Credentials matter. With the right credentials, you can get access to money, talent and organizational resources that can bring ideas to life. But what are the credentials for an innovator? Certainly, there are the traditional credentials of entrepreneurial success, publications and degrees. But many people who have perspectives and insights that can create positive change–especially people who might be innovating day in and day out in a corporation or other large organization—may lack some of these and may need to establish their reputations before they can make a real impact.
Now, innovators need to innovate on a regular basis, it even before someone puts gold stars on their foreheads. The habits of an innovator need to be well developed before opportunities are seized. But, being an effective innovator is not the same as being a recognized innovator. And being a recognized innovator creates larger, more promising opportunities.
There are many ways to create a portfolio that will get attention. Here are a few ideas:
- Get attached to an innovative project. This has the dual advantage of providing a credit and providing a learning experience. For an innovator seeking a career of opportunities within a large organization, the best projects are likely did be the more mundane ones. Though less exciting, these tend to be among the best for portfolio building. Incremental innovation projects that provide clear benefits, especially those that can be measured in time and money, are the most likely to succeed and impress decision-makers. (World changing projects are wonderful, but they can carry risks they can sink a career.)
- Succeed in small things that are visible and contribute to larger things. Small things are easier to launch (you can often take the initiative and do them without approval or extra resources), and those that naturally lead to the next project can build momentum for future success.
- Share success, but be sure to get your measure of credit. No credit, no credentials.
- Make sure the project gets finished. I had one boss who is absolutely terrified about projects being judged. He could, quite predictably, derail innovation projects a few weeks before delivery. I made sure to deliver early on these projects. (We live in a world where managers have been told to “fail early.”) Diagnosing possible early deliverables and the potential for early termination is good insurance against collecting a resume full of incomplete assignments.
- Get good at naming projects. It is often the person who comes up with the clever name who is identified with the success.
- Learn how to adapt successful innovations from other areas. If you can develop the flexibility to see how a new idea in another business or discipline might be transposed to create benefits in your area responsibility. That way, you will be working ideas with a much higher probability of success forward.
It is good to remember that achievement is just one element of building a portfolio. What you accomplish—and this is especially tricky if you are working in unfamiliar areas—must be understood and appreciated before it can be recognized in a way that provides you with an advantage.
This means that you need to get people excited about the achievement. Successful innovations are socialized, and successful innovators become very adept at socializing their work. This all comes down to networking (which was discussed in a previous post). When it comes to building credentials, this means the network must include decision makers and have strong enough connections to gain attention and interest.
Having such a network relies on to key factors. 1st, the decision-makers need to regularly receive value from you. This could be in the form of service, supporting an idea, providing access to someone of value, or even just sending them interesting articles from time to time. But providing value on regular basis provides entrée when you need it. Second, you must have a good understanding of who these people are—what they want, what they need, and what they care about.
By systematically achieving success in ways that get the attention of decision-makers, an innovator can establish credentials that create opportunities for important innovations. However, the more unfamiliar the “great idea” is, to more effectively it needs to be communicated. Pitching innovation is fraught with dangers that are not present for those who are selling the established ideas, services and products. How this is done will be the subject of my next post in this Saving Innovation series.