Seven Triggers To Breakthrough Companies

SEVEN TRIGGERS TO

BREAKTHROUGH COMPANIESthe playbook for innovating consistent breakthroughs

JUSTIN BECK © Group Trigger, LLC. All Rights Reserved

introduction

Trigger the full potential of your company

• Companies that innovate consistent breakthroughs have a strategy, a process and a culture to achieve

them. The Seven Triggers to Breakthrough Companies is our playbook for innovating consistent breakthroughs.

Any company can think like a startup

• Startups think big and move fast. Startups don't need to be new companies. They can be the way you launch

new services, new products or new approaches to your existing business that make it more remarkable.

Group Trigger launches a startup culture inside your company

• Consistent innovation is a destination. The Group Trigger team is passionate about implementing the Seven

Triggers to establish the culture of innovation at companies. We have worked in Fortune 500 companies and

launched dozens of startups. We bridge the gap to help your organization think and act like a startup to unlock

your full potential.

Contact Group Trigger today to get more "innovation" from your business.

© Group Trigger, LLC. All Rights Reserved

http://www.grouptrigger.com/group-trigger-innovation-seven/

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the seven triggers

1. create a place for innovation

2. define a process for vetting ideas

3. take viable ideas to market

4. move profitable ideas to operational teams

5. channel resources to the breakthrough ideas

6. cultivate non-breakthrough results

7. transform the culture to embrace breakthroughs


1. create a place for innovation


there is a reason for the state of decline

Innovation is in your genes

All companies that find success start with innovation.

At the point of creation, many critical decisions and

innovations are generated daily. For this reason, many

people are drawn to early stage companies where

creativity is peaking and contributions are highly visible.

Then there is a need to define your service or product

with boundaries to allow your team to focus. Your

organization benefits from this focus and grows into a

remarkable company.

Along the way, the boundaries that created focus and

channeled energy become the stumbling blocks to

innovation.

Your organization suffers in two ways. The talented

people become disenfranchised. Your remarkable

product or service starts to dim in the eyes of the

market.

You somehow find your organization in a state of

decline. It can happen to any size organization at any

time.


the place for innovation

Innovation is physical and cultural

Take a look around your organization and see if there is

a physical environment to foster innovation. Chances

are, the utilitarian needs of your organization overrun

the fundamental enablers of innovation.

Is there an endless sea of high cubicles and is

management’s office door closed? The space to

engender spontaneous interaction among all

employees is an important physical requirement to

foster innovation.

What is management’s perception of the innovative

culture of its organization? More importantly, is it in line

with the employees’ perception?

Your people and their innovation is your greatest asset.

Re-creating the physical and cultural place for

innovation is the critical first step.


2. define a process for vetting ideas


innovation rules

What are the unwritten rules?

All companies have rules regarding contribution and

innovation, regardless if they are written or not.

For example, at my first company meeting at a midsize

company, the CEO asked if we should push during the

month of December to meet our install targets or

decrease the targets so employees could be with their

families during the holidays?

One employee answered that he wanted to have some

family time during the holiday. I sensed it was what

many wanted to say, but did not. The CEO immediately

reprimanded the employee in front of everyone for not

pushing to meet the targets.

Sixty days later the install targets were met, but that

same employee was gone and it was the worst period

for customer support ever.

The unwritten rule here was employee contributions

were not respected. In time, I observed employees

exchanging good ideas, but they did not risk taking

them to the top.

In most other examples, it is the people, not the

management that stifle innovation. Consistently recruit

and introduce new people to your organization who

have no allegiance to “the way we do things around

here.”


making the process real

Making rules to break the rules

Google made corporate sponsored innovation famous

with its 20% rule for their engineering staff. The rule

states engineers should spend 20% of their time (one

day per week) working on projects that personally

interest them.

The 20% projects led to such innovative products as

Gmail, Google News, Orkut and AdSense. In 2006, a

Google analysis reported that 50% of the new product

launches originated from its 20% rule.

While you may initially think that only companies like

Google can afford to have a rule like that, do not

dismiss the potential a similar type of rule may have on

your organization.

The important concept is that there was a rule and a

subsequent process created that made innovation a

clear strategy. Find a rule that will work for your

organization and then go out of your way to support it.

Your best way to provide support is to create a process

for vetting ideas. This is where some rules will benefit

to help keep the process safe and neutral for the

contributors.


3. take viable ideas to market


it is easy and inexpensive to test ideas

Let the market decide

Once the ideas start taking shape you can implement

the next trigger to test the ideas. Your vetting process

is your internal evaluation. Ideas that pass the internal

process should then be taken to market for their

ultimate test.

Remember that not all breakthrough ideas will be new

products or services. It could be a better way to

generate leads. It could be a way to reduce supplier

dependency or a long list of other innovations that will

make your company more remarkable.

There is a successful process to test the innovations

that are commercially viable. It is to create a pitch and

present it to 30 members of your target market. It may

be current customers or new prospects you want to

target. The number 30 helps you get statistically

significant results.

It is also important to give the same pitch to all 30

people so you have a clear picture of your results. I

remember pitching prospects at my start-up company

and adapting the message each time based on what I

learned from the last person. We pitched 30 people,

but in the end had no clear takeaways on what was

good or bad about our proposal.

With the same pitch, you will start to consistently hear

what aspects are good or bad. If there is enough good,

re-create your pitch and then present it to 30 more

members. It will be clear when your results indicate

you have a winning idea.


4. move profitable ideas to operational teams


you know who to put in when you need a homerun

Expect great from the great

Anyone who has been on a baseball team knows some

hitters are better than others. And everyone on the

team knows who they are. When you are at a critical

point in the game, the whole team will rally around to

support those hitters in getting the job done to get the

win.

The same is true for your organization. If you have

successfully implemented the first three triggers, your

organization will begin to have confidence that this

process is for real. And they will want a win.

The principle here is to give every opportunity the best

chance it has to succeed. Sure everyone on the team

can hit, but we need the best hitters on the team

swinging for the homeruns when we need them most.

I have seen good ideas fail because they are given to

the people who are below average performers. If they

cannot succeed in something tried and proven, they

generally will not succeed in something new.

The argument against this is that you cannot afford to

take your best hitters off your core business. If you are

in decline, you cannot afford not to.


5. channel resources to the breakthrough ideas


clear the path

No new wine in old bottles

This is what you worked for, an innovation

breakthrough. Putting a breakthrough innovation into a

process that has been bureaucratized over time may be

a sure way to stifle its potential. If you are already in a

state of decline, there are multiple reasons for it.

Remember, during the creation process innovations

are a daily occurrence. Use the breakthrough as an

excuse and an opportunity to rethink many parts of your

business. Clear the path to let your breakthrough

succeed.

The breakthrough and the entire process of getting

there will trigger life and creativity throughout your

organization. Your people will be the greatest resource

to help your innovation succeed.

Be clear with your team that your processes may need

to change for your innovation to succeed.

Your team will rally with you when processes are the

problem. Your team will resent you if people are the

problem. So properly prescribe where you want their

renewed creative energy applied.


start cheering

Get the most out of your win

It is critical to properly celebrate the win to perpetuate

the innovation triggers. As a leader, generously give

credit to everyone who contributes to the success.

Changing the culture in your organization is no small

task. There may not always be an abundance of great

opportunities to seal up these cultural changes in the

eyes of your people. These breakthrough moments are

those times.

You are polishing your people; gems that may have

become tarnished or grown dingy over time. They are

still gems waiting to shine again. Be gracious. Breathe

life back into them and reap the full benefits of an

entire organization that is fully engaged and innovative.

As the organization reaps the rewards of a

breakthrough, be sure to not just reward your people

with praise. Try to find a way for them to financially

benefit as well. It does not have to be big, but doing

something will go a long way to leverage your win.


6. cultivate non-breakthrough results


how do you treat perceived failure?

The only true failure is no innovation

Treating your failures properly is more critical than

anything you will ever do with your successes.

This is the time naysayers appear from the background.

It is important to be critical with the results, but never

allow anyone to undermine the innovation process.

Innovative people will be innovative as long as it is

safe. If there are major consequences from a

perceived failure, make sure the culture to innovate can

remain healthy.

Chances are you are close. Take what is good and try

to recycle it. If it is a dead end, take what was learned

and celebrate the lesson. Then get back in the ring.

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize

how close they were to success when they gave up.”

- Thomas Edison


build balance into the framework

Innovation needs execution

As you continue to cultivate your non-breakthrough

ideas find a balance in innovation and execution.

Remarkable companies are not just filled with good

ideas. They have discipline and execution.

The framework you create to cultivate breakthroughs is

important. The measurement will not be the quantity of

innovations or breakthroughs, but how well they

perform. The framework needs to nurture, integrate

and execute.

As you execute on your breakthrough make sure you

do not eclipse your innovation process. The key is to

not let innovation or execution eclipse each other. A

culture that has success with both is remarkable.


7. transform the culture to embrace breakthroughs


not everyone likes innovation

Expect change

Most people like innovation, but some people will resist

the changes it brings. This is true for your employees,

and your customers and partners as well.

You will likely lose some employees, customers and

partners along the way. If these types filter out in the

process, it is better in the long run. There are plenty of

non-innovative companies out there to give them

shelter.

You are likely to gain much more than was ever lost in

your organizational transformation. Your best people

will have more satisfaction in what they do. They will

create a renewed energy that will attract new people,

new customers and new partners. These new additions

will be more abundant contributors to helping your team

succeed.


time seals your transformation

There are no shortcuts

Three words describe the commitment needed to re-

create a remarkable business in decline:

1. Diligence – constant and earnest in effort and

application. Work hard at the process. Work hard

at the breakthroughs.

2. Perseverance – Steady persistence in a course of

action, a purpose, a state, etc. You can overcome

the difficulties, obstacles or discouragement that will

surely come.

3. Continuance – To go on or keep on without

interruption. Stand firm in the place that allows

innovation to work. It will give back.

The seven triggers are the guideposts, but time is the

element that seals the transformation and makes it

complete. There is no formula for how long it will take

to get from each trigger to the next.

Your business is worth re-creating. Your people are

worth the investment of time and energy it will take to

restore remarkable to your business.


about the author

Justin Beck, CEO CEO

Justin is a true entrepreneur with a rich

background. Through all of his experiences he gained a love

for business strategy. He founded Group Trigger to help

remarkable companies innovate consistent breakthroughs.

In its first year, Group Trigger helped launch seven startups

and now Group Trigger helps launch startups inside larger

companies.

Justin founded two companies prior to Group Trigger. He

was CEO at Home Market Inc., his first venture. Home

Market was a Web 2.0 portal for community contributed and

mashed-up localized content. He then co-founded and

served as CEO at Sweet Spot Solutions, Inc., which was a

software application pioneer for flash memory platforms.

Justin was an inventor on two patents and brought Sweet

Spot from startup to acquisition in less than 5 years.

Sweet Spot was successfully acquired in 2007 by

DirectPointe, Inc. Justin then worked for DirectPointe as the

Vice President of Marketing and Products. Justin helped

DirectPointe launch an online marketing strategy with a

1,000% return and earn the ranking as the #1 Managed

Service Provider in the world in 2008.

Prior to his entrepreneurial career, Justin gained Fortune

100 experience at Sprint and signed a $30 million contract

with a top 10 client. He also worked at Eclipse Marketing

where he helped Eclipse grow rapidly and earn a spot on the

Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies in both 1997 and

1998.

When Justin isn't working he loves spending time with his

family creating a little "innovation" at home.

Find Justin at www.grouptrigger.com


http://www.grouptrigger.com/

Date post:	06-May-2015
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Seven Triggers To Breakthrough Companies

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