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Wednesday, December 16, 2009
How I See It
10 ways to recognize the innovators in your organization
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Can you recognize an innovator when you meet one? The adage that you can tell a pioneer because he is the person with the arrow in his back may be true, but it doesn’t help to identify innovators.
I used to think we could convert everyone to be an innovator or create a culture in which everyone could innovate. I have changed my view after many years as a road-warrior consultant and innovation junkie. Proselytizing doesn’t work. People are either wired as innovators or they aren’t. The trick isn’t to create more innovators; it is to identify them, connect them together in purposeful ways, and give them the freedom to innovate. A leader’s job is to create an environment where innovators can thrive.
Not everyone can or needs to be an innovator. I hear many executives express a desire to create a culture where all of their employees can innovate. That is the wrong objective. It is not important or even possible to have everyone in an organization be innovative. In fact, most of the people in an organization should not be focused on innovation. Rather, they should be focused on delivering results within the current business model. These are the motivated and valued individuals committed to making quarterly numbers and annual business objectives. There is nothing wrong with that, and those individuals must be highly valued in any organization. They are people who get stuff done. They should not be made to feel like second-class citizens just because they are not innovators. Without them there would be no resources to invest in innovation. The majority of individuals in an organization should be encouraged to be creative in doing their work as efficiently as they can, but you don’t want them to be distracted by early-stage ideas to change the business model.
Some part of your organization and allocated resources must be focused on innovation. Don’t just think of research and development for new products and services, but think of R&D to develop new capabilities and new business models. Survival is dependent on constantly looking for ways to deliver more value to customers. Every organization should have a discrete innovation effort sponsored and resourced by senior leadership. Without this commitment, innovation efforts will migrate toward incremental improvements within the current business model. Those efforts are important but should not crowd out potential game-changing growth opportunities.
If the game is to identify and connect the innovators, how do you identify them and ensure that they have the resources and freedom to innovate? I like hanging around innovators and have been honing my targeting and selection process over many years. Here are 10 behavioral characteristics I use to recognize an innovator.
1) Innovators think there is a better way.
2) Innovators know that without passion there can be no innovation.
3) Innovators embrace change to a fault.
4) Innovators have a strong point of view but know that they are missing something.
5) Innovators know innovation is a team sport.
6) Innovators embrace constraints as opportunities.
7) Innovators celebrate their vulnerability.
8) Innovators openly share their ideas and passions, expecting to be challenged.
9) Innovators know that the best ideas are in the gray areas between silos.
10) Innovators know that a good story can change the world.
Identifying innovators and connecting them together in purposeful ways is the secret sauce for business model and systems-level change. It is how we are going to make progress on the big social challenges of our time including, education, health care and energy. Change begins with the ability to recognize an innovator when you meet one.
Saul Kaplan is a regular contributor to MHT. He can be reached at skap@businessinnovationfactory.com.
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