Even Inventing Is a Process....

They say that human society progressed on stepping stones of inventions.   This is nothing but reality.   The world has changed more, there has been more progress and more inventions in the last  sixty years or so than previous three centuries.  Such is the contribution of invention that has made this possible. 

We think that invention is the forte or realm of few different kind of people.   Some may be wondering if invention is a random,  hit and run, trial and error,  way of getting new things created, thought of or implemented.  This may have been in the past as there was no framework or pattern that could be generalized and imposed on the process of invention. 

However over past few decades thinkers have come up with frameworks for innovation and invention.   One such methodology I came across was the TRIZ framework. (Pronounced and TREEZ) that was developed in USSR and now being explored in many parts of the world.    While it may apply to engineering inventions it can be extended to other kinds of inventions too.

So from a understanding that it was impossible to learn how to invent today there is clear evidence on how to learn to invent.   I am not going to elaborate what TRIZ methodology is all about.  Google can do it for you but what I would like to emphasize here is that there is yet another process that can be broken down into a set of logical steps.   Can be mastered, can be transition and will provide opportunities for outsourcing in the future days.   Some of it may already be done in bits and pieces but along with robotic automation,   transformation etc,  will be things to watch out in the future.

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Differentiate or Depart !!! Matter of Choice

It is not the form that your HR systems and processes take that makes the difference and lets them stand apart rather it is the substance behind the form that does so". 

If the above statement were untrue then every organization would metamorphosize into a similar kind of entity.  Within industries there is so much movement across organizations that people can take with them the knowledge of processes and systems and implement them elsewhere.   

However reality is that there can be only one Amazon.Com or one Apple or one Unilever.   Trying to clone your organizations by merely copying you can succeed only as far as lawns, buildings and security systems installed. 

Beyond that when it comes to your product, service, offerings and other capabilities it is context specific, it is a cultural thing.  Someone just can't photo copy it.  Take all my assets except the employees and you still can't replicate my success.  

So remember you can tell your competitor everything about what your latest Performance Management system has but they still can't really implement what you could.  If that was the case then our human capital systems would be like paint on the wall that you can chose from dozens of  brands and finishes available in the market.

You need to find your own differentiators and build on them.  If your product or service is new you have the first mover advantage however over time you need to have unique differentiators and a configuration of people approaches and attitudes combined with the differentiated services that makes your winning proposition stay unmatched. 

The question then is why so many organizations fail after a while and slip away into oblivion.  It has all got to do with someone else creating additional differentiation.  This can come only when you have innovative ideas and a thrust on adopting new ways and means to differentiate your product or service offering.   That's why they say innovation is the silent weapon you have to succeed in the global battlefield. 

Creating an ambiance for innovation. What do you need?

Innovation means a sure departure from something incremental.  Something new, something different, something not done before.   Incremental change is not innovation.... rather just mere change... just like routine weather change.  Real innovation is like a storm, a cyclonic effect or even a tsunami.  I make that statement in the sense that it has a landscape changing ability and the focus is not on the damages and destruction of these natural disasters.   Most important in organizational context the product or process you created, changed or reworked should add something new of value to the customer to qualify as an innovation.   We often hear companies saying we need to strive to create a culture of innovation.   Doesn't it sound very simplistic?  When you truly manage to create a culture of innovation you can expect a drop in inhibitions,  you can expect lot of new products, services being made possible..... not just one off star kid innovations that you might find.

So what does it take.  Do you think people will read an email from CEO or Operations Leader and innovate or just because you opened an Innovation Lab your people would innovate.  Ask yourself how many people are even allowed access to that innovation lab.  So what exactly do we need to create that culture or environment for innovation.  Easier said ... than done.   There are three elements that need to be kept on top of your mind.  Apart from the investments (which keeps the money flowing into driving the innovation efforts) you need systems and processes to be in place.  Those that help reinforce three important elements that can sustain innovation.

a) Gaining Focus
b) Building Trust
c) Enabling Risk Taking Behaviors


If you want to "innovate" your focus needs to be right there - on innovation.  Focus bring attention and only when attention manifests does it get a possibility of action.   Imagine splitting your focus on several things at the same time, then what gets focus gets attention so it is only by chance that you MAY focus on innovation.  What does it mean on the ground?  It is about letting people have the time, the freedom to look for new things.  Innovation needs new ideas, new thinking which can only come from out of the box or non linear thinking or creative processes.   So people need to make deliberate attempts to bring that elusive "focus" on innovation.   Managers need to encourage ideas and evaluate rather than scrap them with a cursory look  over.   An idea which is novel cannot become an innovation unless it can be converted into a product or a service at a reasonable (practical) cost which someone will be willing to pay for it.  Otherwise it can only be applauded as an interesting idea.   

The question is who should focus.... Simple way to look at is that all those who can influence the innovation process should...if your finance guys and accountants don't understand and keep cutting down the budgets,  disapproving spending requests the focus gets lost.  The HR folks need to understand... are people given time from their routine work if they are to spend time on creative pursuits.   You can't expect everything to happen in the free time even if you THINK your employees are very motivated to spend their off work hours innovating.   Remember the 20% rule at 3M.

Trust gets broken when expectations are crushed, when false promises are made or when cunning sleight is used to distort the reality that people can obviously see.  Imagine the repercussion when one manager said.  "Team, I am not averse to your making that occasional mistake, but let that same mistake not repeat elsewhere once we learn about it" but each time someone faltered he pushed them against  the wall with subtle and overt behaviors that made them feel miserable.   Trust gets broken when simple acts of this  nature send strong and powerful signals that the slogans on innovation are mere lip service.

Finally put the first two together and you have risk taking encouraged in your organization. Without risk there can be no innovation. At a personal level innovativeness and risk taking are key traits among entrepreneurial people and this is something that you need to encourage in the question for innovation.   In today's world of large professionally managed organizations you can't just wait for the entrepreneurial talent in the traditional sense (who came with money, ideas and risk taking to invest)  rather we need to encourage the entrepreneurial capabilities among team members, line managers as well as leaders.

 If you are looking for an ROI do it for established, well oiled products and services. With right focus and trust innovation is surely going to get you much more ROI than you can ever calculate. 

However remember none of this can happen without a keen eye on what the innovation means.   Bringing innovation for the sake of innovation will not yield the right kind of results.