Triple 'I' for transformation

The only permanent thing in the world is change. This applies to people and institutions. Organisations embark on change initiatives to improve performance.

The word 'transformation' is associated with change for better. Business organisations need it to stay competitive. How can it happen with the involvement of employees? Triple 'I' paves the way.

Imagination

Let me propose Imagination as the first 'I'. It is all about dreaming or envisioning the future. Every product and every service in the world is someone's imagination at one time. It reminds me of Jules Verne.

He, as a pioneering science fiction author, wrote about space,air, and underwater travel before air travel and practical submarines were invented and before practical means of space travel had been devised. It was Jules Verne's dream that became a reality when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon.

The same is true for what Sir Arthur C. Clark imagined of satellites encircling the earth. When the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, as the first artificial satellite to be put into Earth's orbit, it was his dream that became a reality.

The launch ushered in new political, military, technological and scientific developments, heralding the space age.

Imagination has a significant integration to human progress across the ages. I am referring to the journey from the hunting era to the farming era and then to the industrial era. Humankind has come a long way from 'chasing and killing animals' to 'visit a supermarket to buy killed animals'.

A British youngster, Charles Babbage, saw his book-keeping father burning midnight oil and went ahead in inventing a device called 'the adding machine'. Now we call him the Father of Computer, in paying tribute to his rich imagination.

Innovation

In fact, the world has now moved from the information era to the imagination era, where human creativity is the cutting edge factor for success. Let's take an example from the field of advertising. Say, there are two advertising firms with similar offices, similar equipment and similar software.

One firm comes up with an impactful TV commercial and the other firm comes with a lousy one. The difference is human imagination, unleashing creativity.

I propose the next 'I' as innovation. The ideas generated in the phase of imagination take shape as a product or a service. Imagination sparks creativity, in moving beyond the old stale patterns of thinking. Innovation is all about practical application of creative ideas to the point it generates value to an organisation.

John Naisbitt who wrote in his international best seller, Mega trends, tells us the importance of creativity in action. "In the new corporation, creativity and individuality are organisational treasures." It is a person who can imagine and convert the imagination into innovation.

The organisation has to support such initiatives.

Take 3M as a case in point. It is a global giant, formerly known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, based in Maplewood, Minnesota, USA.

With over 80,000 employees in more than 60 countries, they produce over 55,000 products, including adhesives, abrasives, laminates, passive fire protection, dental products, electronic materials, medical products, car care products, electronic circuits and optical films. Their core business is innovation.

Their motto is to innovate, innovate and innovate. They celebrate failures to give the strong signal to employees to take risks.

The salient aspect here is the amount of emphasis given to innovation. When people with imagination move forward, innovation fosters.

It reminds me of what our veteran writer Kumaratunga Munidasa said a long time ago.

"A nation without innovation will not prosper, but will lie lamenting, being unable to beg". Innovation has paved way for many a country to succeed in becoming globally competitive.

Implementation

Where are we with regard to innovation? How many new patents do Sri Lankans register annually? Nanotechnology can be sited as one promising area where innovation has begun to yield dividends. To complete the process, we need the third 'I', which I call implementation. Imagination leading to innovation needs implementation to reach out to needy customers.

If imagination is more individual driven, implementation is more institutional driven.

In other words, it is the 'I' that ensures the wide scale application of innovation. An organisation might have grand plans, but if they are not converted into concrete action, results will not come.

That's why implementation maters a lot. According to Fortune Magazine, "about 70 percent of CEO failures came not as a result of poor strategy, but due to poor execution." If implementation does not properly take place, the chain is broken losing all the positives associated with imagination and innovation.

Way forward

We looked at triple 'I' in identifying their potential in providing value for organisational transformation. They are in fact parts of one continuum of value creation. An emerging role for people managers is to inspire people to imagine more.

There should not be day-dreams as I see in some institutions, especially after lunch. Instead, dreams are needed with dedication to make them reality.

As the golden saying goes, 'Dare to dream, dare to act, dare to fail and dare to succeed'.

Our country has reached a stage where we need triple 'I' more than ever, to ensure a balanced sustainable growth towards prosperity. Business organisations can contribute its part by fostering triple 'I" among its employees.

Dr. Ajantha S. Dharmasiri is theActing Director of the Postgraduate Institute of Management. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Division of Management and Entrepreneurship, Price College of Business,University of Oklahoma, USA.