Innovate: Even the European Generals did it!

 While several organizations have started benchmarking, formally or informally, there are many examples throughout history where one organization has studied another to learn how to do something better, and differently.

In the early 1900s, European generals were trying to find the best way to move soldiers, horses, and equipment from one place to another and thereby to be battle ready by the next day. They recognized that a circus faces similar transportation problems on an ongoing basis.

P T Barnum’s circus successfully transported personnel, equipment, and animals from one American town to another. These European generals studied what made Barnum’s circus transportation so smooth and efficient. They also adopted and applied these same ‘best practices’ to improve their own army’s transportation.

When trying to do anything better, study how those who are world-class do it. Others may have already solved the same or a similar problem. That in brief, is benchmarking.

But doing anything better now requires that we also be “different” in how we do it. That in brief, is innovation. P T Barnum’s best practices had to be adapted / innovated for the European army.

LESSONS LEARNED

1.       One key to innovation is to consider benchmarking those organizations that have similar processes but are from an entirely different business or industry.

2.     By learning from the best, regardless of industry, organizations can adapt the benchmarked best practices to develop innovative next practices for their own processes.

3.       If your organization compares itself to others in the same business or industry, over time your products and services will get commoditized.

4.       By looking outside your industry you engage the creative right-brain of all individuals in the organization.

5.       The leaders have to initiate cross-industry benchmarking for best practices to create innovative next practices.