WHICH WAY ARE YOU LOOKING?

Just come across this belated report, "Words Of A CEO Can Foretell A Company's Future Innovation", published in 'Science Daily', on 15 August 2007.

Here's the interesting snippet from it:

"CEOs who focus their attention on future events and external activities lead their firms to early adoption and invention of new technologies and greater and faster development of innovations.
 

In contrast, firms whose CEOs focus on internal operations are slower to detect, adopt and implement new technologies. 

Words, not just actions, of the CEO set the tone to inspire, propel and motivate employee innovation."

~ marketing Professor Rajesh Chandy of the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management;

In a nut shell, talking about the future does one thing that makes innovation easier: it opens the mind up to new possibilities. 

So, here's the challenge: what do you do? 

Are you focusing on the future, or are you consumed by your day-to-day operations?

[Actually, this finding reinforces one of the key aspects of visionary companies as defined by management consultant Jim Collins, in his classic book, "Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies":

"An eye should always be kept for the long term instead of the short term, even when it is hard to do so."]