February 16 was an iconic day in the short history of IPL and for an Idea called Yuvraj. A player discarded by the Indian selectors. A decision that saw polarised reactions. A decision much debated and challenged among his fans and distractors.
Yuvraj is not some unknown entity. He is the temperamental idea that failed to find permanent home. He was the key to India’s 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup campaigns. He is a known gamechanger and a brave a survivor. He still holds a promise of taking charge and coming to rescue of his unit whenever required. Surprisingly, Yuvraj was released by RCB who last year bought him for just Rs 4 crore. And then maybe realising their error they earnestly bid for him way beyond the expected value. Finally it was Gary Kirsten with a different take, value and faith in Yuvraj created history with a Rs 16 crore bid by Delhi Daredevils.
DD, a team broken bruised and re-established many times over just like the city it represents. The Idea called Yuvraj now moves to a team that is not looking its best on paper. Dependency and expectations from him will now rise to new levels. And he will have to re-prove his worth. The auction also saw ideas like Sarfaraz Khan and KC Cariappa finding bidders in KKR and RCB.
Now lets look at our so called corporate professional life. Don’t we have have a set of ideas that are constantly juggling in our mind? Ideas like Yuvraj that always sound great. Some ideas that we have not been able to bet on. Ideas like Sarfaraz that we are willing to commit at early stage. Cariappa, an Idea that we recognise as a future game changer, and are willing to experiment with.
These thoughts are what led to developmement of a process. A new format at corporate level. I here proudly present a skeleton of the IDEA PREMIER LEAGUE™ (IDPL). I am available to help further define and customise the process for a willing corporate.
In Idea Premier League (IDPL) we do not have a stable of 25-plus ideas incubating. We know we can not leash 11 ideas ( Players) at one go. We are not really playing a short T20 game (for tactical victories) with competition. There is no policy requiring that at least 3 foreign ideas (not subscribed by us) to be part of our efforts. We may or maynot bank on research ( coaches, ex-cptains etc). The purse (budget) as usual is a constraint. The future brand value and long term ROI from these ideas are the only two things that matter and define the game. And we have to look at an instant and a long-term perspective at every bid.
Play IDPL before the start of next financial year. Franchise owners are departments or teams within the organisation. Each is given a fixed innovation and experimentation budget. What they bid for are the ideas, processes and projects available on the auction table. These ideas are collectively collated and accepted by the organisation. They maybe old rehasjed ones or new one. But the orgnaisation stands by the pact that no fresh idea would enter IDPL during the season. Just to add a new twist ( remember cheerleaders) along with the idea comes voluntary time of idea propogater.
The year-end expected output ( performance/results) are evaluated by an internal expert evaluation team. They pick the winners who get the pre-defined trophy and the prize in cash or kind.
In IDPL, the departments (the franchise owners) play it every year. In the next season (financial year) are allowed to discard some existing playing Ideas to create funds and bid for a new ideas. Budget penalties are part R&R in IDPL. It is no longer a mere game (like IPL, IDPL is a complete business, hence the franchise owners need to substantiate their decision to drop any IDEA. And again, another team (like DD) may see it (YUVRAJ) differently and they may have the belief to go bid and make a game out of it.
COME LET US MAKE A IDPL HAPPEN
Sanjeev Kotnala is Head Catalyst at Intradia and believes the best way forward for an organisation is to enhance its interanal team’s potential and capabilities instead of depending on external resources. He is a management- marketing-media consultant and also conducts specialised workshops in the area of IDEATION (Harvest and Liberate) and Innovation (InNoWait). To contact email sanjeev@intradia.in or tweet at s_kotnala visit www.intradia.in www.sanjeevkotnala.com.
This appeared in mxmindia.com on 18th Feb 2015 under KotMartial
