who is the star in your organization?

This is part a reflection on Gary Hamel’s WSJ.com blog called The Facebook Generation vs. the Fortune 500.

1. All ideas compete on an equal footing.

On the Web, every idea has the chance to gain a following—or not, and no one has the power to kill off a subversive idea or squelch an embarrassing debate. Ideas gain traction based on their perceived merits, rather than on the political power of their sponsors.

What is an idea? According to Merriam-Webster it is “a transcendent entity that is a real pattern of which existing things are imperfect representations.”

Why is this important? Everything is birthed from an idea. The idea is the seed that births what we see and apply ourselves to. What Hamel’s point highlights is that ideas become the star not the person or entity that promotes it.

I was listening to the Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast and he was talking about systems that allow change in an organization. Social media is a system that allows change to take place because it focuses more on the information than the source. Sources still matter, but the information has power on its own.

A good organization mimics the way social media spreads ideas. They are open to ideas and then allow discussion about each idea. Once an idea is allowed to be scrutinized and celebrated on it’s merit, then action is taken.

Bad organizations make people the star. Ideas do not have a chance to be unpacked because it didn’t come from the right source.

Just as a seed is potential production so is the idea. If a bad organization never lets an idea be planted they will inhibit growth.

Make an idea the star. Give an idea a chance and you might see spectacular growth.

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