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You and those you lead may be hatching the newest "bleeding-edge"
technology or the most amazing scientific, medical, or service breakthrough of the millennium.
Unfortunately,
if it does not become visible across the breadth of your industry and/or to the general public,
if it does not sell and produce a healthy profit, it's merely a curiosity and little more.
Is that really what you want?
Technical conference proceedings are filled with "great ideas" that never
made it beyond the pages of an intriguing whitepaper. Corporate "graveyards" hold the
dead and forgotten husks of prospective products and services that missed their market window, or that
were deemed to be "before their time" and never made it into public awareness or use.
Is this the future you want as a pay-off for all the creativity and hard work that you and your people
have expended? I certainly hope you just responded with a resounding "No!" Otherwise,
you're in the wrong business.
The very essence of technological and scientific endeavor is our desire to
see our ideas be publicly recognized and lead to bigger things. Whether your motivation is to
have your "great idea" further your field of study, make a positive difference in the world,
or skyrocket you into the class of multi-millionaire, you are going to need to understand the
system and how to to use it to your advantage. If you don't, you are leaving the realization of
your dreams to the goodwill of others or, more likely, to sheer dumb luck!
Why not hedge your bet by giving yourself (and the people you lead)
the absolute best chance for success? Until someone comes up with something better, "Business"
is the system (vehicle) through which great ideas become a reality in today's world.
The more you understand business as a leader, the better your chances for success. The logic of this
is undeniable (QED).
Okay, so you've decided to buy my argument, business is a broad topic
and your time is limited. So, what exactly do you need to focus on business-wise to get the
biggest bang for your buck? At a minimum, I recommend you research the answers to the following
questions:
- If your organization has a stated vision/mission, how can your group(s)
contribute to the realization of that vision/mission? Does executive management
have specific expectations concerning the respective role(s) of your
group(s)?
- What is your organization's actual business (in all its forms), and how is
money made through that business?
- Who is/are your organization's target market(s)?
- What are the financial goals of your organization and what percentage of the cash flow
relates to your group(s), including budgetary expectations for your group(s)
as well as projected sales
and desired profit margins (on a quarterly and yearly basis)?
- What is the current industry status (as it pertains to your new idea), and what are
the current overall trends in your industry (i.e., the current popular ideas, products, services
being promoted in your industry)?
- On a more general basis, what is necessary to make and promote the "great idea"
into a viable product or service? What do you and your people need to do to help make
that process a reality?
To become a savvy "business leader" as well as a savvy technical leader,
adding the above information to your knowledge base and putting it to good use in your group planning
process is not optional — it is essential! There's more to know, but the above questions are a
very good starting point. Whom should you consult and where do you find the answers? Check out
my newsletters for November and December for more on this topic.
In the next issue, I will address how you align your group vision and
mission with those of the broader organization.
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