Breaking through barriers: the innovators dilemma

Innovation has always been a struggle between past practice, past perspectives and past acceptance by science, business and culture. It is this struggle that makes real innovation difficult and, in some ways, most rewarding. When I think of innovation there is both incremental change or improvement of existing ideas, theories or products and then there is the radical innovation or better stated perceived as radical departure from traditional accepted ways of looking at problems and providing solutions.?

Radical innovation tends to have more significant barriers needing to be navigated. This form of innovation has both higher risks and in general higher rewards. Radical innovations tests people's abilities to question what they have accepted as truth or fact and in other ways can be perceived as threatening to the status quo. Why mess with something that is successful? Don't kid yourself, your competition is working hard to make your product, process or solution dated and obsolete.

The innovation road tends to be the path less traveled

History has many examples of troubled innovators from Voltaire, Galileo and Copernicus being persecuted by the Catholic Church to more contemporary examples who have suffered similar tragic outcomes in pursuit of knowledge. One Such example:

Ludwig Boltzmann

Back in the 19th century, there was a huge debate over the nature of matter. Boltzmann not only had the audacity to presuppose the existence of atoms at a time when the atomic model was still controversial among scientists, but also built every one of his brilliant theories as if there was no debate at all. He pioneered the study of statistical thermodynamics, which is a field of physics that provides a framework for predicting how a large number of particles will behave in a system. A long series of uneven debates left nearly every other supporter of atoms silent, leaving Boltzmann as their chief defender. Even colleagues who originally agreed with him began to question atoms' existence when his work seemingly undermined previously understood laws of physics. The emotional burden proved too much for Boltzmann to handle, and he hung himself in 1906, only three years before another scientist proved the existence of atoms.

Time is the the innovators greatest proof

What I am referring to is that many of the greatest innovations were perceived to be fanciful or regarded as bad ideas when viewed from a perspective of the time they were imagined. The reality is that most innovations benefit from time. There is a common thought that "most people will not appreciate innovation until they have the ability to experience and benefit from change".

Here are just a few examples:

“This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.”?Western Union internal memo dated 1876.

“I do not believe the introduction of motor-cars will ever affect the riding of horses”?Mr. Scott-Montague, MP, in the United Kingdom in 1903.

“The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?”?David Sarnoff’s Associates rejecting a proposal for investment in the radio in the 1920s.

“Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?”?H.M. Warner (Warner Brothers) before rejecting a proposal for movies with sound in 1927.

“This is typical Berlin hot air. The product is worthless.”?Letter sent by Heinrich Dreser, head of Bayer’s Pharmacological Institute, rejecting Felix Hoffmann’s invention of aspirin. More than 10 billion tablets of aspirin are swallowed annually.

“Who the hell wants to copy a document on plain paper???!!!”?Rejection letter in 1940 to Chester Carlson, inventor of the XEROX machine. In fact, over 20 companies rejected his “useless” idea between 1939 and 1944. Even the National Inventors Council dismissed it.

“The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a ‘C,’ the idea must be feasible.”?A Yale university professor in response to Fred Smith’s paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. Smith went on to found Federal Express.

“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.”??Ken Olsen (President, Chairman, and founder of Digital Equipment Corp) in 1977.

Where can I find inspiration? Nature offers some of the best blueprints

Profile of peregrine falcon and B-2 Stealth Bomber

Biological organisms and nature has developed carbon capture and sequestration systems, water harvesting techniques, water transport systems, adhesives, colorfast materials, electronic circuits, distributed energy conversion systems, color displays, light absorbers, insulation, thermal dissipaters and information storage, along with countless other elegant and efficient designs.

Many common day product inventions have been inspired by natures ability to create innovative solutions to adapt and thrive. The video below does a pretty good job of explaining the concept of biomimicry and its application of natures designs to provide insight and innovative solutions.

“We’re awake now, and the question is how do we stay awake to the living world??How do we make the act of asking nature’s advice a normal part of everyday inventing?”

– Janine Benyus

So what is in the DNA of a great Innovator?

I would contest that there is not a genius or innovator gene. We all posses the ability to be innovators however there are common traits and behaviors of creative and innovative individuates that should be acknowledged and with understanding and practice can be applied.

• They’re not afraid to fail, nor do they criminalize the mistakes of others. They see mistakes as either the elimination of a wrong answer, or one step closer to the right answer. They have a strong sense of inner calm, and recover quickly from their setbacks.
• They enjoy letting their brain out of its cage, and being unbound to existing paradigms and thought patterns. They’d rather die than utter the words, “we’ve always done it that way.”
• They are persistent and focused, and not easily distracted from their goal. They’re also very realistic about what is and what isn’t possible.
• They love reasonable risks, and work that takes them out of their comfort zones. They love learning, and their pursuit of new answers.
• They see innovation and problem-solving as a collaboration between people with different skills and different perspectives.
• They place a high value on a diversity of ideas, particularly those that originate outside themselves.
• They are comfortable not being part of the crowd, and frequently being an outlier. They recognize that, in human history, nearly every great idea or paradigm, service, product or performance started out with one person, alone — often laughed at or persecuted. It was great because it was different, undiscovered, and didn’t make sense under any existing rule-book or measuring stick.

Be open and present to see the sparks

Innovation rarely happens with a big "Ah Ha" moment, not that it does not happen, rather in my experience it lies in the stitching together many small but brilliant sparks of creativity. These sparks are often overlooked or never seen by individuates that limit their ability to live life in the moment and inspire courage in others to present new perspectives. One suggestion I would offer is when your have a team working on a difficult problem or are looking for a creative solution listen and learn before speaking. It gives others opportunity to express their ideas and you time to think, synthesize, refine and compose your ideas, thoughts and questions.

At its heart innovation is about keeping the conversation open and playing off others ideas. In many ways it happens best when applying similar rules of great improvisational performance. Here are a few techniques:

• Let go of your inhibitions
• Value emotional integrity
• Saying “Yes, And…”
• Be specific
• Play from the top of your intelligence

One last thought from a remarkable innovator that struggled, persevered and never lost sight of the importance of innovation when coupled with good design.

If you have enjoyed this article I have provided links to a number of additional articles that I have published that you may also find interesting:

These are my own personal discoveries and observations and if you find this information informative please provide Comments ,Likes and feel free to Share the post with others in your network.

Thanks,

Kevin