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wbjournal.com | August 7, 2017 | Worcester Business Journal 17 10 T H I NG S I know about . . . . . . E f f e c t i v e p r o j e c t m a n a g e m e n t By Jody Staruck Jody Staruk is senior project manager for Milford-based Consigli Construction. Reach her at jstaruk@consigli.com. K N O W H O W Accelerating growth through embracing innovation T he way a company culture can benefit from providing health and wellness opportunities for its employees are well documented. Financially, for instance, Harvard Business Review reports Johnson & Johnson's wellness programs have saved the company an estimated $250,000 over the past decade – with a return of $2.71 for every dollar spent from 2002 to 2008. Wellness programs don't have to be expensive or compli- cated, either. It should all start with biometric screenings. This should really be your company's start point, says Alan Kohll at Forbes.com. Measuring a team member's cholesterol, blood pressure and body-mass index helps employees get a blueprint of their own health, and get invested in setting goals. "With aggregate reports, they're also a great tool for measuring the overall health of your workforce, and benchmarking year-to-year," he writes. Explore low-cost, creative initiatives. SnackNation.com suggests providing healthy snacks in the office, to encour- age healthy eating and more substan- tially fuel team members; offering one remote work day each week; hosting yoga classes; publishing a wellness newsletter; and offering incentives and support for employees to quit smok- ing. Extra land behind your building? Set up a walking path with mile mark- ers for lunchtime exercise. See wellness as expansive. "Typical wellness programs only include physi- cal activity. Programs serving as a hub for everything … volunteering, refer- rals, team building, culture and energy – is the key to an inspired and aligned workforce," writes Henry Albrecht at Entrepreneur.com. A socially well workplace achieves more trust between employees and leaders, better unites teams, reduces things like workplace gossip, and boosts motivation and morale. "Well-designed workplace- wellness programs should reinforce the company mission and values … ori- enting newbies and reconnecting vet- erans in need of a boost." BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to the Worcester Business Journal 10 1: W e l l n e s s p r o g r a m s 10. Plan, Plan, Plan. If you're going to spend your time and energy on something, invest time in planning. 9. Be responsive. We've all dealt with the person you need an answer from who won't call you. Don't be that person. 8. Overemphasize "we." We've all heard the saying "There is no 'I' in Team." Emphasize that as much as possible. It can be as simple as writing "we did this" in an email instead of "I did this." 7. Don't leave room for interpretation. When communicating, be clear and concise. "Please respond to me as soon as possible" can have different meanings to different people. "Please respond to me by noon this Friday" does not. 6. Be consistent. Hold yourself, the people on your team, and the people you are working with, to the same standards. Do not play favorites. 5. Communicate "why." If you need people on your team to get something done, make sure they understand why it benefits them to get it done. If it's not important to people, they won't prioritize it or may not do it at all. 4. Get to a resolution. Issues need to be closed out 100 percent. Everyone needs to be on the same page and have clear direction on how to do that. Make that one extra phone call to confirm. 3. Make a decision. A lot of people get hung up overanalyzing and won't make a decision. Use the information you have to make the best decision possible. You can always correct it. 2. Admit when you are wrong. Not every decision you make will be correct. Your team needs to see you hold yourself accountable so everyone can move on. 1. Do what you say you're going to do. Always. If something happens and you can't, let the people you committed to know. Communicating where you stand is key to effective management. "I like your ideas, but we've always done things this way." Oftentimes we tend to be resistant to change and find comfort in maintaining the status quo. Not being intentional about innovation can mean the difference between deliv- ering the same results, or experiencing a breakout year in your business or career. Some of the biggest opportunities to accelerate growth within your organiza- tion can come from thinking differently about how we embrace innovation as part of our daily actions. There are three foundational steps we can take to wel- come innovation and make it a practice within your company culture. 1) Challenge yourself to question the status quo. As business leaders, we often tend to accept how things have always been done without question. These deep rooted mental models can drive away new ways to approach challenges, leav- ing us with the same predictable out- comes. Don't be afraid to question everything as doing this can uncover answers that may not have been con- sidered. We should check our egos at the door since questioning everything may reveal that our current way of thinking may be outdated, or even worse, limit our ability to compete effectively. The result of questioning the status quo can stimulate new and innovative ways of understanding what our cus- tomers truly require. 2) Network to understand the customers wants. Challenged with more global com- petition and shorter technology lifecy- cles, it can become increasingly diffi- cult to keep up with the pace of advances in innovation that consumers have become accustomed to. Remember that little book delivery company called Amazon? Jeff Bezos used networking with his customers to recognize they also wanted to receive DVDs and electronics in the same way they purchased books. Through net- working, Amazon shed light on the customers' true desires and became a powerhouse in the distribution of goods and services beyond just being an online bookstore. Networking enables you to take on new thoughts distinct from our central aptitudes within our own industries. When you have an opportunity to speak with your customers, suppliers or employees, take it. Take the time to network with thought leaders outside of your industry. You never know what innovative ideas can be generated through changing this one daily action. 3) See failure as an acceptable result. Some organizations see failure as a badge of dishonor, which discourages us from taking even the most mea- sured risks. This attitude towards fail- ure is part of what's persisting the sta- tus quo mindset. Those that have not failed have not taken enough risks, and the result of this could be stagnant growth within your organization. Accepting failure must be part of accelerating the introduction of new ideas. We all understand we are beholden to our current commitments, but we should not be prisoners to our operating plans. In your organization, you should endeavor to foster an atti- tude towards accepting failure, but we should encourage failing fast and piv- oting to a direction leading towards successful outcomes. Making time for innovation isn't an easy thing, but through adopting these simple practices we can even incre- mentally move the needle forward on our ability to advance growth. W BY ABEL TRAVIS Special to the Worcester Business Journal W W Abel Travis, assistant vice president for product management, Hanover Insurance Group