What Robin Hood Can Teach Innovators?

As an innovator, you are a corporate bandit. Robin Hood might seem like a distant relative, but he is totally you. With his green stockings, feathered hats and long bows he looks odd. But folklore or not, Robin Hood has all the hallmarks of a modern leader/innovator.

So let us go over Robin Hood’s story. Former landlord, he falls out with local bigwig, the Sheriff of Nottingham. He becomes an outlaw. He gathers a band of “merry men” and heads to the woods. They start raiding the Sheriff’s tax wagons. Giving the money to the poor. He falls in love. Finally, he is redeemed, when the rightful King returns. A disruptor if ever there was one.

The last decade has seen many small groups of Robin Hoods up turn the corporate apple carts. Some have deposed “robber barons” of stale industries. Others have introduced new “sharing”, connected business models. Many have become social entrepreneurs using business to make positive change.

What do they all have in common? They knew how to be guerrilla, build a leadership band and launch a movement. Here is Robin Hood’s playbook for success:

1. Retreat to the Woods. Be a Guerrilla.

Being on the outsider is a choice an innovator must sometimes make. Organizations have codes, norms and taboos. All cultures are designed to “regularize” prescribed behaviour. Some organizational cultures embrace new ideas. Others are lukewarm, and a minority treat them as poison. For many large organizations, a disruptive innovator is an irritant. Big institutions derive their strength from order. Hierarchy and uniformity provide a resilience to change.

However, innovators make poor courtiers. The confines of the corporate castle can be too restrictive. Creativity, a well spring for innovation, often feels stifled within its walls. New ideas need space. They need time to be refined. Away from the critics. Out of sight of corporate prying eyes. There are many false starts, mistakes and deadlines missed. But a path is found.

Innovation is, therefore, a guerrilla activity. It means retreating to the woods. You need to hide and take time to think. It’s your start-up. Think, two sticks and a piece of string. You are on the back foot. You need to recover your balance. Find out what really works: establish your basecamp.

The key though is to grow by day, every day. Ambush opportunities when they come. But don’t over reach yourself. Find the missing piece that unlocks value that can be scaled. Test, refine and grow. See what gains you support and gives you traction. Remember you can only expand when you found the secret ingredients.

After all, what turned Robin Hood from a common brigand into a folk hero was his revenue “distribution” model. An accident of a bungled raid, it became his mantra. “Steal from the rich and give to the poor.” So, what is your magic mantra?

2. Band of Brothers or Sisters

Your first collaborators are important. Call them partners in crime, it does not matter. The original team is the foundation of your success. So the question is, what leadership profiles create the best innovation alchemy?

VISIONARY LEADER: The first profile is the most celebrated: the visionary leader. Charismatic and high profile, she/he is both the face and the inspiration behind the company. Think Robin Hood. After all she gets all the glory (and perhaps too much of the credit).

THE CRAFTSMAN: Next is the “craftsman,” the individual with refined skills. She builds tools that define your innovation. Think blacksmith or longbow maker. She makes the things that give your company its edge. Typically behind the scenes, the craftsman is the person that translates vision into something you can hold in your hands.

THE BUILDER: The third profile is the builder. The architect of the movement. She might not inspire followers to join but the builder can build an organization where he/she can contribute to the summit of their talents. Lower key than the charismatic leader, these leaders think about “people”. They know that long-term success depends on building a stable organization where success is not random. Greatness is deliberate. It is founded on culture, process and management.

Friar Tuck comes to mind. The wayward monk, turned a ramshackle forest clearing into a rebel camp. A camp with kitchens, training centres for recruits, a treasury, canteens and medical centre. A place –and organization- where all had their role, in the achievement of a common goal.

The fourth profile is SHOWMAN. Sales are their calling. Often this individual is the visionary leader but not always. Sometimes visionary leaders make poor communications. Heads in the clouds. They cannot talk to people. Instead the sales guru understands their common purpose is the spread the word, gain followers and find allies.

Four profiles. Four different leaders. Each has their role. Each is critical to build something bigger than original idea. The question you need to ask yourself is which kind of leader are you? No one is a leader for all seasons. Answering that question helps you understand who you need to recruit in your band of Brothers or Sisters.

3. The movement is everything…

Big innovation is a people thing. Turning an idea into something bigger takes people. Sometimes lots of people. But hiring people does mean you have harnessed talent. Great innovations mobilize the minds and passions of others. Great innovations build a movement. Yes, people will toil for gold and trinkets. But real commitment comes from having a sense of a common purpose.

For Robin Hood and his small band of followers that moment came when “ordinary people” joined the cause. It was their tipping point. It turned a puny small band of outlaws into a social movement. So why did people join? The answer is simple. Individuals join a movement when they see it express their desire for change. We have an affinity with an organization, movement or brand comes when share its values, outlook and direction. We “sign up” when our aspirations fuse with movement’s goals. We follow when the change touches our beliefs and gives them momentum.

So the key question you have to ask yourself as an innovator is, how am I going to create a movement? As Robin Hood would say gather, around me “Merry Men” set on change.

Final Thoughts

Robin Hood is folklore. But his appeal as an outsider, fighting the good fight, has lasted for generations. As an innovator you can find yourself an outsider too. Like any bandit you are doing something beyond the norm. The key is to know you cannot make change alone. Being a guerrilla gives you the edge. Building a solid and intellectually diverse team helps translate your vision into tangible change. Movements though, move you from the margins to the middle. When many join, buy or give, you are on track to change the world. No green tights, longbows or feathered caps needed.

About the Author

Simon Trevarthen is Founder and Chief Inspiration Officer of Elevate Your Greatness (EYG). EYG helps individuals, teams and organizations unpack the secrets of success by becoming even better versions of themselves through dynamic keynotes, seminars and workshops on innovation, inspiration and presentation excellence.

Learn more about Elevate Your Greatness see www.elevateyourgreatness.com

Follow EYG on twitter: @Simon Trevarthen

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