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You photocopy or invent results? A corporate leadership message
Highlights
Many bosses in most corporate would ask the people for relevant references/prior art before start of any work or project. Their ‘reference orientation’ always ‘over powers’ the target and result orientation of their organization. But unfortunately, most corporate believes and venerate such bosses (reference mongers) as ‘meticulous’ and ‘disciplined’ performers. Seeking and scrutinizing references before start of any project is not wrong. That is how one should be.
Many bosses in most corporate would ask the people for relevant references/prior art before start of any work or project. Their ‘reference orientation’ always ‘over powers’ the target and result orientation of their organization. But unfortunately, most corporate believes and venerate such bosses (reference mongers) as ‘meticulous’ and ‘disciplined’ performers. Seeking and scrutinizing references before start of any project is not wrong. That is how one should be.
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It is impossible to take up any project in the corporate without references is not the sign of strength but actually it speak only about the weak leadership quality of such people.
Innovation, creating novelty and to have creative approach, all cannot happen with references to cross check whether such an approach is right or wrong. Whereas for ‘copying’ and ‘duplicating’ references are inevitable and helpful.
The too much of reference orientation in people, the corporate must view seriously. Such people in general are ‘copycats’ and may not be ‘creators’ or ‘innovators’ in any sense.
To sustain in business, some element of copycat approach may be inevitable but by being ‘copycats’, no one can build a great future to the organization or to oneself. The syndrome of this ‘reference seeking’ approach is more pronounced in people who are working in ‘single man’ driven corporate. Showing, appeasing, pleasing, cajoling etc., are more required to survive in single man driven corporate than in multi national companies like Unilever or Proctor & Gamble or Laurel etc.
Look at the nature and its species diversity. How each species would have been created on earth for the first time? Does nature had used any reference for elephant or lion or tiger or deer etc., when these species were created for the first time? Many evolutionary and adaptation process over time only would have shaped up these animals as what they are today.
No life form on earth when it was created for the first time, nature would have ever had any reference to follow. But when the nature has decided to hand over the responsibility of continuing the respective generations to the respective species, certainly nature had left the reference to follow. It means, not for creative but only for photocopying work, reference is used by nature.
Understandably, for the purpose of copying and duplicating, references became available. Certainly for improving and improvising also references may be required.
The question that seeks an answer in the corporate world is whether they ‘misjudge’ the copycats as super performers. The corporate must introspect and unravel the facts. Failing which, they may develop their competency only in copying the ideas of the competitors and will not be creating anything innovative or path-breaking approaches.
Ultimately their entire business success lies at innovation to overpower the competitor and not copying their creativity. It is like how the single man owned corporate made their skin lightening products copying/mimicking the world leader Fair & Lovely.
Be a innovator and not a copycat is the message one has to learn from nature.
Dr S Ranganathan
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