Many companies delivered many radical ideas, but almost no idea can be realized. Why this happen?

There are two major steps that have not passed smoothly by these companies. First, top management or the company fails to make that idea into a clear strategy and focus. Second, companies do not have the right leader to execute big ideas. The company does not have a leader who dare to take risks and have a commitment to bring these big ideas.

Failure to make the idea being a strategy can be sourced from several things. The most classic is because companies do not prepare for the ability or competence to execute the strategy. They do not have the technology and systems that can turn ideas into opportunities or because of inadequate human qualities. The technology is usually referred to as “hard competencies” and the human quality called “soft competencies”. Let’s look at a simple example in two different industries: first, industrial food/beverage, and second, the banking industry.

For a food and beverage company, launching a new product is very important to replace old products that have entered the death stage in the product life cycle. Companies that are rarely launched new products will not be able to compete in the long run. Therefore, it is important for companies to develop their Research And Development Department (R&D). Only companies with R&D capabilities are strong, will survive in the long run. In this industry, product quality, including quality-taste and texture has already completed 50% of the marketing division work . Good product is good marketing.

Often times, the marketing department then had a bunch of ideas. They wanted to launch a new generation of vitamins! Want to make a new drink! Want to create some a more crunchy biscuits! Want to create new packaging and so on. Wow! Lots of ideas, but all of this does not realize. Why? Simple, the company has no competence. They do not build a strong R&D. They do not have the necessary technology or do not have the qualified researchers.

This is what often happens in a small and medium-scale food/beverage business. They are not able to see a strategy that became the key to success of the industry. They are not able to build adequate competence. In the end, they just a collector of big ideas.

In the banking industry, one key to success is the ability to build banking delivery channels. Customers want a faster and more convenient service . A bank can have dozens of great ideas to make products or services enjoyable to its customers. For example what if the bank can serve the online account opening, how can the bank cope with customer complaints within two hours, how the bank can transact via SMS banking among banks, and a myriad of other ideas.

It is conceivable, these big ideas will stop when the banks were not able to see the grand strategy as the key to success and building technologies and systems in the delivery channel. There will be no idea which is then able to realized into a new service concept without such competence. Banks are able to capture ideas and make ideas into the strategy when it has the competence or at least have the ability to build competency in the delivery channel. This is the importance of having top management, CEO and CMO both a visionary, able to build a competency to transform great ideas into corporate strategy.

The second thing that ideas can not be executed is the ability to deliver the customer value. The idea in the business world is not just a great idea, crazy idea or ideas that seemed brilliant. You may have a great idea to create a drug tablet that size is only 10% of which is now circulating. The problem, if there are consumers who want? Is this small size will provide customer value or even create new problems for consumers?

An ATM can be given music facilities. So, when customers withdraw cash, he could hear his love songs. At first glance it makes sense. Customers will feel happy because getting additional service. But, do customers really want? Have they not, to the ATM usually do not have much time to wait? Is not the customer who listen to the song then will make an increasingly long queues and make other customers feel dissatisfied? A reasonable idea, but not necessarily to create customer value.

An idea or ideas can not be a major strategy of the company is also because there is no adequate ecosystem, especially the customer base. Not surprisingly, many smaller companies that have a bunch of great ideas are not able to realize their ideas. The inhibitors is simple, that they do not have market to throw the products or services to be created. A large number of loyal customers is a most effective ecosystem to absorb big ideas. Again, this is part of the dimension that the customer is the company’s equity for a very large and often well in excess of the company assets.

With the above explanation, you will easily realize why hundreds of ideas ultimately difficult to realize. They stumble when this great idea will translate into a great strategy. Grand strategy can not be executed because the company does not have the competence, there is no potential to become a customer value or lack of enough market to absorb the products of these great ideas. Not surprisingly, for small companies, realizing the idea is not easy.

For small companies, there are two options. First, they are still thinking big. These companies need to establish partnership relations (networking) with the resources that can help them to realize the great ideas. Strategies such as co-branding or various forms of alliances can be an appropriate model for the realization of a great idea. The second option is to limit the big idea to a relatively specific market. Thus, it would be easier for them to form specific competencies as well.

Role of Leader
The failure or success of an idea to be executed is in the hands of CEOs and directors line. No big idea that is realized when the company does not have a leader who has a “gut” in taking risks. The leader is aware that a great idea must have a greater risk as well. However, they dare to live it. This is the first characteristic of the leader who is able to realize great ideas into reality.

Second, to minimize the big risks, the leader will have very high passion and commitment. They have high resistance to trying to realize this idea. They will continue to give support to the team so that together make the idea happen. Leader will be control many details of the strategy and execution of great ideas.

These are the two characteristics of the leader who is very critical to realize the great ideas in a company. Although it seems simple, it is not easy to find a leader who has this. The majority leader has only one feature, or even not both. Many leaders who choose to seek an execution that has been established or prefer to do things that have been proven to deliver results.