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Is Innovation Impossible?


Ingenious Igor seemed to be perplexed when Avid Andy asked, "Igor how would you describe Innovation".  Andy, started Igor in a crackling voice, Innovation is anything where the output causes a shift in direction.  You see Andy, many assume that change and innovation are synonyms, that is not the case.  Instead, continued Igor, Innovation is the whole package; creative and often disruptive design, deliberate deployment, and absolute adoption.  After a pregnant pause Igor blurted out, Innovation is a tall order and success is only realized after the "I believe button" changes to an "I can't live without" admission by naysayers and supporters alike.  Depending upon the directional impact and breadth of the innovation, the transformation could take weeks, months, or years.



Inspiring innovation across the organization is different for everyone; however, a few thoughts may help get you started:



  • Undisputable destination | no surprise for anyone reading my past posts, you absolutely must answer the question of why.  So many times we focus on what and even how, with innovation these focal points will generally over complicate the objective.  Speaking from personal experience, on more than one occasion, starting a journey without a crystal clear destination will find you wandering aimlessly, burning resources, credibility and support.  Spend time understanding the importance of your innovation for the practitioner and the business.
  • Reserved socialization | timing is EVERYTHING.  A very delicate balance happens early on in the idea gestation phase.  If you are introducing a concept which is highly disruptive or WAY outside of the box, the release of information to others outside of the core team will need to be strategic.  Be careful as you need to get far enough for others to see your vision; however, not so far that others do not feel part of the solution.  Be sincere, you must believe if you expect others to get on board, trust and passion are essential.
  • Top down, bottom up |  this is very hard to answer as it depends on the leadership, their style, operating locations, past performance.  Innovation has never occurred, or a misunderstanding that the last Accounting upgrade was innovative,  absolutely top down.  Ideation meetings, free flowing and sharing of ideas, bottoms up is effective (as these types of organizations are generally flat).  My experience has shown that a good mix of top down and bottom up is the best approach.



As with many things in business, an Innovation leader must have a solid IQ and a strong EQ (emotional quotient).  I would add, in the era of digital transformation, that your DQ (digital quotient), that's right I just made the last one up, must be accomplished.  Igor slapped Andy on the shoulder and said, after work let's discuss this more over a few shots of Vodka.
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