Debra Amidon: Profiles in Knowledge

This is the 106th article in the Profiles in Knowledge series featuring thought leaders in knowledge management. The late Debra Amidon (1946-2016) was the Founder and Chief Strategist of Entovation International, Ltd., a global innovation research and consulting network.

Debra’s specialties were Knowledge Innovation Zones (KIZ), P7 KIZ Blueprint, the E100 Network, the Triple Knowledge Lens. intellectual capital, global innovation strategy, stakeholder innovation, knowledge economics, economic sustainability, and collaborative advantage.

Debra was known among her peers as a management pioneer, philosopher, architect, and visionary. She captured the imagination of academic, government and industrial leaders around the world. With her seminal conference in 1987 on “Managing the Knowledge Assets into the 21st Century,” she set in motion what evolved into an expansive community of practice of theorists and practitioners from diverse functions, sectors, industries, and geographies.

Debra was Associate Director of External Research at Digital Equipment Corporation from 1981 to 1993. I didn't know her when we both worked there, but I later interacted with her during?AOK Star Series Dialogues . Debra passed away on August 13, 2016.

Background

Debra held degrees from Boston University, Columbia University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow. Having served as college administrator, government official, and corporate executive, Debra was a global expert on collaborative advantage providing an innovation foundation for economic sustainability. In 2015, she was awarded an Honorary PhD from Bangkok University in Thailand.

Education

• MIT Sloan School of Management - M.S., Management - Global Innovation Strategy, 1988 - 1989
• Columbia University Teacher's College - M.A., Higher Education Administration, 1968 - 1972
• Boston University - B.S., Education, 1964 - 1968

Experience

• ENTOVATION International Ltd. - Founder and CEO, 1993 - 2016
• Digital Equipment Corporation - Associate Director of External Research, 1981 - 1993
• Commonwealth of Massachusetts - Assistant Secretary of Higher Education, 1979 - 1980

Profiles

1. Facebook
2. LinkedIn
3. Biographical Sketch
4. David Skyrme
5. DEC Connection
6. Obituary
7. Lucidea’s Lens
8. Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC): Profiles in Knowledge

Quotes

• We need to manage the innovation environment – not leave it to serendipity. Managing is a function of creating the conditions where innovation can occur – where ideas flow efficiently into and within the system and are converted into viable products and services that create highest value.
• Innovation is NOT creativity . it is NOT R&D. It is NOT invention. I like the notion that we are experts at competing and need to learn how to effectively work with one another, building upon the competencies of one another.
• Knowledge strategy has ALWAYS been about innovation . Knowledge is the content (even though it resides in the human being) and innovation is the process whereby we put knowledge to work.

Content

1. DEC Connection Publications

• The Digital Management Legacy: A Culture of Knowledge, Innovation and Collaborative Advantage
• Roundtable on critical issues: Management of Knowledge Assets into the 21st Century

2. Presentations

• Vision of Knowledge

• A Global Innovation Frontier

3 Laws of Knowledge Dynamics

P7 KIZ Methodology

Conversations

1. AOK: Preparing for Conversations with Debra M. Amidon

• Conversations with Debra M. Amidon: Architecting Success

2. AOK: Preparing for Conversations with Bryan Davis and Debra Amidon

• Summary: Conversations with Bryan Davis and Debra Amidon

• Archive: Conversations with Bryan Davis and Debra Amidon

Articles

• Visualizing Action: A Recipe for Boston Innovation Success with Oliver Schwabe
• Get in the zone with Bryan Elliot Davis

Innovation - Interviewed by Pradip Sinha

What according to you is Innovation?

For me, Innovation is the creation, evolution, exchange and application of new ideas into marketable goods and services, leading to the success of an enterprise, the vitality of a nation's economy and the advancement of society. Innovation encompasses the full spectrum from idea creation to commercialization. Successful innovation depends on converting knowledge flows into marketable goods and services. An innovation strategy is similar to a road map. It outlines where an enterprise is to go and organizes the resources to get there. However, there is no perfect map, and measuring devices may be imperfect. A competitor may change the landscape before goals are reached. The key to developing an innovation strategy is looking at knowledge - especially new knowledge - as a resource. Innovation strategy, on the other hand, is a synthetic practice based on innovation and uncertainty.

The innovation process includes three phases: Invention, translation and commercialization. The first phase can focus upon creating something 'new' - usually considered an invention - or identifying something already known that might be reused or used in a new way. Both feed the innovation process. Both could be considered as part of the creation stage-knowledge creation.

The second stage of the process is the conversion process, where knowledge-sometimes in the form of technology-gets translated into production and manufacturing. At stage three, the knowledge - now in the form of some product or service - can be commercialized.

Further, we now need to look at innovation from the perspective of the flow of knowledge: How it is created, converted into products and services and commercialized for the benefit of a constituency. Innovation does not operate as a value chain. Instead, innovation operates as systems dynamic of interactions - across functions, business units, sectors, industries and geographies. Innovation applies in the profit and not-for-profit sectors of the economy. Academic institutions, government agencies and NGO's must innovate just as commercial enterprises do.

Some people feel that Innovation and Creativity are very much interrelated. Do you think so?

Contrary to popular opinion, innovation is NOT creativity, although creativity is needed throughout the entire innovation value-system. Also misunderstood, innovation is NOT simply R&D; it requires the constant flow of knowledge from all functions and stakeholders. In fact, at least 60% of what is needed to make an enterprise successful is likely outside the company or even the geographic region. And the measurement of the number of patents, graduate degrees or communication lines is not necessarily an indication of innovation prowess. We need modern indicators to calibrate the value-added of innovation.

Innovation is more a sense of 'ideas operationalized' than the creation of the idea in the first place. Modern innovation includes how to manage the collaborative process across boundaries, measure intangible value and intellectual wealth, incubate new businesses, operate as a distributed network of expertise, position competitively with new forms of intelligence and use innovation technology to enable the whole process.

What role does Innovation play in a firm's survival in this dynamic and competitive business world?

The progress and survival of any enterprise is dependent upon the success of its innovation capability. Innovation is the business, and the one competence required to ensure future success. It is that simple and that complex. But few enterprises - private or public - have a Chief Innovation Officer. Instead, they leave this critical process to serendipity. Innovation must be in the head, heart and hands of every participant in the system. It does not mean everyone is an expert technician and expert marketer at the same time. It does mean everyone has knowledge of the entire innovation system and their particular role. It does mean there is some common language and shared purpose, and the boundaries fade between functions, sectors, industries and cultures. It means there is a basic trust, mutual respect and collegial competencies. In addition, a thirst for learning pervades the culture. In the present scenario, the real challenge facing most companies is that of faster innovation. Creating the system within which ideas are created and applied is more than management. It is a matter of strategy and leadership.

Is Innovation a one-time affair or an on-going process?

Innovation is the constant ebb and flow of the firm; it is omnipresent. However, it is wise to plan certain events that can be managed within time periods for the influx of new ideas that can then be carefully and systematically incubated into new products and services.

Any other thoughts/views/personal experiences you would like to share with our readers?

We live in an era of 'kaleidoscopic change'. It is not the speed of change of one variable or the speed of change of multiple variables challenging today's management executives. It is the compounding effects of the speed of change of multiple variables creating a business landscape where old traditional policies and practices are not sufficient. Just as with a kaleidoscope, one may not know how the weight, shape or texture of pieces combines to form a new image. We do know is there is no turning back. Executives are challenged to manage enterprises in a world where the economic rules have changed, and the new ones have yet to be invented.

Innovation is the only emerging trend for a sustainable growth and economic development within cities, regions, countries and enterprises. Innovation encompasses the full spectrum from idea creation to commercialization and is the key to realizing the intangible value hidden in interactions between people, nations and societies.

One should always be open to change-being flexible, adaptive open to new ideas and willing to unlearn old ones are essential management qualities. Moreover, innovation is the implementation of effective change management. Innovation is essential to examine and disseminate the creation of fresh opportunities, profit from leading insights, and the tool of knowledge exchange and knowledge arbitrage. We have now entered into the innovation frontier. Intellectual capital, properly leveraged via innovation is the new currency that provides a different paradigm from previous agricultural, industrial or service economies. It is a currency that rests on the value of human potential and how it can be leveraged. The world is now our landscape and history will document our success.

7 Cs of Knowledge Leadership: Innovating our Future with Doug Macnamara

1. Knowledge Leadership is a Matter of Context. Leaders will understand the nature of complex context - how to make sense of it and how to convey it (with magnetic vision) to others.
2. Knowledge Leadership is a Matter of Competence. Leaders will know that competencies are based in experience and are more dynamic than static attributes.
3. Knowledge Leadership is a Matter of Culture. Leaders will know the relationship between the motivation (Psychology) of an individual and the culture (Sociology) of an organization. They will value heritage (Anthropology) and know that more than 2% of manager time need be dedicated to visioning - the lifeblood of a future generation business.
4. Knowledge Leadership is a Matter of Communities. Leaders will understand the value of the collective - the teams and communities within whom work gets done and visions are realized.
5. Knowledge Leadership is a Matter of Conversations and Common Language. Leaders will know how to evolve a common language and that there is more power in the dialogue than what gets documented in a particular planning process.
6. Knowledge Leadership is a Matter of Communications. Leaders will value the communications process - both technical and human - but not as much for what gets conveyed as what might be learned.
7. Knowledge Leadership is a Matter of Coaching. Leaders will coach and be coached by people of similar values and vision. Trust will be placed in those able to care more about leveraging the competencies of one another.

5 lessons learned about architecting our future on the Innovation Superhighway

1. The FIRST lesson: We've learned that in the new domain of Knowledge Economics, what we count matters. As imprecise as it may seem, what we need to calibrate is the intangible, hidden, intellectual wealth of an enterprise – how it is created and leveraged.
2. The SECOND Lesson: We've learned that the Knowledge Structures operate as holonomies – nesting of networks – with both local and global scope. We need to understand how they operate as communities and spheres of influence.
3. The THIRD Lesson Learned: We've learned that Knowledge Workers, although originally described as high technology or white-collar, include everyone; we all have a role to play. We need to determine what now motivates constructive behaviors, and new modes of interdependence and collaboration.
4. The FOURTH Lesson Learned: We've learned that all Knowledge Processes can fit under a rubric of innovation, but innovation redefined according to the flow of knowledge. We need to make the process explicit and discover ways to measure performance. How knowledge is created, shared, and applied. We are like Pogo – confronted now with insurmountable opportunity!
5. The FIFTH Lesson Learned is: We've learned the power of Knowledge Processing Technology – advancing in features and receptivity beyond our wildest dreams. We've learned that technology isn't an end but a means for prosperous innovation. We need to find ways to take advantage of the advancements and use it as an instrument in the new economy.

The laws of knowledge dynamics

1. 1st law – knowledge multiplies when it is shared. Knowledge is a limitless and expandable source of economic wealth. Intellectual assets – effectively exploited through innovation – are the most valuable resource to manage.
2. 2nd law – value is created when knowledge moves from the point of origin to the point of highest need or opportunity. Innovation encompasses the full spectrum, from idea creation to commercialization, and successful innovation involves converting knowledge flows into marketable goods and services.
3. 3rd law – collaboration for mutual leverage provides optimal utilization of tangible and intangible resources within and across boundaries. Collaboration replaces the competitive (win/lose) paradigm prevalent today. Win/win benefits are based on pooling and leveraging competencies: knowledge, know-how and skills.

Videos

• The EMC Innovation Network

• Benchmarking Innovation Policies

• ICT and Innovation

Books

1. The Innovation SuperHighway: Harnessing Intellectual Capital for Collaborative Advantage

Table of Contents

Part I The Innovation Frontier

• Chapter 1 A Global Imperative for Sustainability — The Knowledge Why
• Chapter 2 The Knowledge Value Proposition — The Knowledge What
• Chapter 3 From Planning to Innovation Strategy — The Knowledge How

Part II Architecting a Future

• Chapter 4 Knowledge Performance Economics
• Chapter 5 Knowledge Structures
• Chapter 6 Knowledge Workers
• Chapter 7 Knowledge Processes
• Chapter 8 Knowledge-Processing Technology

Part III The Globe as a Network

• Chapter 9 Entovation?: A Case Story
• Chapter 10 Global Momentum of Knowledge Strategy
• Chapter 11 Trends of Innovation Strategy

Part IV Innovation Leadership in Practice

• Chapter 12 Modern Knowledge Leadership: the 7Cs
• Chapter 13 Exemplar Ken Practitioners
• Chapter 14 Evolving Innovation Infrastructures

Part V The Millennium Vision

• Chapter 15 The Knowledge-Millennium Generation
• Chapter 16 Blueprint for Twenty-First Century Innovation
• Chapter 17 Creating the World Trade of Ideas

Appendices

• Appendix A: Knowledge Innovation?
• Appendix B: Sample Definitions of Innovation
• Appendix C: Calibrating the Innovation Strategy
• Appendix D: The Momentum of Knowledge
• Appendix E: Knowledge Leaders and Laggards

2. Innovation Strategy for the Knowledge Economy: The Ken Awakening

3. Creating the Knowledge-Based Business with David Skyrme

4. Collaborative Innovation and the Knowledge Economy

Book Chapters

1. Handbook of Knowledge Management Vol. 1 - Chapter 28: The 7 Cs of Knowledge Leadership - with Doug Macnamara
2. Handbook of Knowledge Management Vol. 2 - Chapter 47: An Atlas for Knowledge Innovation: Migration from Business Planning - with Darius Mahdjoubi
3. Next Generation Knowledge Management - Chapter 5: Architecting Success in the Knowledge Economy; Chapter 6: Characteristics of Laggards and Leaders