The Genius of the 'And': Optimize, Integrate & Innovate

Years ago, a book was unleashed upon the world that challenged the notion you could not achieve multiple aspirational business goals at the same time. The book? Good to Great! In the book, author Jim Collins encourages leaders to not succumb to ‘tyranny of the OR’ thinking but embrace instead the more inspirational (and true) mantra of ‘genius of the AND’.

When I speak to business leaders today, about what has emerged as both a common and confusing dialogue – “should we optimize, integrate, or innovate our operations” – many seem to reflect the ‘OR’ mindset rather than the ‘AND’ mindset stunting not only their potential (as leaders) but also the company’s potential in effectively competing in the marketplace. Fact is, you can innovate, you can optimize, AND you can integrate your operations all at the same time. This is not an either or cross-current to navigate, as all things are possible, together.

Now, in saying this, obviously much is required to effectively coordinate the various actions. But before discussing how all these improvement actions tie together, let’s first get clear on (general) definitions: To Innovate, means to bring forth the new; to optimize, means to streamline and standardize what exists; to integrate, means to tighten and coordinate interdependent parts. Optimizing one’s operations is a good thing, as streamlining and standardizing actions frees ALL workers to do more of what they were hired to do instead of engaging in wasteful, non-value-added activity.

But while we are doing this, there is also a need to ensure we are eliminating unnecessary gaps and handoffs between our managing, core, and supporting processes. This is where most companies still fall down. I observe plenty of optimization work today but very little real integration work.

And the reason we want to integrate our operations (aka ‘processes’) is because it eliminates the #1 cause of corporate loss (aka ‘value leakage’) – fragmentation. Fragmentation, as I have written in other posts, destroys company value thus denying companies the very resources they need to survive and thrive in a highly competitive world. That said, even integration efforts will not stave off corporate irrelevance today.

More is needed from the corporate organism – what is needed is to innovate. And the innovation I am speaking of is not simply about bringing new products and services to market, no I am talking about innovating at scale – about innovating a company’s entire operating model – the whole enchilada.

Anyone who keeps a pulse on latest business trends, of where the world of business is heading (aka 'Industry 4.0') knows the future disruptive power that robotics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning will bring. In fact, a recent McKinsey article stated that upwards of 50% of white-collar work (in certain industries/segments) will be candidates for elimination due to such technical advancements. Got your attention now? So…it seems our operational agenda is set, and here then is how optimization, integration, and innovation actions all tie together: [We optimize that which exists to create needed capacity of our staff to not only better serve customers] but also to [‘gift’ them time to find other opportunities to integrate our larger value chains] AND as we do this [additional capacity will be released into the corporate atmosphere thus giving all staff an opportunity to dedicate part of their day, week, month, and year to doing what humans do best – ideate, dream, doodle, and draw (that is, innovate; bring forth the new)].

How inviting would it be to create this environment for your staff? How grateful would your customers be for this type of operational sophistication and integration? How inspiring would it be to role-model such possibilities to the world? Well…I am here to tell you, encourage you, inspire you that ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE, and it all begins with a decision; a simple choice one makes – choosing NOT "the tyranny of the OR" but “the genius of the AND” as your operational frame.

Related Reading

• Simplify, Eliminate, then Integrate Everything!

• The Keys to Innovation: Dialogue & Diversity

• Slowing Down to Accelerate Problem Solving: A Modern Paradox

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