I promote innovation in traditional enterprises. Professional ability and understanding of interest relationships are required, but subversion is not required.

This article is very close to the actual situation of enterprises, describing the various obstacles within the company when promoting innovation projects. It also uses typical cases to intuitively show the resistance and interest games faced by innovation projects when they are implemented. It can provide inspiration for improving management practices.

I am helping a client to promote an innovative project. The traditional industry is doing e-commerce. Growth is stagnant and there needs to be a solution.

The so-called innovative projects are to use new ways of doing things with new organizational forms . I believe there will be growth.

Why are you so sure?

I sorted out their business model and traffic operation, and found many areas for optimization in the existing pool.

Previously, we didn’t do it well because we were not working from the right angle and were not organizationally compatible.

To digress a little, some companies are still looking for dividends and incremental markets, which is not very wise.

Now that we have entered the stage of the stock market, we should focus on improving our internal strength . We can now make up for the lessons we missed during the rapid development in the past.

This is also a method of growth.

In other words, this innovative project is my solution to the growth problem, the right medicine for the disease.

After the boss approved it, I met with management to implement it, and I felt an undercurrent. It was quite interesting.

When making this plan, we took the issue of profit distribution into consideration and did not touch the management's cake, but we required them to change their awareness and way of doing things, which is not easy.

So during the meeting, everyone seemed harmonious on the surface, but as the conversation went on, things started to go back to the old way of doing things.

This is a bit abstract, let me talk about two specific phenomena:

1. Common phrases used in the discussion were “Isn’t this just…”, “We’ve actually done this before…”, “The medicine remains the same, just a new soup…”, which made me realize that the wind was changing.
2. The management members who originally had conflicts of interest began to seek tacit understanding in the meeting to avoid the implementation of new projects. For example, two people said: We can do this...you do this...I do this...won't it be OK?

Whenever I see signs of this happening, I will interrupt and stop it, and get the discussion back to the main topic.

I understand that people are resistant to innovative projects. After all, the old way of doing things has been around for many years and is easy to master and not hard to do.

When starting a new project, you not only have to break your inertia, but you may also lose your own interests.

But this was initiated by the boss, and he also found an authoritative person from outside. I certainly can't refute it directly, but I can try some Tai Chi.

The butt determines the head. This is a weakness of human nature and also a chronic disease in the workplace.

I pushed forward very firmly because I also have a butt.

It is my responsibility to solve problems and satisfy the boss when I get paid for my work.

Of course, I also know that one of the reasons why the boss asked us to come to him is to help him and represent him to face these undercurrents and promote their implementation.

So in this kind of meeting, the boss only needs to attend and does not need to participate in the discussion process.

This type of question is actually very normal, whether you used to work in a large company or are currently consulting for companies.

Where there are many people, there are rivers and lakes. Where there are senior executives, there are spheres of influence.

We have our own principles, or the underlying logic for dealing with problems:

First of all, you must have professional ability to crush others.

If the bosses really think I am capable and can help them, they will support me from the bottom of their hearts. Even if our suggestions make them uncomfortable, they will think they are from a professional perspective.

Secondly, you need to understand the interests within the company.

This includes the relationships between key figures, the relationships between groups, and the corresponding interest relationships, which are the context within a company.

If you want to get things done, you must take advantage of the trend instead of going against it, and you must respect objective laws.

Finally, don't subvert, but eat it bite by bite.

Many bosses are in a hurry and always want to make earth-shaking changes within a month to make their company brand new. This is impossible.

You need to understand how to think about problems systematically. Every thing and phenomenon is complex and exists in one or more systems. If you only focus on a single point, you will definitely not be able to solve the problem completely, and there may even be negative feedback afterwards.

The best solution is to advance step by step in a rhythmical manner without rushing for big things.

Author: Han Xu

Source: WeChat public account "Operation Dog Work Diary (ID: yunyingriji)"