Dan Redford, a student at Michigan State University’s James Madison College, wrote a compelling editorial in the Lansing State Journal last spring titled “Michigan Must Recover Its Entrepreneurial Mojo.” Redford made the case that the traditional top-down structure of our dominant industries has created an environment where innovation and creativity are nearly nonexistent.

He offers a solution: The people of Michigan need to work together to create a statewide entrepreneurial culture of creativity, free thought and innovation.

What most impressed me about the article was its optimistic call to arms. Dan Redford is not lamenting about how bad things are—he has the audacity and courage to focus on possibility. He is inspiring us toward a powerful shared vision of the future. Dan has a lot of personal mojo, as do his fellow James Madison students. In fact, they have created Spotlight Michigan, a student business aimed at highlighting and connecting entrepreneurial students and companies (go to spotlightmichigan.com for more information).

What is mojo? I define it as the energy that generates enthusiasm, inspiration and positive action. Mojo is “possibility fuel.”

So, how can we help Michigan find its mojo? By finding our own and harnessing its power.

Here’s the problem: There is a gap between what leaders believe and what front-line employees may be experiencing. There is always a mojo gap—a chasm separating what we are and what we can be. When ignored, gaps become wide chasms into which ideas, inspiration, innovation and creativity at work can fall. For example:

• A great flextime policy failing because nearly all requests are denied by the approving manager.

• The opinions or work styles of new millennial employees not being understood by baby boomer executives.

• Employee ideas being mocked, ignored or forgotten by leadership.

• Communication, development and innovation being touted as important values, but disregarded in daily work and decision-making.

The gap becomes so wide you can’t even see the other side. The mojo of the young workforce? Drained.

The best companies value entrepreneurial culture and want to tap into the power of mojo. They focus time and effort in understanding the gap and finding ways to bridge it. Some examples:

• Ensuring that a new flextime policy will succeed by setting clear expectations among employees and managers and taking into account the impact on workflow, staffing and technology.

• Holding discussion forums that bring the multigenerational workforce together to discuss their perspectives and how they can learn from one another.

• Creating systems where innovation and ideas are encouraged, tracked and rewarded.

• Developing robust corporate values that are the cornerstone for how people work together and with customers.

The mojo audit

Following is a list of open-ended questions that can help your leadership team identify potential gaps that may be draining your corporate and entrepreneurial mojo. For it to work, however, you can’t rely on your opinion alone; you have to sincerely seek out the views of your front-line employees. The gap exists between them and you.

Policies and programs

• Count the total number of policies at your company. What is the ratio of policies focusing on preventing poor behaviors to those encouraging growth behaviors?

• How many of your benefit programs are underused?  Is it because they aren’t popular or because managers aren’t willing to adapt work processes?

• How well do you introduce a new policy or employee benefit program? Do you launch it and forget about it, or do you work with managers to ensure that they understand the expectations for success?

Communication and collaboration

• How many ways are you communicating with your employees? How are you seeking feedback and input on the information you are sending them?

• How does your leadership team directly interact with your front-line employees?

• How do you share information about the strategic direction of your company with employees and ensure that they understand their part in its successful implementation?

• What opportunities do employees have to collaborate on new initiatives, technologies and tools they will be required to use for their work?

• How do you ensure that you have a rich diversity of opinions?

Innovation and ideas

• How do you tap into new employees as a source for innovation and new ideas?

• Where do new ideas come from in your organization? How do you track ideas and innovation?

• How many new ideas are your employees generating each day?

• How do you follow up on ideas from employees? Do they get feedback?

• How do you reward employees and work groups for innovation and ideas?

Learning and leadership development

• Does every employee have a development plan? Do employees understand why you value their development?

• Is change management part of your training curriculum?

• Do you have leadership development programs for young, high-potential employees? Are you evaluating your employees’ potential?

• Are your leaders evaluated on how well they develop new leaders?

Values

• Can you clearly show how your company applies its corporate values to the work you do?

• Can your employees give examples of how the corporate values apply to their work?

• If asked, could your employees name your values and why they are important to the work they do?

Corporate culture

• How do you build trust among your employees and work groups?

• What do your employees like best about working for your company? What would they most like to change?

• How do your employees know that you care about them?

• How do you know whether your employees love coming to work or dread it?

• Why would a bright, dynamic, innovative, creative young college graduate want to come work for your company?

This mojo audit is a starting point, a way for you to begin asking the right questions to the right people that will lead to trust and open dialog about your shared journey to becoming one of Michigan’s next great companies.

Our future is filled with possibility. Bright young leaders like MSU’s Dan Redford have the entrepreneurial spirit—the mojo—to guide our economy to a successful future. Today’s leaders need to ensure the bridge is in place when it’s time to cross.

		Bob Metzger is program director of Michigan's Next Great Companies for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.