Anatomy of Creative Leadership by Russ Schoen

A friend and colleague whose husband works for citibank just sent me this translated summary of an article.   that appeared in Germany’s Wirtschaftswoche… about Citibanks Chief Innovation Officer, Amy Radin.

I am trying to get a link to the original article ~ I will post as I find it… in the meantime!

Let me know what you think…

HERE IS THE EMAIL I RECEIVED IN ITS ENTIRETY

Germany: Citigroup GCG’s Innovation Officer Radin is  "Pioneer of Change"
Editor’s  Note: The following is a summary translation of a recent article from Germany’s WirtschaftsWoche in which  Citigroup Global Consumer Group’s Chief Innovation Officer, Amy Radin, is  noted as one of the top 25 "Pioneers of Change."
 
Who are the most  creative minds in the business community? The energizers? The movers and shakers? The visionaries? The Wirtschaftswoche has ventured to select 25 personalities
 
 At Motorola, four letters denote a revolution. Only three years ago, the U.S.  conglomerate was producing mobile phones that bore robot names like T720, and  with their briquette shapes drove innumerable aesthetically discerning  customers into the arms of the competition. Then came designer Jim Wicks  – and with him the best-selling model "Razr," of which the  crisis-torn company sold 50 million units, harvested several design prices,  and turned things round. The succeeding models, with the cryptic names of Rokr,  Pebl, Krzr and Rizr, retain the world-class design and the philosophy of  four-letter nomenclature – a triumph of creativity.
 
 Only creative staff can come up with those path-breaking innovations, without  which the companies of the industrialized nations would be hard-pressed to  come up new products. However, creativity is a raw material that needs to be  purposefully encouraged. At his seminars Stephen R. Covey, an American  management consultant and bestselling author, frequently asks: "How many  of you believe that the majority of staff in your organization possess more  inventiveness, talent and creativity than they need or are permitted to use  for their current work?" The answer: over 95%. Covey responds:  "What a waste."
 
 To ensure that this raw material is not squandered in the future, an  experienced innovator in the shape of Hasso Plattner, founder and Supervisory  Boards Chairperson of the software conglomerate SAP, is supporting the design  institute of America’s  elite Stanford University with a donation of one  million dollars, for training a new generation of managers. They have to be  able not only to handle numbers, but also get inside their customers’ heads,  and make optimum use of their creativity. Because, says Plattner,  "companies have to become more innovative." His warning: "This  is the only option for us to stay competitive." And at this year‘s World Economic Forum, German Chancellor Angela Merkel also spoke of the  "creative imperative." Her admonition: "We can maintain  prosperity only by according absolute priority to innovation."
 
 Companies like Apple, BMW and Google demonstrate how it’s done, and are  admired for their innovative vigor. It’s mostly the CEOs who bask in the  golden glow of success. Often, however, it’s the energizers, the movers and  shakers, and the visionaries from the second echelon who work on improvements  behind the scenes, and create innovations by combining knowledge from  different fields in unusual ways, questioning received wisdom, or  (particularly difficult) thinking in entirely different directions.
 
 Within the framework of a five-part series on the "new era of  creativity", the Wirtschaftswoche will be presenting 25 creative minds from various sectors – the true  pioneers of change.
 
 The cultural revolutionary, Amy J. Radin, is Chief Innovation Officer at  Citigroup (GCG).
 
 She laughs a lot, and she’s good at communicating enthusiasm. Lucky for her  – since her job is to rub her company the wrong way and break down any  resistance to new ideas. Amy J. Radin is Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) at  the world’s biggest bank, Citigroup in New  York (editor’s  note, for the Global Consumer Group). Even her job designation is  something new in this sector: she’s the first ever CIO. For around eight  months now, Radin has been busy putting together a team of 30 to 40 people  distributed over Citigroup’s worldwide network, with a goal to "question  old habits and tread new paths," says Radin. After all, what’s involved  here is nothing less than a change in corporate culture at the mega-bank.
 
 From her New York corner office on the  seventh floor of 399 Park Avenue,  Radin looks directly on to the Citigroup  Center tower on the corner of Lexington and 51st street.  That’s the meeting place for the board, to whom she reports. Her closeness to  the CEO Chuck Prince is important, since her mission (with his agreement, of  course) undermines the board’s own authority. From now on, the bank is being  required to focus no longer on a single boss, but on many: Citi’s customers.  Their needs are in the future to act as the engine for all new banking products and services – and not strategies cooked up in an ivory tower.
 
 Innovation in the financial sector: in the past this primarily meant attempts  to achieve higher margins for the bank by means of creating and selling  sophisticated investment products. This was not always the most advantageous  for the customer. So, this mindset is to be consigned to history. That’s why  good market research, for example, is indispensable, believes Radin: The more  the bank knows about how customers shop, save, settle their bills, pay their cleaning ladies, handle their accounts, the "better we can help them to  manage this more effectively," says Radin.
 
 She’s already carrying one of the first innovations on her key ring: a small  blue radio chip, the size of a USB stick. Under a pilot project in the New York subway and  numerous shops, selected Citigroup customers have for several months been  able to use it to pay as they pass through the subway turnstiles, in  no-contact radio mode. The background to this was the realization that many  people are "reluctant to get out their wallets" in subway stations,  says Radin. Moreover, the chip functions better than standard subway passes,  which repeatedly cause long queues at the entrances during peak hours.
 

For another article on Amy, click here.