Innovation is a battle, and at liako.biz , Elias has proposed that people think like two year olds with some good thoughts about ensuring the right people gain ownership of the process. I provided some comments there, but wanted to expand on my thoughts a little bit more here.
I’ve had a few post on innovation recently, but to summarise, most people would seem to agree that there are a lot of examples of innovative new companies however there is a general question as to whether older companies can continue to innovate, or at least break their frame of reference.
We see this in people too. In the work place the influx of new graduates each year bubble with ideas and ways to change the world, while those who’ve been around a develop a deep focus on the their field of expertise, shutting down what they percieve as “noise” getting in the way of the job at hand.
Innovation is really about frame of reference — it’s inevitable that people with significant experience in narrow fields tend to see deep and complicated issues that are not obvious to the rest of us. Combine this with work overload and limited time to invest in understanding something that’s new, people often find they don’t have the right context to make sense of what they are seeing. This leads them to dismiss ideas out of hand, it’s just too much hard work to understand them.
Organisations are also resistant to chasing every wild new idea.  Large organisations in particular can quickly lose focus on the bottom line, investing time chasing the white-rabbit-of-innovation instead of keeping the wheels turning smoothly.
There is a natural tension here that’s right to maintain — not every innovation is good, nor is every existing process always right. In my experience, innovation is hard work, which is why I think it rests (for the most part — some of us still keep at it) with the young and enthusiastic who have yet to become battle-weary! Overcoming the natural tendency of a large organisation to travel the familiar path is not for the feint of heart.
We need to appreciate both sides of the innovation equation, as the battle-scarred realise through experience that more good ideas fail than succeed, while the new bring energy to keep diving back into the fray.Â
The important thing is that once good organisations are convinced of the merits of new innovations and see where it can help their bottom line, then they bring phenomonal focus to driving forwards.
Tying this back to architecture, paticularly around IT, we can help this by introducing new technologies in a framed way that helps the organisation to understand the benefit that they can bring — and engaging the enthusiasts who have the drive to take the hits and evangalise.
April 21st, 2007 at 11:58 am
Good point, and I especially agree about the battle weary - I first had the idea in April 2006, and it wasn’t until late November 2006 that it got off the ground. The battle weary are everywhere, and it’s because they’ve become desensitised. Had I been at the firm a few more years, it might have been a different story - more responsibility, less time. But maybe something worth adding is that the young might be ignorant but they also have nothing to lose - it’s that aspect that gives them the courage to push things.
I think it’s critical for any organisation to have an open platform of communication. Ideas are a dime a dozen, but by engaging in a firm-wide conversation, those ideas can develop to something of merit. My personal battle at the moment is to get everyone to realise that - just look at how we are discussing via blogs in a conversation right now. A conversation expanding on an idea.
It’s going to be an interesting year.
April 21st, 2007 at 8:36 pm
Whole heartedly agree, I think you’re spot on when you talk about an open platform of communication. A culture of innovation is really a culture of listening to new ideas AND sponsoring them where you have something of value to offer.
Without wanting to be too facetious — 7 months is really a very short time. You’re making good progress! My lesson learnt a long time ago is that there are five things which make for successful innovation:
* A solution to a real problem or business issue
* The right time in the business cycle
* The right sponsor who understands what you’re about and connects to senior people who can “make it so”
* The right business case that clearly demonstrates significant value
* Vast amounts of energy
Miss any one of these and you are fighting an even bigger uphill battle.
May 8th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
I think an internal Twitter might help
I once heard a fantastic corporate structure proposal that I have always had at the back of my mind if a company I was involved in was ever big enough to worry about a lack of innovation.
For each role, there could be two managers. A change agent and a consistency agent.
The change agent would be responsible for creating change and changing the frame of reference while the consistency agent would be responsible for ensuring compatibility with legacy systems and grounding any change in reality - to keep the wheels turning so to speak.
It doubles your costs, but perhaps some version of this could work.
I know, for example, most IT departments are too busy trying to keep the network running to really want or research new IT opportunities. Of course, others are far more forward thinking hey Tim
May 8th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
I know, for example, most IT departments are too busy trying to keep the network running to really want or research new IT opportunities.
That’s why we have enterprise architects! No, seriously… there is a natural tension between Operations, Development and Architecture which should be promoted as long as it’s not antogonistic. No organisation can afford to have too many people looking for the next “big thing” while the day to day languishes, but a small dose is like a little bit of salt on your food — gives it a better flavour
The future is generally a more attractive place to be.
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:46 am
[...] posted earlier about The Battle To Innovate in response to a post by Elias.  It was interesting to read on Innovation Zen about The [...]