First: Get the right people on the bus!

‘In fact, leaders of companies that go from good to great start not with “where” but with “who.” They start by getting the right people on the bus…’ — Jim C. Collins, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t.

It’s not easy to get the right people for an innovation program.

Heck, when was it ever easy to hire top talent?

The difference is the niche is very small. If it were easy, corporations would be all super innovative. However, without the right people, it just won’t work.

Here are the 4 traits you should be looking for, and why they are hard to attract:

• You want someone who is entrepreneurial. But most truly entrepreneurial people are already entrepreneurs.
• You want someone who is independent and thinks differently from most corporate warriors. Most of these people don’t want a corporate job.
• You want someone who is proactive and gets shit done. People who like to get shit done fear the policies and the bureaucracy of large organizations that will slow them down.
• You want someone who understands how corporations work. These people either already have a corporate job or a corporate job is not really meant for them.

Nowadays, almost every large organization has its own innovation program. Then why do we only hear about a handful of successful innovation programs? Because it’s f***ing hard!

And the hardest part is the beginning: it’s getting the right people on the bus.

When investing in very early stage startups what do you look at? The team. This is no different. The ideal relationship between the corporation and the innovation team is like an investor and the startup (as I mentioned in this post as well).

So, where and how do you find these people?

Ideally, you should look for entrepreneurs who have launched a startup and have created a product or service from scratch. They understand what it means to build something and what are the stages a new, independent project goes through.

Running a unit that has to constantly change things, evolve and create new ideas is very different from running an established business.

To find these people you need to poke around in your local (or international) startup ecosystems. Mingle at startup networking events, and be open about your intentions. Us, startuppers, like people who are to-the-point and honest. And we also like to help our fellow entrepreneurs nail good jobs.

Why can’t I just get someone from within my company for the job?

You can if you can find one! People with these traits very rarely work at large organizations. You can look around your marketing or product teams.

The problem is most people who are working at traditional corporate functions are specialists. They are also often too used to the status quo.

Innovation requires generalists who can oversee a large strategic plan, but be able to configure a Facebook ad campaign when they are short on time. And a person who constantly challenges the status quo.

Take time and put energy into making sure you have the perfect driver for the bus first, then let the driver pick the engineers, the body mechanics, and the tire guru.

https://www.stevensudy.com