Recent researches shows that there is a decline in the employee’s level of satisfaction from their place of work globally.
The data show that this is true at all levels up to senior directors.
As long as you are an employee – you might suffer from the
cubicle-syndrome, where a person feels barred both physically (working
in a cubicle) and mentally (working under processes, regulations and
limitations). Hardly an encouraging environment for innovation. And when
one dares to come up with a novel idea – he/she might hear one of the
following:
- “YOU ARE ON THE WRONG TRACK”
- “LET’S PUT THE IDEA ASIDE FOR A WHILE”
- ”IT IS TOO RISKY”
- “WE HAVE ALREADY TOO MUCH TO WORRY ABOUT”
- “WHO SHALL DO IT?”
- “WE TRIED THIS TEN YEARS AGO”
- “YOU WILL NEVER GET IT APPROVED”
- “WE HAVE ENOUGH PROBLEMS ALREADY”
There are many more, just pick one.
It’s not that companies are trying to block employees from innovating.
On the contrary, companies need to innovate now so it will meet next
year’s target. Still, if an employee will not go “against the grain” – the novel idea will be transferred into a
profitable reality by a competitor’s employee.
And as much as I would like to point the blame to companies’ top management and owners, it’s a waste of time and effort. There are two sides: ours and theirs. Focus on what you can change. Yourself.
Let’s face it, most people will not quit their jobs to become
entrepreneurs. On the other hand, keep working unsatisfied for the rest
of our working lives is not an option too. So the only way out of the
cubicle-syndrome is to live an entrepreneurial work lifestyle.
Now, what does that mean?! How do I live an entrepreneurial work lifestyle?
First, open your mind to new ways and decide to act on the Blackjack
list below. Here are 21 Ways to lead yourself out of the
cubicle-syndrome:
1. Actively spot ways to improve a service
There is always a way to provide better service. Can you think of
one? Is it cheaper than the current service? If yes, will the company be
able to increase its revenue with your suggestion? If you are not sure –
check.
2. Investigate how to save time, money, or make life easier in your department
To be able to investigate how to save time – you need to learn time
management. To be able to investigate how to save money – you need to
learn how to read financial reports, and to be able to investigate how
to make life easier – you need to learn operational management. Not easy
but not impossible. You don’t need to be a CPA or an expert – just make
sure you are familiar with the basics and get advice when needed.
3. Visualize variations of current products or services your department is offering
I just love this one. How many of us are taking the time to visualize
anything. Not many if any. But this is a cool exercise. You will amaze
yourself with having ideas you never thought you might have. Just take
10 minutes, close your eyes and imagine new / improved products or
features. Then write it down. Do 10 ideas at least.
4. Look for ways to enhance quality
Customers value quality. And if you manage to enhance quality with no
additional or low costs, customers will favor you over your
competitors. There is always a way to improve quality. It’s just a
matter of costs.
5. When you’ve got an idea, test it casually with friends
Practice on your ability to casually test your ideas with others who
can point out basic flaws and ask challenging questions. It’s not an
easy thing to do, because you need to master the
accidently-what-do-you-think-about-this method without making others
feel odd.
6. Keep ideas from natural enemies as long as possible
Everybody that tries to “rock the boat” will have enemies. You’ll be
naive to think otherwise. Novel ideas aimed to improve and increase
effectiveness will always make someone else shine less. And the problem
is that you’re not always aware of it, when you are exited with your new
“baby” idea. So, to avoid opposition my advice would be to keep your
ideas to yourself as long as possible.
7. Promote ideas modestly and constructively
Promoting an idea is an art. It’s more than just presenting it. It’s
more than just meetings with potential stakeholders and talking about
it. It’s about prospecting, investigating, planning, learning, testing
and executing on your idea. To be honest, this is what differentiate the
boys from the men. I struggled for years before I mastered this.
8. Test casually on potential customers
Everybody has a customer he/she likes more than the rest. It’s
natural. People like to do business with people they like. Use this.
Leverage on this. Have a few customers that you can test with them to
check the idea is doable and profitable. You don’t need contracts
department to draft POCs. Just make sure you are in a safe working
environment and in agreement with these customers. The benefit of
learning what your customers need is key.
9. Accept suggestions gratefully
As much as you think you are open to different points of view –
you’re not. Trust me. Especially when you have a new “baby” idea. You
will find yourself protecting it and pushing back on any offer without
noticing. To overcome this you can ask a team member to point out to you
when you are not open in real-time. It takes time to get used to this.
But It works
10. Always look to network the idea so it can be thought about from many aspects
Your network is powerful even if you don’t see it now. Social
networks are about spreading ideas and getting feedback. So use your
network and look for all kinds of feedback: positive, negative or
indifferent. And try to learn what does this mean for you? And how can
you implement on it? Easier said than done.
11. Don’t give up at the first sign of disappointment
Not at the second, nor at the third time. Keep going at it. An
entrepreneur will succeed once for every 4 trials. Why should you be any
different?!
12. Come to work each day willing to give up your job for the innovation
Wait. Don’t act on this before you fully understand the meaning. You
and your idea are the main focus here. Not the company’s. You will not
carry out your idea being gentile and asking for permissions. So, get
ready to be intimidated and even threatened to be fired. Get it?
13. Circumvent any bureaucratic orders aimed at stopping your innovation
Be careful and smart here. What you need to do is to find a breach in
the current processes to squeeze your idea. Don’t break any rules. If
you can’t find breaches, maybe it’s time to pack and move to a new place
of work where there are breaches that will allow you to innovate.
14. Ignore your job description, do any job needed to make your innovation work
This one is key to success. Entrepreneurs are people that do stuff
they never learned to do (e.g. read financial reports, recruit funds,
etc). Intrapreneurs are no different – you have to work outside your
comfort zone. And most of the time do other people’s work, as it’s not
their responsibility – it’s yours. Don’t wait for others, simply take
action. Don’t worry, they will say they helped you if you succeed.
15. Build a spirited innovation team
There in no NBA player that can win a game by himself. He needs the
team. On the other hand, if there are no stars in the team – the team
will lose. So, it takes a team of stars to win. Get close to stars in
the company. Socialize with them. Get their interest in working with
you. And most important – don’t try to rush and overload your friendship
with them before you earned their trust.
16. Keep your innovation “underground” until it is prepared for demonstration to the corporate management
This is a tricky one. One one side you need to use your network to
get information, check feasibility and to decide if to go ahead. And on
the other hand, you need to keep your idea close so it will not get
“shot” before you present it. There is no metogology other than to
choose your unofficial team members well.
17. Find a key upper level manager who believes in you
You need to find a person that also believes in your ideas and will
serve as a sponsor to your innovation. It’s not easy to find one without
being considered a bootlicker. This means that you need to find what is
it that senior manager needs and be the one that provides it.
Exchanging value with support.
18. Permission is rarely granted in organizations, better seek for forgiveness
I got 3 boys. Two ask for permission, the 3rd one ask for forgiveness.
And he is the first to step on unfamiliar grounds. Same here, if you
focus on getting approval and permissions you will not get far nor you
will be the first. So, practice with asking for forgiveness and then
permission to carry on. You will get it.
19. Always be realistic about the ways to achieve the innovation goals
I believe that everything is doable. It’s only a question of how much
and how long. So, be realistic and even skeptical about how to achieve
your goals. Maybe there are other ways you overlooked. If you are
offering a new way to provide a service – You have a list of actions to
carry out to change the service. Examine your actions well.
20. Share the glory of the accomplishments with everyone on the team
Success has many fathers while failure is an orphan. Don’t forget to
share the success with your team. You wouldn’t have done it without
them. Trust me.
21. Convey the innovation’s vision through a strong venture plan
Plan your work and work your plan. If you don’t have a plan, you will
not know what is the next step or to monitor your progress. Learning to
plan is key to succeed as an entrepreneur. You don’t need to be a
professional planner – just put into writing your steps and keep track
on it.
To summarize this post, the work environment is changing. In 10 years
from now, there will be new job descriptions that we never heard of, and
worst – we are not equipped with the knowledge to be hired for those
job positions. So, if you are ~45 years old, you will need to
change your point of view on what it takes to stay employed. I suggest
an entrepreneurial work lifestyle as a way out of the cubicle-syndrome.
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