Richard Branson - Leader of the Virgin Empire.

Richard Branson way born in 1950 in London and grew up living a pretty standard life style. Academically he was an underachiever and suffered from severe dyslexia. It has been said that school was something of a nightmare for him. His scores on standardized tests were dismal, pointing to a bleak future. He was embarrassed by his dyslexia and found his education becoming more and more difficult, he was also remarkably reserved and shy in person. He felt as if he had been written off (Dyslexiaonline.com). This does not fit the conventional profile of a great leader. However it was his ability to connect with people on a personal level, and his intuitive sense of people that lead him to success.

In the 1970s Branson opened the first Virgin Company, a mail order record retailer (Virgin.com). However today Virgin is made up of around 200 companies in over 30 countries, the Virgin Group has now expanded into leisure, travel, tourism, mobile, broadband, TV, radio, music festivals, finance and health and through Virgin Green Fund they are investing in renewable energy and resource efficiency (Virgin.com).

It has to be questioned, how this seemingly insignificant schoolboy turned into one of the richest most powerful men in the world. I believe this is to do with the way that he leads. Branson himself has said that his success is ‘based on developing good ideas through excellent management principles’ (ibec.ie). Branson’s skills as an influencer and ability to create a common purpose among his followers are renowned, his core values and beliefs include helping people to achieve things they did not know they were capable of as well as being a catalyst for the success of others, while constantly learning as he went along (ibec.ie). This suggests that his leadership style is based largely on influencing others and team work rather than being the dominant leader. Avery states that Branson while being accountable for the success of the enterprise, ‘plays down his role as the top man of the company’ and ‘appoints speakers to represent the top’ instead (2005, p62). This is known as the Rhineland approach, and it is typically associated with distributed leadership, involving more people (Avery, 2002, p62).

The idea that leadership should ‘formulate, define and restate overall values, visions and missions’ in order to ‘energise people into action’ (Bass, 1998), I think largely represents the way in which Branson leads. This way of leading allows him to easily ‘influence patterns of behaviour, attitudes and feelings’ (Isaksen and Tidd, 2006, p315) of those who put into action his vision. This is displayed in his employee’s high satisfaction with their job and the willingness to accept very low pay.

Branson I do not think has just one leadership style. He is a largely Demographic leader, as defined in the previous blog, basing his way of working on ‘emotional intelligence, teamwork, collaboration, conflict management and influence’ (Goleman et al, 2002, p68). However he does include some autocratic leadership traits as he evidently makes decisions ‘confidently and assume that members will comply’ (Dubrin, 2001, p123).

References

Avery, G C. (2005). Leadership for Sustainable Futures: Achieving Success in a Competitive World. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.  

Bass, B M. (1998). Transformational Leadership: Industrial, Military and Educational Impact. New Jersy Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Dubrin (2001). Leadership: research findings, practice and skills. Third Edition. USA: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Goleman, D. Boyatzis, R. McKee, A. (2002). Primal Leadership, Realising the Power of Emotional Intelligence. USA: Harvard Business School Press.

Isaksen, S. Tidd, J. (2006). Meeting the Innovation Challenge: Leadership for Transformation and Growth. West Sussex: John Wiley and Sons Ltd.

Virgin (2011) Virgin.com [online]. Available from: http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/autobiography [Accessed: 28 November 2011].

Levinson Medical Centre for Learning Disabilities (2011). Dyslexia Online [online]. Available from: http://www.dyslexiaonline.com/famous/famous.htm [Accessed: 28 November 2011].

Irish British Employers Confederation (2011) IBEC [online]. Available form: http://www.ibec.ie/Sectors/SFA/SFANCEDocLib.nsf/441763b04b0320b68025722e003fb55a/bc12f53469df45728025722e003f060f/$FILE/Leadership.pdf [Accessed: 28 November 2011].

Innovation and Leadership

Leadership, as innovation, is a vast concept in which, when asked can rarely be specifically defined. This may be because it has been said that there are over 400 definitions for leadership (Mullins, 2007, p363). Obviously it is unrealistic to try to incorporate all of these definitions into one blog, so instead I have found a few definitions that I feel sums up leadership as a whole. Koestenbaum states that a leader is someone who achieves ‘worthy results in any field, no matter what obstacles’ (2002, p11). Huczynski and Buchanan continue this by adding that the said achievement is realized through the process of ‘influencing the activities of an organised group’ (2007, p695). Essentially it is a ‘relationship through which one person influences the behaviour or actions of other people’ (Mullins, 2007, p363).

It can be assumed that not everyone is a leader. Therefore there must be certain traits or personality characteristics that allow an individual to be a leader. James Kouzes and Barry Posner developed a survey questioning the characteristics of leaders. After twenty years of research the survey concluded with a list of twenty characteristics that people associate with leaders. These characteristics, in order of relevance are; Honesty, Forward-looking, Competence, Inspiration, Intelligence, Fairness, Broad mindedness, support, straightforwardness, dependable, cooperation, determination, imagination, ambition, courage, care, maturity, loyalty, self control and independence (John Ricketts, 2011, Lecture Slides). These characteristics in themselves could ultimately form a definition. 

In addition, some of these traits correspond with the traits in these diagrams. These diagrams are said to incorporate and affect the personality traits for innovation (Gordon-Hall, 2011, Lecture Slides). Does this mean that leadership has some sort of relationship with innovation?

This question may depend on organisational culture. The previous definitions of leadership state that leaders; get results and overcome obstacles by influencing people are behaviour and actions. However it is not specified how this is done. This is where organisational culture becomes relevant. Organisational culture includes the ‘values beliefs, history and traditions that reflect the deeper foundations of the organisation (Isaksen and Tidd, 2006, p313).  Suggesting that the way in which these definitions are carried out depends on the culture of the organisation. The culture of an organisation will consequently impact on communication, management and decisions influencing motivation and engagement within the organisation, which in turn will affect willingness to accept risk and promote improvement and facilitating change and innovation (Gordon-Hall, 2011, Lecture Slides). As a result the right style of leadership within an organisation has proven to be very important in aiding innovation. 

It would be incorrect to state that there is a right or wrong way to lead, however some styles of leadership may be more appropriate when referring to innovation. There are three main styles of leadership and autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire. Autocratic leadership can be defined as retaining ‘most of the authority for themselves’ they also make decisions ‘confidently and assume that members will comply’ (Dubrin, 2001, p123). Laissez-faire is quite the opposite turning ‘almost all authority and control to the group, leading to low productivity’ (Dubrin, 2001, p125). It is the democratic leadership style that I think would be most appropriate in relation to innovation. This style is very different from autocratic as it is builds on ‘emotional intelligence, teamwork, collaboration, conflict management and influence’ (Goleman et al, 2002, p68). This suggests that unlike autocratic, democratic leaders take much more interest in the rest of the team. They act as ‘collectors of group opinions’ and may ‘take a vote before making a decision’ (Dubrin, 2001, p125). Implying more of a ‘What do you think’ atmosphere as opposed to ‘Do what I tell you’ (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2007, p715). 

All of the traits of a democratic leader can be linked in someway with skills shown in the diagram below (Gordon-Hall, 2011, Lecture Slides).

In conclusion, it has become apparent that there is a connection between management and innovation, depending upon the culture of the organisation. It has also become apparent that the democratic style of leadership best fits the criteria for innovation.

References

Dubrin (2001). Leadership: research findings, practice and skills. Third Edition. USA: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Goleman, D. Boyatzis, R. McKee, A. (2002). Primal Leadership, Realising the Power of Emotional Intelligence. USA: Harvard Business School Press.

Gordon-Hall, J. (2011). Aligning people, culture and structure for Innovation. Lecture Slides Week 4. Lincoln University.

Huczynski. A A. Buchanan, D A. (2007) Organisational Behaviour. Sixth Edition. Harlow: Pearsons Education Ltd.

Isacksen, S. Tidd, J. (2006). Meeting the Innovation Challenge: Leadership for tracsformation and growth. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons Inc.

Koestenbaum, P. (2002). Leadership: the inner side of greatness, a philosophy for leaders. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.  

Mullins, L J. (2007). Management and Organisational Behaviour. Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd.

Ricketts, J. (2011) Leadership. Lecture Slides week 3. Lincoln Univarsity.  

 

Bibliography

Bel, R. (2010). Leadership and Innovation: Learning from the best. Global Business and Organisational Excellence. Vol. 29. p47-60. Accessed: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=6&hid=127&sid=86e7e0ea-072e-4f4a-83d3-8d38ec61f958%40sessionmgr111&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3Qtb Gl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=bth&AN=47134972. Accessed on:

Gordon-Hall, J. (2011). Leadership in the context of Innovation Lecture Slides Week 5. Lincoln University.

Innovation - Part of a Business Strategy

The definition of business strategy includes ‘corporate planning which focuses on the overall purpose of the business’ (thebusinessplan.com). Craig and Grant extend this stating that is it also ‘concerned with how a firm competes within a particular industry (1995, p94). Some organisations have one strategy and some have many, likewise it is probable that strategies will exist at a number of levels within an organisation (Bowman and Asch, 1987, p37).   

Therefore it is assumed that an innovation strategy fits into the business strategy, on some sort of level, ‘coming into play when required to achieve the goals of the organisation’ (Gordon-Hall, 2011). Innovation strategy I think is most likely to be a part of a firm’s ‘operational level’ strategies, as innovation can be ‘concerned with how functions contribute to the business’ (Bowman and Asch, 1987, p37), and gaining the ‘benefits of specialisation’. In essence the innovation strategy will be part of a linked set of operational strategies e.g. marketing or manufacturing, which combine to make the overall business strategy (Bowman, 1998, p5).

The innovation strategy can be changed to accommodate many different generic purposes, depending on the organisation and its culture and/or its business aims (Gordon-Hall, 2011). Some of these can be the likes of; cost reduction, differentiation, niche markets, re-positioning, diversification, supply chain etc…, for the purpose of interest I am going to focus on diversification within the innovation strategy (Gordon-Hall, 2011).

Diversification is the strategy of ‘entering product markets different from those in which a firm is currently engaged’ this strategy can be implicated by an ‘acquisition or a new business venture’ (Aaker, 2005, p262). There are two subsections to diversification, related and unrelated. Unrelated diversification generally relates to a ‘lack of meaningful commonalities’ with the new market and may not always be justifiable (Aaker, 2005, p263). However related diversification, has ‘meaningful commonalities with the core business’, this provides the business with the potential to ‘generate economies of scale or synergies based on an exchange of assets or competencies’ (Aaker, 2005, p263).

Diversification deems to be a huge course of action for a business to undertake, presenting an element of risk; this must mean that there are certain motives behind it that make it worth while. A basic motive would be in order to grow and develop as a company; however a somewhat larger motive would be the potential to develop ‘excess resources’ allowing the business to have ‘cash, manpower, reputation’ and the likes that can be used elsewhere and ‘utilised in the core business’ (Porter, 1987). Another motive is the element of ‘ego and glamour’ involved in diversification, suggesting that the ‘chase in buying and selling’ is somewhat ‘invigorating to many managers’ (Porter, 1987). All of these motives seem rather superficial on the surface, however, Porter concludes with the key issue that, under all of these motives diversification ‘makes no sense unless the corporation adds value’ and ‘makes the business better off’ (1987).

Lastly it is important to know what makes innovation strategies work. Firstly it is important to develop new strategies that will add value and be valued by the company in the future and secondly it is also very important to accept that short term failure is sometimes part of long term success when developing strategies (Gordon-Hall, 2011).

References

Aaker, D A. (2005). Strategic Market Management. Seventh Edition. UK: Wiley and Sons Inc.

Bowman, C. (1998). Strategy in Practice. Hertfordshire: Pretence Hall.

Bowman, C. Asch, D. (1987). Strategic Management. London: Macmillan Press Ltd.

Craig, J C. Grant, R M. (1995). Strategic Management, Resources, Planning, Cost Efficiency and Goals. London: Kogan Page Ltd.

Gordon-Hall, J. (2011) Inovation Strategy – designed to achieve competitive advangage. Lincoln, Lecture Slides.  

Porter, M. Competative reflections and Round Table Discussion. European Management Journal, vol. 6, 1 (1987).

The Business Plan – You guide to better business planning. (2011) [online]. Available from: http://www.the-business-plan.com/business-strategy.html [Accessed: 14 November 2011].

Creative Innovation - Lady Gaga.

Lady Gaga came to prominence following the release of her debut studio album The Fame (2008), which included the hits ‘Just Dance,’ ‘Poker Face,’ ‘Bad Romance’ and sold over 15 million copies worldwide. The album earned her six Grammy nominations and two wins as well as a slew of other awards recognition, including a record setting thirteen MTV Video Music Award nominations. Gaga is the first artist in history to claim four #1 hits from a debut album (ladygaga.com). 

However what makes her so special in comparison to other artists? It could be argued that it’s her creative innovation of what a pop star is that has given her the fame that she has. Despite her musical talents, it is her appearance that has really made her who she is. Her performances are described as ‘highly entertaining and innovative’ (Wikipedia.com). Her constantly changing and ever evolving image is an example of her innovativeness. Starting as a perfectly normal catholic girl in New York, Stephanie Germanotta, within the space of a few years (around 2005-2010) transformed herself into Lady Gaga.            

                                                                                                                                                              

Many of her outfits have been extraordinarily creative and some have even caused controversy with the likes of animal rights. Such as the meat dress that she wore to the MTV video music awards.

It has to be questioned, what lies behind the ideas for all of these bizarre outfits? Is it the designs of others or does it all come from lady gaga herself?

On some of her less outrageous days, Lady Gaga’s outfits resemble the catwalk designs of the likes of Yves Saint Laurent, Fendi or Alexander McQueen (gagafashionland.com). However on the more noticeable days it appears that Gaga herself is behind the ideas. Some examples of her weird yet wonderful ideas for outfits are the likes of her latex dresses. The woman herself stated that the inspiration for her outfit was ‘latex condoms’ (mtv.com) as the event she was attending was to do with safe sex. Another is her Diana inspired outfits in her music video for the song ‘Paparazzi’, she states that she uses Diana as a fashion inspiration because she was ‘the most iconic martyr of fame’ (mtv.com) these examples suggest that Lady Gaga takes an idea or a situation or another style, and then creatively innovates it to make it into something that means something to her.

Despite where or how she comes up with the innovations that she does whether it is music or clothing, she still remains one of the most famous icons on the planet. She obviously does not lack creativity and has the ability to take ideas and create them into something that as of yet no one else seems to be able to come up with. Lady Gaga I think is a prime example of creative innovation.

References

MTV (2011) [online]. Available from: http://www.mtv.co.uk/news/lady-gaga/258794-lady-gaga-condom-born-this-way-aids-safe-sex [Accessed: 13 November 2011].

Gaga Fashion Land (2011) [online]. Available from: http://gagafashionland.com/  [Accessed: 13 November 2011].

MTV (2011) [online]. Available from:  http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1620578/lady-gaga-inspired-by-princess-diana.jhtml [Accessed: 13 November 2011].

Wikidedia (2011) [online]. Lady Gaga Lets It Bleed During Eye-Popping VMA Performance Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Gaga [Accessed: 13 November 2011].

Creativity and Innovation

The dictionary definition of creativity is that it ‘relates to or involves the use of the imagination or original ideas to create something’ (Oxford Dictionary Online). However Bessant and Tidd quite rightly point out ‘being creative at work is not the same as having a creative job’ (2011, p156). This is completely true as being creative at work could relate to an artist or a graphic designer, however having a creative job could involve; having the confidence to ‘adopt non-conformist perspectives, take risks or act without social approval or dependence’ (Bessant and Tidd, 2011, p157). Although not the typical depiction of creativity these different actions could ultimately lead to a creative outcome.

Generic creative people are said to be ‘unaccustomed to staying within set borders’ and require an open and free environment in which to think’ (Goldenberg et al, 2002, p32). However it is also appropriate to state that some extreme creativity comes from people who are deemed to have ‘mental disturbances or mood disorders’ (Goldenberg et al, 2002, p32). It is also stated that the correlation between madness and genius is ‘one of the most controversial of all notions’ (Goldenberg et al, 2002, p32). Not only that, it has been said that disorders such as depression can in fact enhance of sometimes otherwise contribute to creativity (Goldenberg et al, 2002, p32). However is would be ridiculous to believe that any company that is deemed creative consists of manic depressants and mentally disturbed employees. So it has to then be questioned, how do companies achieve creativity?

The concept of a virtuous circle, shown below (Trott, 2008, p97), of innovation highlights certain stages that an organisation will go through when innovating. The concept of this circle is that if a company can gain a competitive edge then they are able to reinvest the additional profit into the activities that created the advantage to begin with (Trott, 2008, p97).   

One of the stages is the ‘organisational encouragement of creativity and innovation’. This suggests that the organisation itself plays a significant role in the creativity of innovation, I believe that this may be one of the most important stages of the circle as if the organisation does not encourage creativity then essentially there is no point having creative people to create new ideas. Trott states that organisations support innovation with ‘resources’, i.e. ‘people with the time to be creative’ (2008, p98). Conway and Steward extend this in saying that ‘it is the encouragement of the organisation that impacts creativity and innovativeness’ of said individuals (2009, p300). Additionally, in order for an organisation to be creative it has to ‘build an environment that tolerates errors and mistakes’ (Trott, 2008, p98).  This leeway would give the creative individuals the time and space to try new ideas, hopefully resulting in the organisation developing new, creative innovations. It is also beneficial for organisations to not only encourage and support creativity but also to reward it as all of these ‘play a positive role in creative innovation’ (Conway and Steward, 2009, p300). Reward and recognition will also will also help the ‘high morale and retention of creative people’ stage of the circle as if individuals feel that they are valued then they are more likely to remain in the same organisation. Retention of creative individuals should ‘reinforce the company’s innovative capabilities’ (Trott, 2008, p98).    

In conclusion it is highly likely from my research that success in all areas of the virtuous circle of innovation will ensure that organisations are innovative and achieve creativity.  

References

Bessant, J. Tidd, J. (2011) Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Second Edition. UK: John Wiley and Sons Ltd.

Conway, S. Steward, F. (2009). Managing and Shaping Innovation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Goldenberg, J. Mazursky, D. (2002). Creativity in Product Innovation. Cambridge: University Press.

Trott, P. (2008). Innovation Management and New Product Development. Fourth Edition. Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd.

Medical Innovation – Stem Cells

Stem cells are a widely discussed concept, which is rapidly becoming reality. The idea that one cell can be ‘harvested’ into millions of new cells to aid medical procedures was first brought about in the 1800s when it was discovered that cells were the bases of all life, and they had the ability to replicate to multiply producing other cells.

Stem cells are biological cells which can divide and differentiate into different specialized cells. In 1978, stem cells were discovered in the spinal cord. The potential for stem cells is unthinkable. Since the discovery of the cells, innovation has taken charge allowing the development of the likes of growing new skin cells for burn victims. In October 2011, BBC news covered the procedure in which abnormal liver cells were treated using stem cells to create a whole new healthy liver.

(http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15288736 )

In previous years Blockbuster films such as ‘The Island’ have portrayed stem cell innovation to its maximum depicting the creation of whole new humans, from single cells. Though this concept seems unrealistic and farfetched, in reality, through stem cell innovation this may in the future become a possibility.

However there are many ethical issues surrounding this concept, preventing fast progression in this area.

By coming up with or ‘innovating’ new ways to manipulate these types of cells, the likes of cancer, brain damage, spinal cord injury, heart damage, diabetes, infertility and many more could all be cured.

The UK Stem Cell Foundation are dedicated to all things stem cell. Their site has some very interesting facts about stem cells and the research and treatments that go with them.

( http://www.ukscf.org/research/benefitsandhopes.html )