Lenore Chemicals Innovation - Case Study Example

Question 1 The Hyatt Team has been tasked with enhancing the plastic they developed for Lenore Chemicals. The team had produced a revolutionary new plastic that brought a great deal of success to Lenore, and the company wanted more. Hyatt, which is led by Stanley Carmine and Miles Grady, had been given six months to present the new, strengthened plastic which would expand Lenore’s product portfolio, build on the already popular product, and increase profitability. The problem, however, is that Carmine and Grady are running out of time. The prototype should be presented by August 2003. It is early June and yet Grady, the lead scientist, is yet to come up with anything. In fact, he wants them to start anew on something else because the current project is going awry. Lenore has a reputation for prudent investment and stringent management of resources; it is more likely to end the project than to give the team more time. Carmine and his team will get bonuses and other incentives if they complete the project on time. Time is running out on the team, and they will face major setbacks if the project is canceled. Carmine must either ask for more time or have the project canceled. More importantly, he hopes that Grady’s creativity will come to the fore and enable timely completion of the project. Grady is already frustrated and is looking to start on something else. Question 2 As stated in the case, Grady is not used to the high pressured setting of high-stakes innovations. In addition, he has never been really creative, and has never taken center stage in galvanizing ideas and generating breakthroughs. However, all these factors seem like excuses now, and do not matter anyway. The prototype is needed; soon. Grady is a creative individual, and all creative individuals have their own special way of excelling. They inspire themselves in ways that other people cannot understand, and become easily frustrated (Berkun 171). Carmine should try and understand Grady. What does he like? What is his background? What are his hobbies? How is his social life? Is everything okay at home? Does he like working alone or in a team? Does he mind handling administrative work in addition to his creative work? These questions will allow Carmine to find Grady’s source of creativity; his inspiration. Carmine should try and become friends with Grady if he has not done so. He should eat with him, share jokes with him, and make him part of his life. Currently, Grady and Carmine’s relationship is based on work. Any pressure Carmine feels is directly transferred to Grady, and as the lead innovator he feels more pressured. Once Carmine befriends Grady, he will know how to inspire him. He can mention things like: your legacy will be determined by this project; your family will love you for this; people will respect you if we pull this through. While he talks to his bosses to get more time, Carmine should alienate Grady from all pressure and just let him work. He should tell Grady to let him handle the seniors, while he focuses on the project. Carmine should determine what inspires Grady. Is it anger, frustration, nature, money, or something else? Carmine should act fast by finding where Grady’s creativity stems from and spark it as soon as possible. Question 3 Based on the logs, it is clear that Grady hates bureaucracy and administration; all he wants is to work on the project. He does not like interference like people popping into the lab every now and then to check on progress. He does not want to prepare reports, file them, attend meetings, make phone calls, check equipment, etc. He does not want to be running around doing anything other than laboratory work. He prefers to work with people like him, as evidenced by his relationship with Martin. He gets irritated by administrative work, and this limits his creativity. Grady also values his family, as shown by his log on 03/28/2003. Finally, Grady hates pressure, be it from Carmine or any other person. This is demonstrated by his ability to notice that Carmine was worried by the looming deadline and slow progress in the project. Based on the logs, Carmine can learn a lot about Grady’s habits. Carmine should use the contents of the logs to determine how to solve the problem. This will be detailed in the next paragraph. Question 4 Carmine should never put Grady under any form of pressure. More importantly, he should never allow Grady to know that pressure is mounting on the project. Based on the logs, it is Carmine’s responsibility to take the pressure and let Grady’s creativity flow. Carmine should also talk to his bosses and ask for more time to complete the project. He should stress that the project is on course and it is better to wait a few months and get the perfect prototype than cancel the venture and lose out on a potential game-changer. Carmine should also ask his bosses to spare Grady any administrative work and bureaucratic tasks; he will handle them himself. Carmine should assign people the administrative responsibilities Grady loathes, and make sure his working day is spent on the lab and the project alone. Carmine should talk to Grady and advise him on how to deal with frustrations, because it seems like he does not know how to handle it (most creative people are do not know how to anyway). For example, breakdown in equipment happens all the time and should not lead to an unproductive day at work. If a machine breaks down and is fixed promptly, Grady should appreciate the effort and continue with his work. If he lets frustrations get to him everybody loses. Carmine should talk to his bosses to ensure that the technical aspect of the project (machines) is one hundred percent at all times. Conclusion Time and creativity are the two factors that will determine the project’s fate. More time can be obtained from Lenore, but Grady’s creativity has to be sparked in other ways. However, none of this is impossible. Lenore should accept that the project’s potential is bigger than the current delay, and allow the team more time to complete it. In the end, everybody has to play their role, from maintenance crew to Lenore executives. Eventually, the results will be worth the effort. Work Cited Berkun, Scott. The Myths of Innovation. Beijing: O'Reilly, 2007. Print. Read More