from petroleum and toward a healthy and sustainable source of renewable energy will take tremendous effort, dedication, passion, and commitment of resources. Although scientific strides are being made--the Energy Bioscience Institute in Berkeley, Calif. is a huge step in the right direction--we don't often hear about another extremely important factor: the development and advancement of leadership skills in the alternative energy industry. While science is making impressive discoveries, the industry needs to make a commitment to develop the leadership and interpersonal communication skills that must accompany technical aptitude for a successful transition to sustainability.

Having consulted for a bio-fuels company before joining Barnes & Conti, I can say that Barnes & Conti is uniquely able to support the development of these difficult skills in the alternative energy industry. Barnes & Conti already has significant experience working with scientists, research laboratories, and several organizations that are leading the field in alternative energy research. Beyond that, our energetic staff of trainers and consultants possess a combination of an environmental consciousness that is second to none and a business acumen that allows Barnes & Conti to understand the training needs to both established corporations as well as the smaller and more innovative start-ups that are beginning to surface. In fact, three of our courses - Exercising Influence, Constructive Debate, and Managing Innovation - specifically address areas that are vital to the growth of these emerging green industries.

Earning the widespread support needed to enact the serious changes in policy and behavior that will make a difference requires clear communication and effective influence skills. Barnes & Conti’s Exercising Influence program strengthens the expressive and receptive components of communication and develops the flexibility and focus to know when and how to best use those components. The need to blend the passion of environmentalism and social justice with entrepreneurialism and industry provides an appropriate venue for these skills.

Our Managing Innovation and Constructive Debate programs will prove equally useful. We desperately need innovative solutions to reduce our reliance on petroleum. While our Managing Innovation program teaches the skill-sets and mind-sets needed to produce the maximum value from new ideas, our Constructive Debate program teaches the skills needed to make sure that the best ideas get brought to the forefront. The urgency of the climate crisis creates the temptation to enact individual “good” ideas immediately. However, by engaging the differing viewpoints and moving past vested interests in a civil dialogue, leaders can identify the best ideas – the ones that will truly make a difference – and move those ideas into action

This is the time for moving ideas into action – particularly because inaction will have devastating consequences. The alternative energy industry is an exciting and evolving marketplace, and Barnes & Conti has the knowledge, passion, and programs to help develop the skills needed for sustained success and a better tomorrow.

by Sam Roberts

For more information on how Barnes & Conti can help your company, visit www.barnesconti.com or call 800.835.0911.

Mark Your Calendar - Kim Barnes & Nelson Soken at ASTD 2008

We are excited to announce that Kim Barnes, CEO of Barnes & Conti Associates, and Nelson Soken will be presenting a 70-minute concurrent session titled: "Managing Innovation: A journey toward organizational change" at the 2008 ASTD International Conference and Expo in San Diego, CA.

This session is designed to demonstrate how the presenters engaged leaders in a large insurance company in moving their organization toward greater, more continuous innovation. The two presenters will discuss and demonstrate their approach, based on research conducted at the Centre for Research in Innovation Management of the University of Brighton. The approach focuses on behaviors, mindsets, and practices that innovative organizations exhibit during the phases of the “innovation journey.” These phases include Searching, Exploring, Committing, Realizing and Optimizing. Each phase requires managers and leaders to use a different mind-set and skill-set in order to accomplish tasks that are specific to that phase.

Based on a program developed by one of the presenters along with David Francis, Ph.D. of CENTRIM, this experiential session allows participants to practice skills that facilitate innovation, apply the results of research, and gain insights from companies that are implementing the program.

Barnes & Conti Associates will also be exhibiting at the tradeshow. We hope to see you there!

For more information on the 2008 ASTD International Conference & Expo, click here