tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920409504448605772.post2317268803770521562..comments2023-10-25T03:24:30.049-07:00Comments on Knowledgeworks: Innovation Processes are Useful, but Innovative People are EssentialVictor Newmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04701515218080403651noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920409504448605772.post-86358243132542920462009-12-17T20:40:42.607-08:002009-12-17T20:40:42.607-08:00There do seem to be people who are more naturally ...There do seem to be people who are more naturally "innovative" than others - and this shows itself in terms of their tolerance for risk, resourcefulness, and refusal to settle for "normal" perspectives. However I don't think it's the case that innovative people are born rather than made.<br /><br />I believe (and there is some evidence to support me) that it's possible to cultivate innovation-friendly behaviours within and among people - and that context plays a major role in this. As Mark notes, leadership is a critical part of this context.<br /><br />The question is whether "innovation processes" as they are commonly deployed cultivate innovation. I think Nick is only partly right because many so-called innovation processes (such as stage-gating) actually help to kill it stone dead.<br /><br />I would reframe Victor's post as: If you want to make innovation happen* then you need to pick who you involve with care - esp. early on.<br /><br />*Not "if you want to run an innovation program" because I think that's something else entirely.Matt Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00642195824428451388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920409504448605772.post-73024982126858978622009-11-02T08:08:05.637-08:002009-11-02T08:08:05.637-08:00Victor, do you beleive some people are inherently ...Victor, do you beleive some people are inherently more innovative than others? Or do you think that there is innovation in everyone?<br /><br />Personally I tend more to the latter, and therefore feel that innovation processes, if widespread enough and simple enough, can draw out the innovation from everybody. OK, they may not be the step-changing leaps of product innovation, but they can still deliver a lot of value.<br /><br />One client had the motto "Little Innovations From Everyone" which had a pleasing Acronym, and which, I think, was a good vision of an innovation culture.Nick Miltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02413967879826601863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920409504448605772.post-55216724526554922322009-11-02T02:38:21.834-08:002009-11-02T02:38:21.834-08:00One would hope, perhaps naively, that a good innov...One would hope, perhaps naively, that a good innovation process would define the importance of people explicitly as a critical foundation to the process. Unfortunately this is not the case in many organizations.<br /><br />I had the misfortune to work with one of the European telcos who had the most negative, risk intolerant, non-collegiate director in charge of their innovation activities. The role of leader in innovation is critical - and this was clearly an example of bad practice in action. To be fair to the organization.... cancel that, I cannot be fair to the organization. They took a critically important function, and gave a senior manager a sideways move so that he would cause less trouble to other people, and in so doing killed off innovation activities for best case 18 months.<br /><br />My firm, <a href="www.imaginatik.com" rel="nofollow">Imaginatik</a>, did some work on integrating people and personality styles / attributes as a core component of innovation process work. The result was the <a href="http://bit.ly/2fEbiR" rel="nofollow">Orchid Model and instrument</a>, designed to provide a framework for handling people within an innovation context.<br /><br />The key intellectual consideration is whether people form part of an 'innovation process' and if so, how does one best handle them. In my view, a human-centric process such as innovation can only exist with people - finding a bunch of robots and making them innovate will have to wait for a later version of the Terminator movies!<br /><br />Mark Turrell<br />CEO, Imaginatik plc<br /><a href="www.imaginatik.com" rel="nofollow">www.imaginatik.com</a>Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14838682103348565151noreply@blogger.com