I-Competency: Choose, pt 3 of 13

Primary Thinking Objective:  Choose

(Continuing series on the innovative thinking competencies necessary for innovation.)

Once you’ve learned to generate a lot of great possibilities, it’s time to make a decision about which to implement.  This skill is about more than crunching numbers ... it requires bringing many perspectives together in a way that can weed out the losers without squelching the possible breakthroughs that look a little strange.

Making sound group decisions is often a matter of deliberately exploring reasons something might not work.  Sometimes that can lead to creative ways around potential roadblocks ... and,  sometimes, it reveals fatal flaws early before making major investments in something that does not have a chance.

"Business 2.0" recently ran an article on "25 Best-Kept Secrets of the World’s Best Companies" (April, 2006) and one of the secrets shared was about forming "contra teams" to deliberately take the position of devil’s advocates on major commitments.  We’ve spent so much time and effort recently encouraging people to "think outside the box" and to not judge ideas too soon that there is sometimes a reluctance to appear judgmental or "non-creative."  Contra teams offer a safe and appropriate place for hard-nosed, analytical evaluation of a new possibility without casting people into a fixed role as a nay-sayer.

Here’s Toro’s "contra team" secret write up from "Business 2.0":

The appetite for mergers only gets bigger: U.S. companies consummated an estimated $1 trillion worth of M&A deals last year, up from $781 billion in 2004. All this despite the grim reality: Two-thirds of all acquisitions fail to meet their goals, according to a study by Booz Allen Hamilton.

Toro, the $1.8 billion lawn-mower giant, knows how to curb the urge to merge. Anytime an M&A pitch reaches the desk of CEO Mike Hoffman, he asks a due-diligence group to make the case to the company's board. But he also turns to the "contra team"--half a dozen vice presidents and directors--to deliver the voice of dissent. According to chairman Ken Melrose, who got the idea from reading about a similar practice at Japanese firms, a few years ago the contras killed an eight-figure acquisition of a manufacturer that had pitched itself as a turnaround success. The contras' number crunching showed that its sector was facing a slump. The prospect's revenues have since tanked, while Toro has nearly doubled its sales. "Nay-saying in corporate America isn't popular," Melrose says. "The contra team is a way to create negative views that are in the shareholders' best interest and the company's best interest."

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** Choose: Evaluate and select a new path with a high probability of creating significant new value. Being able to make sound group decisions.  Choose is the second of the "primary" thinking objectives of the new Innovation Igniter Thinking Wheel series of 13 innovative thinking competencies.

The 15-minute learning module for this competency is presented by Ruth Ann Hattori, author, Innovation Training, co-founder of InnovationNetwork. These thinking skills are critical for innovation and for the creative work required for today’s world. A 15-minute video module on "Engage Energy" is available at http://innovationigniter.com.

Comments

[Mike Newberry]

Organizational dissent is the “expression of disagreement or contradictory opinions about organizational practices and policies” (Kassing, 1998). Since dissent involves disagreement it can lead to conflict, which if not resolved, can lead to violence and struggle. As a result, many organizations send the message – verbally or nonverbally – that dissent is discouraged. However, recent studies have shown that dissent serves as an important monitoring force within organizations. Dissent can be a warning sign for employee dissatisfaction or organizational decline. Redding (1985) found that receptiveness to dissent allows for corrective feedback to monitor unethical and immoral behavior, impractical and ineffectual organizational practices and polices, poor and unfavorable decision making, and insensitivity to employees’ workplace needs and desires. Furthermore, Eilerman (Jan. 2006) argues that the hidden costs of silencing dissent include: wasted and lost time, reduced decision quality, emotional and relationship costs, and decreased job motivation. Perlow (2003) found that employee resentment can lead to a decrease in productivity and creativity which can result in the organization losing money, time, and resources.

[Toro 20053]

That's funny that Toro shot down a big acquisition because Toro recently purchased Lawn boy. I guess the pitch beat the contra team's argument. It seemed to work Toro is still putting out Lawn boy models, and i know at the store I worked the Lawn Boys began to increase their sale after the acquisition.