Investment Mindset for Managers

  • Prepare
  • Adapt
  • Cultivate
  • Potential

A culture of innovation starts with leaders leading differently. Except, most of the time, it doesn’t. Far too often, organizations demand that employees embrace change and innovation without changing any of the systems or practices that drive the organization.

If you want employees to innovate, managers have to create an environment where innovation can thrive. The first step in this process is for leaders to shift from a management mindset to an investor mindset. 

All of the frameworks in the world won’t work if you haven’t been practicing for moments of uncertainty, the discomfort of being under stress, or the difficult choices when the right answer isn’t written in a management book. The challenge awaiting you as a leader - whether you lead a team, a movement, a nonprofit, or a company - is to prepare for those moments in advance.

Everett Harper, Move to the Edge, Declare it Center

How it Works

This program requires organizations to commit resources to an investment fund. The size of the fund and whether it is deployed internally for employees or externally for community or customer participation are up to the organization. Once the size and type of fund are set, the program structure starts with recruiting an Investment Committee that will mange the fund. Once the IC is established, they will work together to make all the decisions about how the fund operates. Everything from check size to marketing for good deal flow to application and evaluation criteria and mentoring and support will be the responsibility of the IC. The program structure provides the participants the tools to understand the choices, divide roles and carry out the work of the fund.  The experiential process is supported by ongoing structured reflection activities for the IC as a team and for each individual participant. 

Prepare

Great leaders prepare themselves so they can be ready to support the people they are leading. For innovation to thrive, leaders need to prepare the space and this starts with experimenting new ways of evaluating ideas and distributing resources.

Adapt

Too often, leaders ask everyone else to have flexible and adaptive mindsets while they themselves don’t change their approach or the systems and practices they manage. We provide the chance for managers to adapt themselves so they can lead change.

Cultivate

Cultivating the best in people is a nuanced give and take process that involves recognizing needs, desires, motivators, weaknesses, strengths and a myriad of other human things. A good investor learns how care for the people they are invested in more than the return on investment.

Potential

Do you naturally look for the potential in people and ideas? Do you know how to recognize it? Do you know what to do with it? Do you know your blindspots and pattern recognition biases? These are some of the important questions participants tackle in this program.

Start the Mindset Shift Today

Begin the process of leading for innovation 

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