Creating an Innovation Mindset

After 23 years of general management, marketing and innovation management experience in both large and small organizations, I've developed a few mental models for making sense of what I've seen and experienced. I'm currently developing an executive workshop for Venture2 that's entitled "Creating an Open Innovation Mindset". It's focused on understanding and dealing with the challenges of encouraging a culture of innovation within the era of "do more with less". As a GM managing a business, I experienced first hand the struggles of balancing this year's plan with the need to invest in future opportunities. It's compounded when you're in an environment that doesn't have the culture or reward systems to encourage innovation.

I'm sharing an early version of the model here to see if it elicits any reactions... good or bad.

We've all seen Rogers' Innovation Adoption Curve, a classic model for understanding how consumer adoption of innovation develops (or not). I believe that individual and organizational mindsets must "transform" through a similar evolution. Simply take this same bell curve, turn it on its head (always good to look at things from a new perspective) and change the names of the axes. Docherty's Innovation Mindset Adoption Curve" is a useful way to look at how organizations typically approach innovation... especially when it's not a natural act for them.

At the beginning of any strategic innovation initiative, everyone's excited and optimistic, we've got a great idea and we're going to rule the world (Dreaming). Then $%^& happens as it always does and we face failure (Doubting). It's never as easy as we thought it would be. Failure is a natural and useful element of innovation... it's how we learn and adapt our solutions. Or determine it's time to try another challenge. As we develop innovative concepts into real-world practical solutions, we're learning more, the problem isn't as simple and we begin to truly understand the complexity of the challenge. It's this 3rd stage (Quitting or Perservering) that truly separates innovators from dreamers... those that perservere and don't quit often experience a transformational experience of having worked through the challenges and acquire a new confidence built upon deep knowledge and experience.

Individuals and organizations that repeatedly fight their way through to these transformational events acquire an ability to champion innovative and potentially risky ideas. It's not blind optimism, it's a recognition and calmness about the process of trial and error and a development of informed instinct as to when it's appropriate to continue with the challenge or move on to the next one.

Those organizations and individuals that never make it beyond the first stages, become hardened in their positions and adopt ever more risk averse approaches to future endeavors. It becomes a vicious cycle.

I believe that one of the best ways and fastest ways to evolve an organizations' culture to one that supports innovation is from the outside in. Rather than fight risk aversion, embrace external and open innovation models that include collaboration with natural inventors and innovators.

What do you think?

Comments

[Van Hutchinson]

Yes, the U-shaped curve describes many a creative venture, even at the individual level. Out of all projects started, only a few make it to the finish line. And of those that do, their progress is often anything but linear. They progress from initial euphoria, through project scope planning, through the crush of facts, ideas, and data, then onto resistance and opposition of myriad forms, into bogging down in detail, despair and ....when it happens--the turning point where willpower meets destiny.

Hats off to all creative visions that finish on the upstroke you describe!