Innovation - Genius or Process?
I have found the study of the history of innovation truly fascinating and eye-opening. It clearly shows how the concept of a lone “genius” conjuring up a unique, groundbreaking thought is actually very rare in reality. Along with the fact that the word “genius” has evolved in our usage with too many unproductive connotations, many of us have no true understanding of how innovation really happens. Because of that, many tend to exclude themselves as outsiders to what may seem like some kind of magical manifestation or the realm of the “scary smart people”. Nothing is farther from the truth. People that we have knighted with the term “genius” actually may have more in common by way of a certain mindset, a way of behaviorally operating and asking tough questions, than specific levels of abilities or intellectual gifts.
The history of innovation chronicles how the advancement of new ideas is an alchemical process of mixing previous ideas, new observations, and diverse viewpoints and is propelled by collaboration. The old BBC series (I’m dating myself here) “ Connections ”, ran for several seasons detailing how breakthrough inventions all evolved from previous ideas through adding new insights and experimenting/playing with established concepts or facts. Isaac Newton ’s famous quote, probably one of the most famous quotes in the innovation field, pays humble homage to this, “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
In the study of innovation, we learn that there definitely is a process involved; one that can be replicated. If innovation’s unique nature can be fully understood and nurtured by corporate management and small business owners – acknowledging that “genius” can come from ALL employees working and actively sharing ideas together – imagine the increases in productivity and growth of our businesses. Imagine if a firm’s human capital is fully tapped and put into motion to grow and differentiate itself beyond the competition.
The caution is that while innovation can most definitely be made into an end-to-end process, the trick is how it is implemented, being careful not to subject it to “performance optimization”. We need to understand that innovation naturally springs from and is driven by our unique human nature, our core desires and abilities to explore and discover new ideas. Acknowledging where innovation comes from will allow innovation to flourish, will help us focus and reward the right outputs, and prevent us from choking it's development by placing unrealistic, inflexible demands on it, thereby ifying the process. Mitch Ditkoff , a top innovation expert and blogger, in his blog posts in our Innovation Library, The Paradox of Innovation , poetically warns us about over-burdening this process of discovery and in 20 Qualities of an Innovator emphasizes the personal dynamic behind innovation. Managers, understanding this innovation dynamic, can provide leadership by helping promote this very human process with both their internal teams and external strategic partners.
Bottomline – The study of innovation reinforces that financial services firms don’t need "geniuses", we need empowered business leaders and employees taught to trust their internal creative capabilities and guided by a flexible process to explore new ideas. We will continue to explore some of these processes in the months to come.
