From the FastCompany blog, comes this interesting post about the difference between people talking about something, and actually doing something. This is a classic with innovation inititatives in many large organisations.

It’s trendy, it’s sexy, everyone likes to think they’re innovators, and the marketing department just put the word on the box of the latest widget (because it now comes in a range of trendy colours).

Lots of talk, little action.

I’ve often found a frequent offender to be the manager who’s gung-ho about a new management book. He likes the concepts. He talks about them often. He gets others to read the book. They like them too. The book’s jargon makes its way into their everyday language. Everyone’s excited to be on board with the latest management thinking. Amidst the excitement, everyone fails to realize a simple fact. They’re not actually putting the concepts into practice.

The post is written by an executive coach called Doug Sundheim. I’ve often read his column in the magazine itself, and he offers an interesting little exercise at the end of the post. If you are involved in an innovation scheme in your organisation, spend five minutes on the exercise, ponder the result, and then treat it as a call to action.