Want Innovation? Get Out of the Way
cc image used courtesy of Vermin Inc on flickr
We hear a lot about innovation and change these days. Everyone is talking about it, every is doing it, or at least trying to. There’s a problem though, change and innovation require more than lip service. Declaring that you are innovative does not make it so.
You know what I’m talking about, someone reads an article, attends a presentation, has a conversation over coffee and comes back to work and says – we’re going to be innovative! Maybe there are even a few committees put together. But then what? Nothing. The committees quit meeting and things go back to the way they were. Maybe one or two people are still trying, but no one is listening.
You know why? Because innovation doesn’t happen by committee or decree.
Organizations do not innovate. People innovate. Inspired people. Fascinated people. Creative people. Committed people. That’s where innovation begins. On the inside.
The organization’s role — just like the individual manager’s role — is to get out of the way. And while this “getting out of the way” will undoubtedly include the effort to formulate supportive systems, processes, and protocols, it is important to remember that systems, processes, and protocols are never the answer. - Mitch Ditkoff
So how do you create a culture of innovation? You start with the people who think differently than you do.
Diversity is one of those sticky terms that people seem to boil down to creating a Benetton ad. Diversity isn’t about some magical collection of five differently colored skin tones. It’s about bringing different perspectives and backgrounds to the table and creating an environment that values what can be gained from different voices who’ve taken different paths. Skin color (or gender performance) is often interpreted as a reasonable substitute for this and, for many reasons, it has been historically. But bringing in a woman whose attitude and approach is just as masculine as the men isn’t going to help your team break outside of its current mindset. They key is to bring people who think differently than you - danah boyd*
Then get out of their way.
Once you’ve hired a good staff, you sit down, you formulate a plan and then you get out of their way. John Limbert
Let them do what you hired them to do.
The really good people want autonomy — you let me do it, and I’ll do it. So I told the people I recruited: “You come in here and you’ve got to keep me informed, but you’re the guy, and you’ll make these decisions. It won’t be me second-guessing you. But everybody’s going to win together. We’re part of a team, but you’re going to run your part.” That’s all they want. They want a chance to do it. - Gordon M. Bethune
You can not force innovation to happen. You can provide the autonomy, the trust to allow people to be innovative.
Read more:
- Smart Leaders Get out of the way
- Remember to Share the Stage
- Treat Your Staff Like Adults and See What Happens
- Why Your Employees Are Losing Motivation
- Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
- Control is an Illusion You Need to Let Go
*danah boyd’s post is about gender issues and being a woman in todays workforce. It’s worth a read (and mostly likely a blog post) in is own right.
For Those Who Are an Overnight Success and For Those Who Aren’t a Video Series From Chris Brogan
These videos are from Chris Brogan’s Over Night Success Series. There are 9 videos total covering topics such as Grinding vs Clocking – Time and the Overnight Success, Pity Party, Small Talk is Big, Belief Systems, The Competition, What it Takes, No Excuses & A Call to Arms. These videos are great even if you aren’t an over night success, even if you aren’t a success. 
These 3 are my favorite (although it was hard to pick)
Take time off – I’ve said it before you need your down time but I’m always happy to point out when others say the same thing. :-)
Don’t believe the hype – I included this one because Chris says – by over night success I mean 10 years of hard work.
Here’s another bag of money – on excuses. We all make excuses that become between us and our goals. Decide what your priorities are. Stop making excuses.
Want to Innovate? Stop Working So Hard
Putting in all those extra hours, either from the office or home, isn’t help you. At least not with creativity, innovation or those ah-ha! moments.
Some of our greatest moments of insight happen where we least expect them to. From the Wallstreet Journal:
It happened to Archimedes in the bath. To Descartes it took place in bed while watching flies on his ceiling. And to Newton it occurred in an orchard, when he saw an apple fall.
From the same article but even more interesting:
Left to its own devices, our brain activates several areas associated with complex problem solving, which researchers had previously assumed were dormant during daydreams. Moreover, it appears to be the only time these areas work in unison.
Of course it’s not as simple as just lounging about in your robe & fuzzy slippers. You have to prepare in order to enable those insights to happen. From Fast Company:
The researchers found support for the idea that blinding insights favor a prepared mind–that is, you’ve got to really internalize the problem at hand if you’re to find any sort of solution. But to actually bring those insights to life, you’ve got to step back.
More Readings
- A Wandering Mind Heads Straight Toward Insight: Researchers Map the Anatomy of the Brain’s Breakthrough Moments and Reveal the Payoff of Daydreaming
- Hard Work’s Overrated, Maybe Detrimental.
- The Eureka Hunt
- How to Become a Design Genius: Take Time Off. Lots of It.
- Stefan Sagmeister: The power of time off – TED talk video
If you don’t love what you’re doing, do something else.
CC image courtesy of dev null on Flickr
Last week an MLS student interviewed me for a project. The last part of my reply to her was this:
Find a job you love. No one goes into librarianship for the money. We go into it for love. There a plenty of bitter, disenchanted people out there in all professions. If you don’t love what you’re doing, do something else.
I think it bears repeating.
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