VisionWorks' Breakthrough Solutions
Harnessing the Forces of Change
Business as Usual, Best Practices, and Breakthrough Solutions – May 2006
A fundamental truth is that innovation can happen anywhere, in any
industry [or community], at any time.
- Donna Fenn and John Case
Ordinary People, Extraordinary Creativity
We live in exciting times — times of rapid change in which
innovations and events on the other side of the world directly
impact our communities, businesses, regions, and personal lives. How
do we keep up? How do we get ahead? Let’s look at three approaches:
Business as usual may be successful today. After all, your community
or exists because, for better or worse, its way of operating has
worked in the past. “Business as usual” works best in a stable
environment, but it doesn’t work as well today. The Internet and our
increased ease of travel have accelerated the rate of change in our
society, because change speeds up as ideas, knowledge, and people
interact. This means that whatever you, your community, or your
company are doing will become obsolete faster than ever before.
Communities that reflect “business as usual” will lose out to
communities employing best practices. Why wouldn’t a major employer
seeking a new location want to locate in a community employing best
practices?
Best practices are defined the best way to do things, as agreed upon
by a group of experts in a field. Best practices relate to any
field, including economic development, manufacturing, local
government, agriculture, technology, and education. Are best
practices useful? Absolutely. If you are new to a field, or really
behind the eight-ball, employing best practices can be a shortcut to
getting up to speed.
But best practices are vulnerable to breakthrough solutions. If a
major employer seeking a new location had to choose between four
communities employing best practices and one community that has gone
beyond best practices to create a breakthrough solution, that
employer would choose the breakthrough solution, all other things
being equal.
Breakthrough solutions may be defined as an advance, discovery,
innovation, invention, or leap forward. Breakthrough solutions act
as catalysts to leverage other resources, they inspire awe, and they
often change the rules. Breakthrough solutions may be a new
technology, a new product, a new process, a new business model, or a
bold community initiative that positions the community for success
in the 21st century economy. Amazon.com, Starbucks, Fedex’s
overnight delivery system, and the Little Rock River Market are
examples of breakthroughs.
Key Point #1: The best practices of today were breakthroughs in the
past, and will become business as usual in the future.
EXAMPLE: In 1904, growing rice in Arkansas was a breakthrough. It
became a best practice 20 years later, and today it is business as
usual, bringing in over $800 million to Arkansas farmers.
At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually
inevitable.
- Christopher Reeve
Key Point #2: When everyone has embraced a best practice, it ceases
to be a competitive advantage.
EXAMPLE: When W. Edwards Deming developed continuous improvement, it
was a breakthrough. Our manufacturers passed on it, Japan embraced
it, and we have been playing catch-up ever since. It has now become
a best practice in manufacturing sector. However, continuous
improvement takes place within a current paradigm – a “box.” It
takes innovation and breakthroughs to get out of the box and create
new competitive advantages.
Key Point #3: Most people “know” that best practices are as good as
it gets.
EXAMPLE: Everyone knew that flight with heavier-than-air vehicles
was impossible. However, if Wilbur and Orville Wright had stayed
with best practices, they would have had one of the most efficient
bicycle shops in the country, and you would be taking the train to
visit Aunt Martha in San Francisco.
EXAMPLE: All the experts – even scientists – “knew” that it was
impossible for a human being to run a mile in less than 4 minutes.
(Science studies what is, and it had never been done before). On May
6, 1954, Roger Bannister ran a mile in 3:59.4 minutes, blowing away
the experts and changing the world of running.
Key Point #4: We need breakthroughs to move forward.
EXAMPLE: When George Washington became ill, his doctor employed a
best practice – bloodletting. Up through the 19th century, bleeding
patients to “cure” them was considered a best practice. George
Washington was treated with this practice, which contributed to his
death. Learning that bloodletting was part of the problem was a
breakthrough.
EXAMPLE: If Tim Stephenson from Greenbrier had adhered to best
practices, there would be no EAST (Environmental and Spatial
Technology) Program, and thousands of high school students in the
nation would not be hooked on technology (but probably hooked on
something else).
Key Point #5: It often takes little more effort to create
breakthroughs than it does to preserve “business as usual” or employ
best practices.
EXAMPLE: When Robert C. Coizueta became CEO of Coca Cola in 1981, he
increased Coke’s market share significantly by asking his executive
team three questions: what is our market share, how much liquid does
an average person drink in a day, and what percentage of those
liquids do we sell to them?
EXAMPLE: The Breakthrough Solutions Program presents 10 approaches
to creating breakthroughs for communities, organizations,
businesses, and regions. Learning to create breakthroughs can make a
huge difference in your community and economic development efforts.
It’s always fun to do the impossible because there is less
competition.
- InnovationCenter.org
Strategic Questions:
1) In your community, organization, or region, are you seeking to:
a. preserve business as usual (which takes real effort and is often
unsuccessful),
b. employ best practices, or
c. create breakthrough solutions?
2) Which do you think has the brightest future – the community,
organization, or region that tries to preserve the status quo; the
one that employs best practices; or the one that nurtures
innovation, breakthroughs, and entrepreneurship?
3) Are you frustrated with what is happening in your community,
business, or region? Perhaps you need a breakthrough. Come to the
Breakthrough Solutions Conference on May 18 at Brinkley and you will
learn a lot more about creating breakthroughs.
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Harnessing the Forces of Change
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