To do something truly new and innovative requires operating in White Space.  You have to get outside the box of the traditional business in order to develop a new Success Formula.  And for White Space to have breakthrough results it must have Permission (as well as resources) to be breakthrough.

I spoke to a colleague recently who is head of change for a very, very large oil company.  As you can imagine, profits are exceptional there these days.  And he’s been very eager to make some big changes in a behemoth.  But, even though top management puts out lots of words about their desire to make breakthroughs, his role is constantly being pushed to "manage" incremental improvements to existing processes.

He doesn’t really have permission, nor committed resources, to make breakthroughs.  In this environment, he’s worked hard for two years to get leadership to accept the use of virtual teams for process analysis.  He’s had to nudge and cajole to gain acceptance for experimenting with process changes that have saved millions of dollars while greatly improving customer and supplier relationships.

Is he failing?  Not at all.  His company does not perceive a serious external Challenge to their business – profits are greater than ever.  Without a threat, there isn’t the passion for an internal Disruption.  And they haven’t established White Space.  If he were to try and drive breakthroughs he would be on a suicide mission that would do him, and his company, no good.  So, in the current environment he’s actually doing quite well.  He’s realized that until a Challenge promotes a Disruption his success comes from helping the organization further Defend & Extend its Success Formula.  While the sledding has been slow, and sometimes frustrating, he’s in fact made some great contributions.

Success requires understanding what you can do, not just what you want to do.  If you’re organization isn’t ready for White Space then recognizing your role is to help promote D&E practices is critical.  Kamikaze’s have short life expectancies – and they don’t do much for helping the organization succeed.