{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"The Innovation Process for Leaders","description":"Doing more, faster, better with less has become the permanent setting in modern business. Post-pandemic, with tighter budgets, higher customer expectations, and AI speeding up competitors, leaders can\u2019t rely on \u201cthe boss with the whiteboard marker\u201d to magically produce genius ideas on demand. You need a repeatable innovation system that draws out creativity from the whole organisation\u2014especially the people closest to customers. Below is a practical nine-step innovation process leaders can run again and again, so innovation becomes a habit\u2014not a lucky accident.  How do leaders define \u201csuccess\u201d before trying to innovate? Innovation gets messy fast unless everyone is crystal clear on what \u201cgood\u201d looks like. Step One is Visualisation: define the goal, the \u201cshould be\u201d case, and what success looks like in concrete terms\u2014customer outcomes, cost, quality, time, risk, or growth. In practice, this is where executives at firms like Toyota or Unilever would translate strategy into a shared target: \u201cReduce onboarding time from 14 days to 3,\u201d or \u201cIncrease repeat purchase by 10% in APAC by Q4.\u201d Compare that with many SMEs where the goal is vague (\u201cbe more innovative\u201d) and the team sprints hard in random directions. Do now (mini-summary): Write a one-sentence \u201cshould be\u201d target and 3 measurable success indicators (KPI, timeline, customer impact). Align the team before you chase ideas. What\u2019s the fastest way to gather the right facts without killing creativity? Great ideas come from great inputs, and Step Two is Fact Finding\u2014collect data before opinions. Leaders should separate \u201cfacts\u201d from \u201cfeelings\u201d by digging into who\/what\/when\/where\/why\/how. This is where many organisations discover their measurement systems are weak\u2014or worse, wrong. In the US, you might lean on product analytics, A\/B testing, and voice-of-customer tools. In Japan, you\u2019ll often combine frontline observation (genba thinking) with structured reporting\u2014useful, but sometimes filtered by hierarchy. Either way, don\u2019t judge yet. Just get the evidence: customer complaints, churn reasons, sales cycle delays, defect rates, staff turnover, and time wasted in approvals. Do now (mini-summary): Collect 10 hard facts (numbers, patterns, examples) and 10 \u201ccustomer voice\u201d quotes. No solutions yet\u2014just reality. How do you frame the real problem so you don\u2019t solve the wrong thing? The way you state the problem determines the quality of the ideas you\u2019ll get. Step Three is Problem (or Opportunity) Finding: clarify what\u2019s actually holding you back, where resources leak, and what success constraints exist. This is harder than it sounds. Ask five people the main problem and you\u2019ll get eight opinions\u2014especially in matrixed multinationals or fast-moving startups. Use smart problem framing techniques: \u201cHow might we\u2026?\u201d, \u201cWhat\u2019s the bottleneck?\u201d, \u201cIf we fixed one thing this quarter, what would move the needle?\u201d Compare Japan vs the US here: US teams may jump to action quickly; Japan teams may seek consensus early. Both can miss the root cause if the framing is sloppy. Do now (mini-summary): Rewrite your problem three ways: customer-impact, process-bottleneck, and cost-leakage. Pick the clearest, most actionable version. How do you run ideation so the loud people don\u2019t crush the good ideas? Step Four is Idea Finding, and the golden rule is: no judgement, chase volume, and do it in silence. This is where most leaders accidentally sabotage innovation\u2014someone blurts an idea, the \u201cbolshie\u201d confident voices start critiquing, and the timid thinkers shut down. Silent idea generation (think brainwriting rather than brainstorming) helps deeper thinkers contribute and reduces status bias\u2014critical in hierarchical cultures and in teams where junior staff defer to seniority. If you want better ideas, ask the people closest to the coal face: new hires, customer support, frontline sales, and the group that best matches your buyers\u2019 profile. Often they see problems the C-suite never touches. Do now (mini-summary): Run 10 minutes of silent brainwriting: each person writes 10 ideas. No talking. Then collect and cluster ideas by theme. How do leaders choose the best ideas without politics or \u201crank wins\u201d? Step Five is Solution Finding\u2014now you\u2019re allowed to judge, but you must judge fairly. The risk here is predictable: seniority dominates, juniors defer, and the \u201ceasy consensus\u201d becomes a polite rubber stamp. Use a structured selection method: score ideas against agreed criteria (impact, effort, speed, risk, customer value). Borrow from frameworks like Stage-Gate, Lean Startup (testable hypotheses), and even RICE scoring (Reach, Impact, Confidence, Effort). Compare sectors: in B2B, feasibility and implementation risk often weigh more; in consumer markets, speed and customer delight can dominate. The point is to remove the \u201cwho said it\u201d factor. Do now (mini-summary): Build a simple 4-criteria scorecard and rank the top 10 ideas. Make scoring anonymous if hierarchy is distorting decisions. How do you get buy-in and actually execute innovation in the real world? Ideas don\u2019t win\u2014execution wins, and Steps Six to Nine turn creativity into results. Step Six is Acceptance Finding: sell the idea internally for time, money, and people. Step Seven is Implementation: define who does what by when, with budget and resources. Step Eight is Follow Up: check progress early so you don\u2019t discover the team is zigging when you needed zagging. Step Nine is Evaluation: did it work, was it worth it, and what did we learn? In 2025-era organisations, this is also where AI can help: drafting business cases, mapping risks, creating implementation plans, and summarising learnings\u2014without replacing leadership accountability. Startups might run faster experiments; conglomerates might need governance and change management. Either way, the process keeps you moving. Do now (mini-summary): Assign an owner, set a 30-day milestone, and define the success metric. Review weekly. Capture learnings as you go. Final wrap-up A surprising number of companies still have no shared system for generating ideas\u2014so innovation depends on mood, meetings, or the loudest voice in the room. A repeatable nine-step process creates better ideation, stronger decision-making, and cleaner execution. Run it consistently, and innovation becomes part of your organisational DNA\u2014not a once-a-year workshop. Quick next steps for leaders Pick one business pain point and run Steps 1\u20134 in a 60-minute session this week. Use silent idea generation to protect the deeper thinkers. Score ideas with a simple rubric to avoid politics. Pilot one idea in 30 days, then evaluate and repeat. FAQs Is brainstorming or brainwriting better for innovation? Brainwriting usually beats brainstorming because it reduces groupthink and status bias. Silent idea generation produces more ideas and more diverse ideas in most teams. How long does the nine-step innovation process take? You can run Steps 1\u20135 in a half-day and Steps 6\u20139 over 30\u201390 days. The timeline depends on complexity, risk, and resources. What if leadership won\u2019t support the idea? Treat Step Six like a sales process\u2014build a business case and show trade-offs. If you can\u2019t win resources, scale the idea down into a testable pilot.   Author credentials Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie \u201cOne Carnegie Award\u201d (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across all leadership, communication, sales, and presentation programs, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers \u2014 Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery, and Japan Presentations Mastery \u2014 along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigy\u014d (\u30b6\u55b6\u696d), Purezen no Tatsujin (\u30d7\u30ec\u30bc\u30f3\u306e\u9054\u4eba), Tor\u0113ningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemash\u014d (\u30c8\u30ec\u30fc\u30cb\u30f3\u30b0\u3067\u304a\u91d1\u3092\u7121\u99c4\u306b\u3059\u308b\u306e\u306f\u3084\u3081\u307e\u3057\u3087\u3046), and Gendaiban \u201cHito o Ugokasu\u201d R\u012bd\u0101 (\u73fe\u4ee3\u7248\u300c\u4eba\u3092\u52d5\u304b\u3059\u300d\u30ea\u30fc\u30c0\u30fc). Greg also publishes daily business insights on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, and hosts six weekly podcasts. On YouTube, he produces The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery, and Japan\u2019s Top Business Interviews, which are widely followed by executives seeking success strategies in Japan.  ","author_name":"THE Leadership Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan","author_url":"http:\/\/dalecarnegiejapan.libsyn.com","html":"