The Innovationist

In Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small Discoveries, a fantastic book about the creative process, Peter Sims builds a compelling case for why breakthrough ideas come about as the result of lots of little experiments. Drawing on everything from Chris Rock's method of developing stand up comedy, to the production process of the animation teams at Pixar, to the "HP Way" corporate culture inspired by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard, to Frank Gehry's unconventional architecture designs, Sims advocates for a creative process that defies the common understanding of creativity. Sims slays the myth of the creative genius who gets hit with a bolt of inspiration out of nowhere like lightning. Sims argues that, instead, most people who are highly creative achieve success through a constant, deliberate cycle of experimenting, failing, adapting, and fine-tuning.  Here are a few of Sims key insights.

Last night I watched the amazing Discovery Channel documentary Rising: Rebuilding Ground Zero chronicling the reconstruction of the World Trade Center after the tragedy of 9/11. The show is an awe inspiring mix of engineering marvels, construction complexity, and a healing nation. The documentary, directed by Steven Spielberg, chronicles the entire span of the project, from the initial visions of the architects, to the planning and coordination of the supervisors, to the steel, concrete, and iron workers erecting the skyscraper at jaw-dropping heights.  The new World Trade center is designed to be both a memorial honoring the past, and a beacon of hope looking toward America's future. No matter what project you are working on, there are some impressive takeaways you can apply to your own work.      

A client recently impressed me with their willingness to use a powerful word that is rarely allowed to enter into the pursuit of innovation: the word "STOP."  So often, innovation efforts are focused exclusively around invention sessions that lay out all sorts of potential new possibilities and opportunities. It is easy to get caught up in the excitement and wonder of it all. Invention is the fun part. 

What is innovation?  Webster defines it as the act of introducing something new.  A bit nebulous isn’t it?  By this definition, every time someone lobs a random aside into a conversation that is spontaneous verbal innovation.  I’m not ready for that to be a thing.  So, what is it? 

There's been a lot of talk around Creative Realities lately about "The other side of innovation", both a compelling read by Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble and a euphemism for the part of the innovation process that focuses on making real value out of great ideas.

Mark Gallagher of Blackcoffee suggested I take a look at this new book by Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble, and I'm glad I did.  Vijay and Chris are associated with the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.  Vijay a professor and Chris an innovation speaker and consultant who is also on the faculty at Tuck.