Four Outstanding Thoughts on Innovation

(”Power of Innovation”; courtesy of Stephen Elliot)

Although people’s first instincts during an economic downturn are to play it safe and postpone any goals of starting new business ventures, with a little creativity anyone can thrive even amidst a so-called recession.  Below you will find four outstanding thoughts on creativity and innovation to inspire you to act and take full advantage of your most important asset: your mind.

Know That There Are a Gazillion Ideas Out There

Even though the phrase “Everything has already been done” seems to permeate most people’s thinking, the reality is that everything can be improved upon. The American journalist Lincoln Steffens wrote the following in 1931, which remains as true today as it was then:

“Nothing is done.  Everything in the world remains to be done or done over.  The greatest picture is not yet painted, the greatest play isn’t written, the greatest poem is unsung.  There isn’t in all the world a perfect railroad, nor a good government, nor a sound law.  Physics, mathematics, and especially the most advanced and exact of the sciences are being fundamentally revised.  Chemistry is just becoming a science; psychology, economics, and sociology are awaiting a Darwin, whose work in turn is awaiting an Einstein . . . “

Jump to the Next Curve

Guy Kawasaki–a well-known venture capitalist who started out working for Steve Jobs–gave the keynote presentation at the 2007 Event Marketing Conference. In his presentation–entitled “The Art of Innovation”–Guy explains that there are many companies that compete with each other on the same curve. If they were daisy wheel printer companies, they think innovation means adding Helvetica in 24 points. Instead, they should be jumping to the next curve: laser printing. (You can see a slideshow of the presentation here).  Some examples of jumping to the next curve are the following:

In his post “Random Travel Thoughts” Seth Godin asks: “Why doesn’t the airport have sleeping benches?”

Yotel did him one better: At the Gatwick and Heathrow airports in London you can book a cabin inside the airport terminal buildings, just a short walk away from the departure gates. The capsule-hotel’s cabins are, as described on tripadvisor.com by a guest, “just like a space-age train cabin”.

Small but not cramped, premium rooms feature a comfortable, handmade bed that slides down to full size, a bathroom with a ‘monsoon’ shower, and a small desk. The cabins are available for short-term hire and passengers in transit can have a shower, take a nap and get some work done without leaving the terminal.

In my blog post, “Thoughts to Get Your Creative Juices Flowing” I included a photograph of The Washing Machine/Toilet which stores water after each washing cycle, which is then used to flush the toilet below it. This is another example of jumping to the next curve.

The elliptiGO glide bike offers riders the best elements of running and cycling in one machine. Although running provides a great cardiovascular workout and improves general fitness, many runners are plagued with back and knee injuries due to the high impact nature of the sport. Similarly, bike riders often suffer from shoulder and back injuries and saddle-soreness.

When you ride the elliptiGO you use the same biomechanics of running but the impact is reduced and the upright position is a much more comfortable way to ride a bike. Plus, users of the elliptiGO get the added benefit of the speed and feel of a bike ride. Again, this wasn’t an improvement of the seat of the bike to make it more comfortable or making the handlebars longer to lessen the strain on the back, it’s a completely different product.

An example of a company that tried to move further up the curve–through continuous improvements–when it was time to jump to the next curve is Motorola. Continuous improvement will reach a point of diminishing returns; Motorola made the mistake of trying to stay on the same curve instead of jumping to the next one by insisting on improving analog cellular phones after the market had shifted to digital technology.

Don’t Let The Bozo’s Grind You Down

Guy also explains during his “The Art of Innovation” speech that bozos come in many shapes and sizes, and the hardest ones to spot are the ones that have all of the indicators of success: they’re respected in their field and they’re rich, famous, and powerful.  To illustrate Guy’s point, here are a few famous examples of brilliant ideas that were originally turned down:

• When Fred Smith turned in a paper proposing reliable overnight service delivery, his Yale University management professor responded as follows: “The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a ‘C,’ the idea must be feasible.”  Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.

• Thomas J Watson, President of IBM, is reported to have said: “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers”. In a similar vein, Ken Olsen, co-founder of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) , is quoted as saying: “There is no reason why anyone would want a computer in their home.”

• An 1873 Western Union internal memo said the following: “This telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication.  The device is inherently of no value to us.”

• This was the initial response that Debbie Fields received to her idea of starting Mrs. Fields’ Cookies: “A cookie store is a bad idea. Besides, the market research reports say America likes crispy cookies, not soft and chewy cookies like you make.”

Welcome Wild Ideas

Judging shuts down idea generation. The physiological reasons for this shutting down is rooted in the brain. In basic terms, the three layers of the brain are the outer layer, which is the neo-cortex; the middle layer, which is the limbic system; and the inner-most layer, which is the brain stem. Each performs a different function. The brain stem focuses on food, fight, flight, and reproduction, that is, survival. It responds immediately to anything it perceives to be a threat, whether physical or psychological. The limbic section governs emotions and feelings. The neo-cortex controls thinking, speaking, and problem solving.

Creativity occurs at the level of the neo-cortext. Because judging is a threat, the brain shifts from the neo-cortex, through the limbic, to the brain stem to assure social-psychological survival. This shift shuts down the creative process. (Source: Add Creativity to Your Decision Processes).

Instead of allowing your inner critic to hold you back from coming up with wild, crazy ideas, know that even the most outlandish ideas can turn into something very practical. An example that is often cited to show how wild ideas can lead to an effective, practical solution is the following: A telephone company had to constantly send out their repair crews to fix telephone wires broken by ice on the lines. The company initiated a creative session to solve the problem and the session was started off with a random word, “bear”. The first idea was completely nuts: train bears to climb the poles and shake the wire.

They brainstormed on how to coax the bears up the telephone poles and someone suggested getting honey to the top of the poles.  But how would they get honey to the top of the poles?  The suggestion was to use helicopters.  Then the group realized that the solution was that the helicopter propellers could shake off the ice. Criticism at the outset would have turned off the process that led to a practical solution.

Conclusion

If you haven’t seen Guy’s “The Art of Innovation” speech, I strongly recommend that you do.  It’s almost an hour long but it’s entertaining and very informative.  In addition, you’ll find three suggestions on excellent creativity books I recommend you read below my signature.

Recommended Reading:

• A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative
• The Creativity Book: A Year’s Worth of Inspiration and Guidance
• Cracking Creativity: The Secrets of Creative Genius

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