Organizational Champions

Associations often pull teams of people together to develop new products and services for members.  However, a great idea with all the right people on the team will still fail if the person who is the organizational champion for the product is not the right person. 

Typically there is one person who is passionate about the product (if there isn't then you probably need to re-evaluate the problem you are trying to solve). But there are several common failures when that person isn't in the right position in the organization. 

The Pushy Boss. This person is too high in the organization to really get sufficiently into the details to make sure this idea can work. He won't have the time on his calendar to go through a thoughtful process of problem identification and solution evaluation. Often he ends up pushing the idea forward based on a preconceived concept of it, which is not flexible enough to succeed. 

The Creative Soul. This is someone who is not in the direct chain of command for the area where the product will eventually live. She might be in an innovative think tank or a side area such as communications or IT. She knows this idea can work, but he has no power herself to make it a reality. Because she doesn't have the control over the resources, she lacks a fundamental sense of ownership and of the real cost of the effort. The combination of her vision and powerlessness can bring a project down. 

The Tenacious Terrier. This is a person who is close to the front-line and knows, just knows, what the member needs. And because Tenacious Terriers are often bright, energetic, and persuasive, you go along with it. But he doesn't have the organizational understanding to really figure out how this might fit in. Unless that person is a program manager or director, and has an existing base of resources to expand to accommodate this program, it's going to be difficult to establish. 

Who has The Right Stuff? The person who is going to own the project, run it, staff it, and budget for it is the person who is the most effective organizational champion. This person does need the support of higher level bosses plus the resources of the IT, publications, communications, marketing, finance and other folk who will make it happen. 

But the bottom line is that he or she needs to own the vision and have the personal commitment to making it a reality, to be an effective champion for a new product.