by John Brooker | Feb 16, 2012 | Innovate
YES! AND… Creative Gorilla # 48 We should reward those people who take risks in their career as well as those who take a more conventional route “Do we give the people we hire an enriching mix of experiences?” James A. Christiansen in “Building the Innovative Organisation” Do you encourage people to take on risky projects or job? Do you reward them? Like many people in England, I sat on the edge of my seat on Saturday evening as English players lined up to take penalties in the World Cup match against Portugal. My brain told me they were going to lose but my heart hoped and the adrenaline pumped. Portugal missed and the noise in our house was deafening (my son has a very high pitched scream that would bring down a cruise missile) but England missed three and we were very sad. Whilst out running this morning, I reflected on those penalty takers and wondered if the guys who take the penalties get a bonus for risking the wrath of a sizable part of the English nation. I wondered too if organisations reward adequately those people who take risks in their career. Let’s illustrate this with a couple of examples: a. A manager, after three successful years in his job, is bored and senior management allow him to set up a new department in a field in which he has no experience but lots of enthusiasm and ideas. At his pay review six months later, his boss tells him that “his performance hasn’t quite met objectives so his salary award will be average.” Our manager thinks “I...
