If you were on the recruiting team to find a new CEO for a company where the board mandate was to focus on embedding innovation into the DNA of the company, what attributes would you describe as being the "must haves?" What two things would you personally do within the next 2 years to further develop your innovation capability?

Module 8 DQ1

The CEO of a company is an elite position and to recruit a candidate for it requires great skills as an HR professional. A few attributes being the 'must haves' would be;

• Great personality: A CEO must have a good and humble personality. Any employee at that level in an organization should be approachable and easy to communicate to. Great personality has many aspects such as good tone of speaking, humble attitude, neat appearance etc.
• Extensive work experience: To be able to handle the whole company and be at the top level of management, one should have a decent history of work experience. The achievements and noteworthy contributions to his/her previous organizations are the benchmark of excellence and judgement.
• Creative mind: It is important to look for a creative mind and out-of-the-box thinking in a person if he/she is to be appointed as the CEO of the company. People who are able to provide innovative and creative inputs have great vision for the organization.
• Passion for the business: If the business of the company is to manufacture cars, an applicant who has interest and passion for cars can take the company to greater heights. It is very crucial to have a CEO that has unimaginable passion for the business of the company and is an enthusiastic personality.
• Optimistic approach to life: A person who has not given up in difficult times and has learnt from his/her past is the right person to lead a company. Moreover, realistic optimism can do wonders for any company and if the CEO resonates with the same ideology and mindset, there is no doubt that the organization will succeed to its maximum potential.

Reference:

 Skarzynski, P., & Gibson, R. (2008). Innovation to the Core: A blueprint for transforming the way your company innovates. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. ISBN-13: 9781422102510

Module 8 DQ 2

The first thing that I will personally do within the next two years to further develop my innovation capabilities is to practice dreaming. The biggest paradox is that creative thinking is not inherently the result of IQ or enlightenment through the proverbial apple which falls on your head. It's a matter of practicing your imagination daily, using your perceptual and dreaming abilities, big or small. It seems so basic and yet this crucial aspect is often absent from our daily lives in this age of information overload and highly charged urban life. Whatever you do, whether it's work or leisure, practice the time you spend thinking about your objectives. This will help you get into the habit of making room for the dreaming central to creative thinking and creativity in your mind.

Making time for cohesive creative thinking is what I will also do to develop my innovation capabilities. Even if we're ready to innovate, something still doesn't work and fresh ideas just don't pop up like popcorn. There are two reasons for that impasse. The first is that we don't practice dreaming, and the second is that we don't focus on coherent thoughts.

Reference:

Skarzynski, P., & Gibson, R. (2008). Innovation to the Core: A blueprint for transforming the way your company innovates. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. ISBN-13: 9781422102510