The Innovation Manifesto

Suw Charman's recent exploration of the sources of innovation touches on a lot of the same themes as my earlier post and issues a warning about the current way in which people & businesses think about innovation. In reading through Suw's post, the key messages start to feel like tenets of an Innovation Manifesto (if such a thing existed*). Julia Styles summed these up nicely in her comment:

Innovation does not have a size...it can be a small change that helps solve a big problem.

Innovation is not in a vacuum, and anyone might have a solution, including young people and customers.

Innovation will succeed in business when the business accepts innovation as part of their corporate culture.

It's important to stay connected to technology and what's going on in the outside world and new media if we want to really be innovative.

And finally,
"Innovation is not a buzzword to be repeated in meetings, it's an action, a culture, a day-to-day activity."

While I agree for the most part, I'd adapt this one slightly: "Innovation will succeed in business when the business creates a corporate culture where innovation can thrive."

It's a small change, but important I think. Creating a climate that's conducive to innovation has to come first (only then will you be able to accept innovation as part of the culture). In my mind, the single biggest hindrance to innovation within a business is a culture that is closed, or overly hierarchical, or one where the pressure to perform means people can't see the forest for the trees.

I'd also add a few of my own tenets to the manifesto, namely:

• Innovation cannot be forced, and often not even planned.
• Innovation isn't always about creating something totally new. Adapting, combining and applying existing ideas in new ways can be just as innovative.

Do you have any other principles to add to the manifesto? What's your take?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Turns out a few others have already made a stab at their own Innovation Manifestos, including John Kao, who made his into a book (I'd be interested in your review of this if you've read it). Of those freely available online, my personal faves are this one (for its pure idealism) and Matthew May's Elegant Solutions (for its practical advice and applicability). It's also worth a look at Mind of the Innovator, another PDF from Matthew May on the eternally-inspiring site ChangeThis.

Comments

[Martin Owen]

As break from inventing and innovating.... here is another tenet....

"Innovation does not have to include invention... but invention has to include innovation (for success)."

Too often you hear (as in Suw’s quote from the RedStripe project) that there are lots of ideas. However good ideas are a rare commodity. Invention has to be right for the socio-cultural milieu it is intended for. It may change the milieu – but it has to address the existing context. It does not have to solve an existing problem - we didn’t know we had a problem in not having television. However for an invention to become an innovation, it does have to have a business model.

[Miko Coffey]

Thanks, Martin. I like the way you've distinguished invention from innovation. So often folks use the two interchangeably (about as often as they use new/innovative interchangeably!). And you are spot-on about context.

Re: television
I think that television did solve a need at the time, in much the same way webcams did. The need being that voice/sound alone is not enough to get messages across; sometimes you need the visual element, too. I don't know enough about the invention of TV to know if it was specifically designed to solve that problem, but regardless, that's what it did. Along those lines is the story of George Washington Carver, who accidentally invented peanut butter when he was trying to invent a cheap machine lubricant using peanuts.

[Will Docherty]

I cant help but respond to this;

"Innovation cannot be forced, and often not even planned."

This is very true, from the micro to the macro innovation comes from many places, the heart, mind and irrational depths of our every day lives. From a personal perspective, innovation doesn't always need money or a capitalists eye. I realised that when leaving the Creative Pioneer programme early last year. Whilst business models, business mentors, Darwin advocates, Life coaches, NLP practitioners all work away at helping you to, "become the person you really want to be" in business and further your idea. You certainly loose sight if not the heart of your idea when such a practice is applied to people like myself. If you believe that it cannot be forced or planned - then the initiatives that support innovation should perhaps be far more transparent and open than they currently are. Yes its about cultivating character, empowering individuals and teaching business models but this should not be to the detriment of the original concept, or concept bearer.