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Former FedEx Employee Details Company's Innovation Strategy

Posted on: Friday, 22 July 2005, 21:00 CDT

Jul. 23--Madan Birla believes innovation is critical to being competitive and nowhere was that more evident than at his employer of 22 years -- FedEx Corp.

"We had an innovation culture, but you don't realize it when you're in the corporation," he said.

He realized it after he retired in 2002, and then he decided to write a book about it.

"FedEx Delivers: How the World's Leading Shipping Company Keeps Innovating and Outperforming the Competition" hit the bookstores last month.

At FedEx, Birla's jobs included directing long-range operations and planning how the company used its facilities and materials. His last post was in the Leadership Institute.

"I was at a point where I was ready for more ... to pursue the creative side, the spiritual side," said Birla, 61.

His son and daughter were grown and in careers.

"They said, 'Dad, we don't need your money. You can do what you want to do,'" he recalled.

That turned out to be working with nonprofits, including the Church Health Center, Friends for Life and the Tipton County Council on Aging on long-term planning and advising business executives on how to build a culture of innovation at their firms.

And writing a book about how FedEx did that.

Innovation, Birla said, has three steps: Generation of an idea, acceptance and implementation.

For people to voice ideas, they need to be secure in knowing that, even if it's not well thought out, it will be heard.

"Innovation is a people process," he said. "The role of leadership is to create an environment that allows people to ... express ideas, come together."

That means making sure workers are engaged in the enterprise, Birla said, "that they really care about the mission."

Workers must have opportunities to advance their knowledge. Plus, there has to be an environment of cooperation because most ideas involve more than one part of the company, he said.

FedEx, for example, has cross-functional teams to explore ideas and "what ifs" of carrying them out, Birla said.

Put those factors in place and you have committed people who, he wrote, "Go beyond formal job descriptions in ensuring successful implementation of creative ideas. Go an extra mile to satisfy the customer. Put the organization's interest above self interest."

With his approach Birla has "done a really good job of bridging the gap between engineers and technical people and managers," said Sarah Meyerrose, executive vice president of corporate and employee services at First Horizon National Corp.

"I like his overall concept of creating an environment where ideas are surfaced and worked enough," she said. "People are encouraged, they work enough to decide if an idea is viable and, at that point, have the discipline to decide to throw it out if it shouldn't go forward."

The folks at FedEx have less to say on the book's specifics.

"FedEx is proud of its history of innovation and success," said spokeswoman Lourdes Peña. "We are flattered when books on business management discuss our best practices and hope our experience helps nurture entrepreneurs everywhere."

MADAN BIRLA

--Book: "FedEx Delivers: How the World's Leading Shipping Company Keeps Innovating and Outperforming the Competition," John Wiley & Sons Inc., $24.95.

--Book signing: Sunday, 3 p.m., Borders, 6685 Poplar

--Age: 61

--Education: Undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, India; master of science in industrial engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology; master of science in counseling, University of Memphis.

--Professional experience: RCA Records, Indianapolis; FedEx Corp., managing director of system form engineering, materials and resource planning; facilitator of innovation, leadership and life balance, FedEx Leadership Institute.

--Family: wife, Shashi, grown son and daughter.

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn.

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Source: The Commercial Appeal

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