Organizations drive better results in two primary ways: improving the execution of operations and providing innovative solutions to customer needs. While these may seem like two separate sets of skills, they both rest on the same foundation of repeatable processes. Think of a McDonald's crewmember making a Big Mac, a housekeeper cleaning a room at a Marriott hotel, an associate stocking shelves at a Wal-Mart, or a cast member running an event at Disney World. The customer receives the same level of quality each time because these operations are built on repeatable processes. The employee knows exactly what to do and how to do it and then repeats the process over and over again until they perfect it. This same approach can be applied to innovation.

Innovation consists of the repeatable processes for identifying, combining, evaluating and implementing opportunities for driving better results. These processes can be applied by any person in an organization regardless of their title, area of the business or authority. A crewmember or housekeeper or associate can be just as innovative as the CEO or General Manager.

While there are literally dozens of such processes for generating innovative ideas, we will concentrate on just one in this article. It is called "Redefine Your Organization" and consists of six repeatable steps.

REDEFINE YOUR ORGANIZATION

1. Clarify the highest priority outcomes that you want improved
2. Define your organization in as many different ways as you can
3. Identify other organizations that have the same definition
4. Identify what these organizations do extremely well
5. Identify how you could apply these ideas in your organization
6. Combine two or more of these ideas together to drive even better results

Here is a case study for explaining how this repeatable process applies in a business situation.

Tom Jones was recently promoted to be the General Manager of five supermarkets in a medium-sized city. The supermarkets have a well-known brand name, ABC Groceries & More, in the community. Both revenues and profits have been consistently good over the past five years. The challenge Tom faces comes from increased competition and lack of significant growth over the last five years. Other supermarkets have added more stores in the city, and specialty retail stores are attracting more and more of ABC's customers. In addition, there has been no growth in revenues or profits beyond 3% for five straight years. The mandate Tom has been given is to attract substantially more customers into his five stores while simultaneously growing the average check of each transaction.

Using this case study, I will explain each of the six steps in REDEFINING YOUR ORGANIZATION.

CLARIFY THE HIGHEST PRIORITY OUTCOMES THAT YOU WANT IMPROVED

Tom writes down, "Improve revenue 10% by growing transactions and average check. Consequently, I must attract a broader audience willing to spend more money in my stores. I need to attract people from all of the different age groups, whether they are single or married with children or married without children, and who have widely varying needs."

DEFINE YOUR ORGANIZATION IN AS MANY DIFFERENT WAYS AS YOU CAN

Tom wrote down these definitions by finishing this statement: ABC Groceries & More is a place ______________

where people come to get away from home and work
to load up for another week's onslaught
for all members of the family
that provides multiple forms of entertainment
where kids ride in carts
where teenagers work after school
where people know each other
with long lines
where food, products and videos are the star attractions

IDENTIFY OTHER ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE THE SAME DEFINITIONS

Tom then took each definition and wrote down another organization that shared that same definition.

where people come to get away from home and work - a movie theatre
to load up for another week's onslaught - an army refueling their supplies
for all members of the family - family reunion
that provides multiple forms of entertainment - Las Vegas
where kids ride in carts - bumper cars in an amusement park
where teenagers work after school - McDonald's
where people know each other - church
with long lines - Disney World
where food, products and videos are the co-star attractions - a musical concert

IDENTIFY WHAT THOSE ORGANIZATIONS DO EXTREMELY WELL

a movie theatre:
creates a buildup before the film where people want to buy popcorn, and the film creates a fantasy where the viewer feels they have left their own world

an army refueling their supplies:
they wear distinctive uniforms and are ready for the enemy

family reunion:
everyone wears a name tag, everyone uses the other person's first name and people are excited to be together

Las Vegas:
bright flashing lights, many different games going on at the same time, the fun goes 24 hours a day and customers don't know what time of day it is

bumper cars in an amusement park:
kids get to be loud and violent and scream and crash into each other and their parents are laughing while it's happening

McDonald's:
world's best known brand, and all crew have on branded clothes and hats

church:
fun family events such as bingo or ice cream socials

Disney World:
provide live entertainment for people standing in line and ask interesting trivia questions that keep customers from focusing on the long wait

a musical concert:
the audience can see the performer on stage and on screen, t-shirts are sold of the bands, and there is a frenzied feeling in the air

IDENTIFY HOW YOU COULD APPLY THESE IDEAS IN YOUR ORGANIZATION

a movie theatre:
creates a buildup before the film where people want to buy popcorn, and the film creates a fantasy where the viewer feels they have left their own world TOM'S IDEA: When a customer walks in they receive a bag of popcorn and a four color sheet of paper that describes where the different items are in the store (just like the sign that describes where the different films are showing). The employee is wearing a vest and saying things like, "Now showing in Aisle 4 is 'Return of the Vegetables.'"

an army refueling their supplies:
they wear distinctive uniforms and are ready for the enemy
TOM'S IDEA: Any parent who comes into the Supermarket with two or more children under the age of 5 receives an army fatigue jacket to wear in the store. This signifies that they may need special help while they are battling the environment.

family reunion:
everyone wears a name tag, everyone uses the other person's first name, and people are excited to be together
TOM'S IDEA: when a customer walks into the store, an employee asks for their first name and writes it on a name tag and hands it back to the customer. Then, as the customer walks through the store, the other employees and customers can greet this person by their first name.

Las Vegas:
bright flashing lights, many different games going on at the same time, the fun goes 24 hours a day, customers don't know what time of time it is TOM'S IDEA: Every section of the store has a different colored light shining over it. Spread throughout the store are different types of games: slot machines, roulette wheel, etc. For fifty cents, customers can play these games and win points toward purchasing groceries.

bumper cars in an amusement park:
kids get to be loud and violent and scream and crash into each other and their parents are laughing while it's happening
TOM's IDEA: one specific aisle is set aside for bumper cars. Children under eight years old wear rubber helmets, get in carts that have rubber padding around them and race each other up and down the aisle. When they crash into each other, rubber cans fall off the shelves and scatter all over.

McDonald's:
world's best known brand, and all crew have on branded clothes and hats
TOM'S IDEA: all of the employees wear spectacular looking shirts with bright colors that say "ABC Groceries & More".

church:
fun family events such as bingo or ice cream socials
TOM's IDEA: Store Bingo. Each customer is handed a bingo card when they walk in to the store. Every twenty minutes a bingo game is played over the store's intercom system. Whoever wins receives $10 off of their grocery bill.

Disney World:
provides live entertainment for people standing in line, and signs ask interesting trivia questions that keep customers from focusing on the long wait
TOM'S IDEA: go to the area high schools and identify talented students who could "perform" for people waiting in line. These could be magicians, musicians, athletes, artists, etc.

a musical concert:
the audience can see the performer on stage and on screen, t-shirts are sold of the bands, and there is a frenzied feeling in the air
TOM'S IDEA: have t-shirts, jackets and hats made up that have "ABC Groceries & More: Catch The Fever" printed on them. Have large video screens put in the store that feature different people: Martha Stewart, athletic events, rock stars, television sitcoms

COMBINE TWO OR MORE OF THESE IDEAS TOGETHER TO DRIVE EVEN BETTER RESULTS

Tom looked at all of the ideas and then started combining them. In the end, he landed on this approach:

"My goal is to make the store as fun, friendly and customer-focused as possible. I want shopping here to be a completely different kind of experience than going to any other supermarket. When the customer walks in we will hand them a Bingo card, coins for the slot machines, a full color written and visual description of where items are in the store, and army fatigues if they have children under five. We will have entertainers dispersed throughout the store to bring life to a dull experience. We will have clowns for the children. Artists and magicians will be at every other aisle to perform for the customers in line. All of our employees will be dressed in bright colors. We will play Bingo every twenty minutes. When customers leave the store we will give them a schedule of "Upcoming Special Events" such as "Monster Bingo Night", different local musical groups, bumper car championships, and "The Shop 'Til You Drop" contest. Our customers will talk about us as providing memorable experiences and not as a place to buy groceries. As a result of our added value to customers, we will increase our prices on the average by 3%."

At this point, Tom will need to evaluate his new ideas in relation to the company's short-term and long-term objectives. This includes strategic fit, ease of implementation, short-term and long-term cost and several other factors. However, he has begun the process of uncovering and combining opportunities for driving the desired business results.

Good luck to you as you redefine your organization and uncover untapped opportunities!

About Dan Coughlin

Visit Dan Coughlin's Free Resource Center on Business Acceleration

Dan Coughlin teaches practical ideas on how to improve business performance. He is a business keynote speaker, management consultant, executive coach, and author of four books on leadership, sales, branding, and innovation. His books including Accelerate, Corporate Catalysts, The Management 500, and Find a Way to Win. His clients include GE Capital, McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Marriott, Boeing, Abbott, Toyota, Subway, Kiewit, Prudential, Denny's, and the St. Louis Cardinals.

P.O. Box 1245 Fenton, Missouri 63026
Phone 636.825.6611 Fax 636.825.9831
E-mail info@thecoughlincompany.com