In the Knowledge Economy, motivating knowledge workers is critically important. I loved this quote from an interview with Richard Templeton, President and Chief Executive Officer of Texas Instrument (TI), You need concentration if you want innovation: Interview (People's Daily Online, January 5, 2006)

"the biggest thing you do to reward great business people and great technological people is to give them harder problems."

Think about it for a minute. Isn't that what we all want? So why is it so hard to get? Is there any reason management wouldn't want it's staff to work on harder problems? One possibility is management is hoarding them for themselves or for their "favorites", but this implies there are only a limited number of harder problems to go around. A more likely reason is that management is doing the best it can, but doesn't have all the information it needs. Innovation projects are trickier than most in that those with the ideas, those with the ability to implement them, and those with the funding to enable them are usually not the same people.

As a knowledge worker you've got to do a few simple things: first, choose the right projects to work on as best you can. This might mean doing "comp" work to break into that new area that's captured your interest. Second, when you meet with success, make sure management hears about it - why you succeeded, what you loved about it, and how it helps position the company. Third, ask for what you want next, being as specific as possible. Is it a spot on the new project team? Seed money for R&D? Time with marketing to get their support to chase those exciting new projects?

Management needs to establish the right mechanisms to support this, of course, across a diverse set of operational domains. But don't go looking for a checklist of processes, programs, and systems to put in place. Instead, start with what your corporate goals are, think about how you can measure progress against these goals, then do those things that will positively impact those measures. The results of this approach will help establish a corporate culture for innovation that's appropriate for your organization.

Oh yeah, one more tip for knowledge workers: be selective in what you excel at, you're likely to get more of the same. This rule can work for you... or against you if you're not careful!

Read the quote in context:

Yong Tang: How you reward those employees who have made major contributions to innovations?

Templeton: Compensation is a very direct way. You just pay them bonus and stocks. We also have career ladders. Business managers have a management ladder while technologic people have a technological ladder along which they could be promoted.(Templeton himself was an ordinary salesman at the very beginning of his career at TI) But the biggest thing you do to reward great business people and great technological people is to give them harder problems.

Yong Tang: Harder problems?

Templeton: Yes.

Yong Tang: What do you mean?

Templeton: Harder assignment. Technological people want to work on more challenging products. Business people want to take more challenging business opportunities. So TI has a culture of reward by giving our employees greater challenges. I think TI President and CEO is the best job in the world. I could go around the world and meet with truly innovated people among our employees.

8:03:12 AM    
comment []  trackback []