Despite the title of this post, let me start by saying I am skeptical of our culture of continuous growth and continuous improvement. There's nothing wrong with improvement, I suppose, but it has been translated into a culture where we always need to win, we always need to exceed our targets, we all need to get into Harvard, we must always show more profit this quarter (even if we have to doctor the books), etc. I think we're taking the idea too far. We focus on tip of the iceberg measurable improvement, rather than a more holistic understanding of how to reach the next level.
In Umair Haque's recent post about Apple, he puts out a challenge to them to "do better" that gets at this next level idea. As successful as Apple is, they are still faced with some ugly realities–like how many of their slick devices (with toxic components) end up in landfills when the new version comes out. Haque asks how Apple can apply their culture of innovation beyond the design, marketing, and selling of devices.
I like that concept. Even if we are successful by today's standards, how can we do better? Not just more profit, or more people at our annual meeting, or 2% growth in membership. I mean how can we do better? Changing the game in ways that produce value beyond our immediate circle of members and customers, even. Now THAT would be innovation. I haven't asked Jeff De Cagna about the content of his business model innovation workshop that is coming up this fall, but I'm hoping it would get at some of these ideas.
I think we need to be making those incremental improvements where we can AND rethinking the core, all at the same time. We are weaker, however, at the rethinking the core part. We should build that capacity.