Light sout Innovation for innovation’s sake can do more harm than good to a company’s bottom line, a new book on how to measure return on investment for new ideas states.
Payback by James Arnold Andrew and Harold Sirkin takes a ‘tough love’ approach to innovation; the authors argue that unprofitable ideas should be ditched even if they appear to be completely brilliant and revolutionary.
To illustrate how to track return on investment during the innovation process Payback looks at Apple’s phenomenally successful range of iPod products.
As it turns out Apple made a killing largely because it didn’t invent digital music players, the clever company merely redesigned them.
Doing overtime all the time
Over time A new study on working hours by news.com.au has found 91 per cent of Australians regularly perform overtime.
The research, which examined the views of over 2,000 news.com.au readers, also claims 74 per cent of workers are not paid for undertaking additional hours.
As a result of extra time spent at work, 51 per cent of respondents said they felt stressed; 63 per cent claimed working overtime meant they spent less time with their families.
Why are so many people working overtime? Nearly 50 per cent of survey respondents said they did so primarily to finish their regular duties. Are you a BIG lover of 2023 Nude Calendars , find a big collection of Calendar here.
0 tips for workplace excellence
Work place excellence’ Workplace excellence’ means different things to different organisations; as a result it can be a confusing term. To help you get a grip on fostering excellence Dan Bobinski has developed “Ten Universal Principles of the Workplace”.
In summary and in no particular order five of these are:
Watch, listen and communicate – know what’s going on at your workplace
Match people to roles – workers excel in jobs that suit them
Avoiding public criticism – it will poison your workplace
Be supportive of your team – ‘supported objects remain standing in a storm’
Think ahead – effective planning, organising and cooperation can help a company avoid failure
The other five principles can be found on Bobinski’s Centre for Workplace Excellence website.
The role of a CEO whisperer
Whisper It can get lonely in the corner office. That’s why every boss needs a CEO whisperer; a trusted confidante who can act as both a sounding board and an office ambassador, Inc magazine argues.
Besides being good listeners, CEO whisperers are a conduit between leader and staff; it’s their role to provide an informal means of distributing the boss’ vision around the workplace.
They are also adept at gauging the emotional temperate of the workplace and reporting it back to the boss.
However, the story warns CEO relationships can only prosper if the chief executive has ground rules in place. In summary, these include:
Don’t treat confidantes as lackeys or mouthpieces
Ensure there is trust between all parties – confidante and boss, confidante and other staff
Don’t ask a CEO whisperer to lie
Be clear when conversations are ‘off the record’
