Business

Why innovative thoughts could make you a smart executive!

Akin to the ability of a sticky Velcro fastener to affix several objects together, the executives can entrap others to enter into negotiations.

innovationShould you adopt the conventional way of thinking in your day to day work or you should try to find innovative ways to handle your job?

Should you take innovation seriously? Is being innovative can make you a smart and great executive?
These are the questions the low, mid or higher level executives often ask themselves.

There is no doubt that those who have innovative thoughts always excel in their work but sometimes their skills may get ignored. However, there is no reason to get disheartened.

One can take the inspiration from Velcro, the world famous brand producing fastening products.

Akin to the ability of a sticky Velcro fastener to affix several objects together, the executives can entrap others to enter into negotiations. Without that quality, the rate of their success and career graph can be marred.

Such a behavioural trait finds a place in the special training imparted to executives during the session of leadership development programmes in the corporate sector.

It is generally perceived that executives while making negotiations, either with the boss or colleagues or clients, resorts to their conventional role played and their counterparts just the vice versa – resorting to their past ways and means of role-play.

The Velcro here in discussion can be of myriad forms, chiefly of three kinds. First, there are some some who feel being an odd-man-out while venturing into such a Herculean assignment that seems redundant and irrelevant to their incumbent position.

The second form of executives, well-known as trouble-shooters, are divested of being patted up for fixing the hitches and glitches in the firm they are hired.

The third form is reputed for esprit de corps (team spirit) jumping into the bandwagon and volunteering for the organisation’s clarion call for the sake of common benefit, while in return least bothered about the indemnity or wages of labour for the sweats of the brows bled.

By well-recognising one’s Velcro, one is able to discern when and how to wriggle out of the quagmire and identify the ways and means to negotiate more effectively with your peer groups or colleagues.

Let us elucidate by citing the case of a lady executive oversees the vital unit of her esteemed firm she has been entrusted with.

Ever since the resumption of her tenure, she has been putting her shoulders to the wheels of growth and has achieved stupendous success.

Going by her past concerted efforts of earning laurels and dividends for the organisation, she is invited to apply for an elevation, but unfortunately an alien is being hired virtually hijacking her future prospect. She was worried.

She was, on the other hand, simply offered with a ‘retention bonus’ compensation as a mark of appreciation for her best deliverance and outstanding output.

As a human being not ready to eat a humble pie and rather preferring self-respect to humiliation slammed in lieu of honesty, it is quite obvious the lady executive, in a bid to keep intact her dignity, would falter to accept the ‘retention bonus’ compensation.

Nevertheless, she maintains her composure and gives a second thought to the ‘retention bonus’ offered by her boss as she recognises her ‘Velcro’ of esprit de corps, the need of the hour of common benefit of “live and let others live”.

She realises well that her concept and innovative ideas of spinning up further growth for her firm could be handy by joining hands with her so-called rival and co-workers for furthering the future prospects and touching the zenith.

She too promptly feels the pulse of her boss that she is an asset and indispensable for the organisation and negotiates so aptly that the management is bound down to mull over bestowing her with an increment double the amount of her ‘retention bonus’ compensation offer.

Recognising one’s Velcro is to know the nuance of “strike while the iron is hot” or “make hay while the sun shines”. Notwithstanding that, the bottom line is ‘Honesty pays and diligence reaps dividends’.

jagdish

The writer is an alumnus of IIM-Ahmedabad.

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