Talk is cheap (unless it's with an attorney of course) and when it comes to innovation that is exactly what many companies settle for, but they don't have too. I recently read a piece published in the Harvard Business Review that put innovative entrepreneurs under the microscope and examined when and how they came up with the ideas on which their business was built. I wanted to share a few of the insights they found to the secret sauce of business success, "innovation".
The authors studied the habits of Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Herb Kelleher, David Neeleman just to name a few and out of this in-depth research they were able to identify patterns of behaviors that help answer many questions but most notably this one:
Can we learn to be innovators?
The answer is unequivocally yes, the article outlines research that has lead to the assertion of five "discovery skills" that clearly distinguishes the most creative executives and their results.
1. Associating: In my field of work as a consultant and trainer we must have a developed competency to connect seemingly unrelated questions, problems or ideas from different industries in a way that can clarify or add value to a business. In the HBR article Steve Jobs said "Creativity is connecting things." The article then outlines the example of Pierre Omidyar who in 1996 was able to link three seemingly unconnected dots (1) a fascination and passion with creating more efficient markets; (2) his fiancés desire to locate hard to find collectible Pez dispensers; and (3) the ineffectiveness of local classified ads in locating such items. As a result Ebay was founded.
Entrepreneur Frans Johansson described this ability and discipline as the "Medici effect" referring to the explosion of talent and new ideas that resulted from a family bringing together sculptors, scientists, poets, painters, philosophers and architects. The article continues by saying "As these individuals connected, new ideas blossomed at the intersections of their respective fields, thereby spawning the Renaissance, one of the most inventive eras in history."
In my opinion associating is one of the most overlooked skill sets in people today. Developing a mind-set that systematically solves problems and creates opportunities by learning to connect the seemingly unconnected in a way that’s productive and clarifying will set you apart in both personal and professional endeavors.
2. Why? Why not? What if?: Much of our work with helping organizations achieve their best results is centered around challenging the false generalizations and testing untested assumptions that exist in their culture. In the article Meg Whitman, former CEO of Ebay, describes the innovative drive of leaders such as the founders of Ebay, Skype and Paypal as "getting a kick out of screwing up the status quo," what a great way to put it! The best businesses understand the importance of consistently asking themselves these 3 questions: Why? Why not? What if?.
Look for most of us, business is not life threatening its ego threatening and if you want to create sustainable success you have to be able to ensure your culture is always open to questioning itself and that employees respect the difference between challenging questions and criticism.
3. Observing: Ideas, solutions and opportunity exists everyday right in front of our faces yet few tend to pick up on them and fewer actually do anything about it when they do see it. The articles example here is Intuit founder Scott Cook and his idea for Quicken financial software, after watching his wife struggle with keeping track of their own finances. Scott observed a behavior then acted on his observations as a result grabbed 50% of the market for financial software in the first year.
So, develop your ability to look for small behavior niches that can be exploited in the context of design, brand, service or product.
4. Experimenting: As adults we have such a love hate thing with success and failure. Meaning we love success but hate failure. Further many tend to harbor a view of experimentation as mainly something reserved for smart people in white coats. The truth is the world is a laboratory and observing, questioning and associating are very much pointless unless you actually begin to put the ideas to work.
We can learn much from watching a kid learn to walk, falling down isn't the end of the world and most times its greeted with laughter. They somehow know they are trying something new, experiencing a different feeling and want the freedom of getting around a little more efficiently then just on their stomachs…to be innovative experimentation and forcing failure is not just a good idea...its good business.
5. Networking : I am not talking about handing out businesses cards at your local chamber mixer here. What I am talking about is the amount of talent that is a phone call away from you and who would be willing to meet for lunch. Your ability to draw artists, academics, scientists, thinkers, adventurers and entrepreneurs close to you will serve as the greatest predictor of how well you will be able to enhance your innovative spirit and mind-set. Conferences, seminars, civic events and fund-raisers you have interests in are all great places but resist the urge to sell, instead buy, listen, connect and most importantly follow up.
The more you learn to associate, question, observe, experiment and network the more creative your problem solving and idea generation will get. Hope this helps!
To read the article visit http://hbr.org/ and search for spotlight on innovation!
