A642.9.3.RB_BorutyAlan_The Innovation Experience

The Innovation Experience

Looking back over the last nine weeks and how this course unfolded, there were many important elements discussed that created the innovation experience for me.  They are all interconnected making it difficult to tell where one element stops and the next begins.  For this reason, I found it difficult to isolate three as more important than the others.  My perspective since the first lesson has been, what do I have to do or change for my people to see how important innovation is and want to participate in the innovative process.  I have always believed that the leader cannot expect anything more from the followers than what they see in their leader.  Therefore, for my people to become innovative, they must first see that behavior in me.  Fortunately, this made selecting three elements much easier.  Unfortunately, it means I have some changes to make. 

Identify the three elements that had the largest influence on your perspective on innovation

Nurture Your Creative Genius

Innovation depends on creative thinking to generate good ideas (Mckeown, 2014).  I have never considered myself to be creative and I still would not label myself as such.  However, I am getting better.  Mckeown (2014) explained it this way. “If there are no new ideas, there is no innovation.  And if there is no creativity, there are no new ideas” (p. 3). 

Building a Better, Bigger Brain

Regardless of how creative or smart you are, you cannot know or think it all.  To be most effective, not only do you need to realize what you can contribute but also what others bring to the table.  Everyone has something to offer to the process.  Know who they are and what they can contribute, then use them as necessary to grow your brain.

Giving Up Old Ideas (to make room) for Better Ideas

Sometimes what you already know can get in the way of learning what you really need to know.  Old ideas define where you are currently.  To get to where you want to be, you have to replace old ideas with better ideas.  A closed mind never innovated anything.

Define the elements and why they are important.

Nurturing your creative genius means that creativity is an intentional thinking process that can be learned or improved by employing a few techniques and practice.  As a self-identified non-creative person, it means that I can learn to be more creative.  This is critically important to innovation because creativity or creative thinking is the foundation for innovation.  Without creative thinking, innovation cannot exist (Mckeown, 2014).

I define building a better, bigger brain to mean two heads are better than one and, within limits, the more heads the better.  Building a better, bigger brain is about deliberate collaboration.  There are multiple ways to build a bigger brain depending on the situation.  Building a better, bigger brain is important because there are many different roles to fill for any one person to handle.  A better, bigger brain “connects the creativity and passion of many different kinds of people” (Mckeown, 2014, p. 34).  Additionally, a bigger brain improves your ability to “deliberately generate additional useful insights and ideas” (Canfield & Smith, 2011, p. 117).

Giving up old ideas for better ideas reminds me to keep an open mind and accept that the way we have always done it is not always the best way to do it.  Sometimes getting rid of the old idea is the only way to accept and follow the better idea.  Giving up old ideas takes intentional mental preparation.  This is important because old ideas, even after they are outdated, still support our traditions, habits, and biases.  If we do not make room for new ideas, the new ideas cannot be tested.  If they cannot be tested they may be rejected even if there is clear evidence supporting them.  If we do not make room for new ideas, we cannot move forward and take advantage of better ideas.

Discuss how you will use them in the future.

I will continue to nurture my creative genius daily.  Cognitively I allow myself to think freely on random topics, try to come up with at least ten different answers to the same question, and think of as many alternative ways to accomplish a job as I can.  My answers can be completely off the wall.  As long as I am not producing the obvious, usual or status quo response to an input, Mckeown (2014) considers my thinking to be creative.  By trying to solve problems other people think are unimportant or impossible, I can come to understand how creativity feels.  Thinking and feeling creative will begin to generate creative focus.    At work I would introduce and explain creative thinking to the employees.  I would encourage each to find something within their area of expertise that could be better and to come up with as many ideas as possible to make it better.  From there I would let it grow.

Building a better, bigger brain should always be better first, then bigger.  The other way around will only serve to create chaos.  Whether building from the top down or the bottom up, putting the right person on the team is more important than putting more people on the team.  Evaluate the requirements first, then build (Mckeown, 2014).  My organization is very well networked. Everyone is connected to everyone all the time.  So, building a better, bigger brain is done by creating a collaborative group based on the innovation topic, innovation source, and skillsets needed.  I encourage collaboration on day-to-day work to improve the quality and completeness of work and reduce the amount of rework caused by interoffice conflict.

I use ‘give up old ideas for better ideas’ as a reminder to keep an open mind and to actively listen for ideas with potential.  I do not vocalize it, but I sometimes find myself thinking in ‘it has always been done this way’ terms.  The next thought is a rationalization, how bad can it be if it has always been done this way.  Which is completely irrational.  Most times the thought has come and gone before I realize.  Then I allow it to pass.  I am not proud of it but, I am guilty.  If I am thinking like that, then I must be overloaded with old ideas.  I need to make room and find a better idea for the one that has always been this way.  This element in a way holds me accountable or reminds me to be accountable for my thinking.  If I no longer have room to consider a different, new, better, or otherwise idea.  I either need to get rid of old ideas or I need to step aside.

Each of these elements in innovation are for one reason, new ideas.  They make sure the ideas are generated, the right people are in place with open minds to make them useful and better.  Putting the elements to work even when not innovating means that the organization is comfortable with the elements when the time comes to innovate.

~Pete

References:

Canfield, J., & Smith, G. (2011). Imagine: Ideation skills for improvement and innovation today. Holland, Michigan: Black Lake Press.

Mckeown, M. (2014). The innovation book: How to manage ideas and execution for outstanding results. Edinburgh Gate, Harlow, United Kingdom. Pearson Education Limited.