Pierre’s logs

For most innovation challenges, an organization would prefer 99 bad ideas and 1 outstanding idea to 100 merely good ideas

This community is part of the WENOVSKI Design Thinkers Network and is meant for anyone who wants to participate or organize an UnConference or Dinner Jam on design thinking or related topics.

It's an invitation to arrange IRL meet-ups as an addition to the online conversations we have.

"For an employee who works on a job that does not normally ask for innovativeness (e.g., a blue-collar worker whose job is assembling furniture), if he has an innovative suggestion for a new work procedure, he may be afraid to express it because of the concern that his coworkers (and supervisors) might think he is stepping out of line," Yuan explained to me. Not even a solid and trusting relationship with a supervisor mitigates this problem, she and Woodman report in an upcoming issue of the Academy of Management Journal.

That's sad. It's sad for employees and it's sad for companies. Everyday innovation by ordinary workers should be organizations' lifeblood. I'm no different from the people in the study. I'm just as unwilling to upset the status quo as they are.

There are a couple of things managers can do, Yuan and Woodman say. One is to create a culture in which everyone understands that being innovative is a desirable image. That's easier said than done, however. Another, more concrete, suggestion is to "break job position stereotypes" by rewriting job descriptions to include a requirement that employees contribute new ideas. Such a straightforward approach might help employees get over their socially induced hesitation, the research suggests.

I've noticed that those of us who resist innovating for fear of others' opinions are sometimes quickest to point a finger at the innovators among us. We're the grown-up equivalents of the whisperers and gigglers, the perpetrators of negative peer pressure. We have an obligation to be aware of that tendency. If we won't innovate, we should at least make every effort to cut some slack to the coworker with the oddball ideas, even if he's sometimes a little too nerdy and a little too insistent. Now that would be an innovation.

At Current, Levine takes pride in what he describes as its innovative culture, where people are willing to try new things and retire what isn't working. From its inception in 2005, Current has invited its audience to participate and collaborate in ways that integrate web and television platforms. Users can post or "clip" stories - a URL, a portion of an article, a comment - from other sources. Other users add comments and vote, which helps determine the placement of clips on the website and what might be highlighted on Current TV, the company's cable television channel.

Users also produce 5- to 7-minute stories, called "pods," that profile a character or idea. The company has compiled an online library of thousands on many topics. Its film review program includes video movie reviews submitted by viewers. And as part of a recent music show, Current posted a featured hip-hop artist's audio and video files on the website, allowing users to remix their own versions, some which appeared on television.

Current aims also to have "young, fresh, aggressive reporters," Levine said, who appeal to an audience as more "authentic and approachable" than standard cable TV reporters and hosts.

Winning an audience has been a challenge in an era when many media companies are struggling to reinvent themselves. In November, Current cut 80 jobs, about a fifth of its staff, as it shifted emphasis from production of pod-centered shows to half-hour and hour-long shows, some of which are acquisitions and co-productions. The longer formats are a more effective way of telling in-depth stories, Levine said. He insists that Current remains committed to strong audience participation, however. Even though the company will acquire fewer pods, it may increase other areas of user-produced content, such as simple webcam videos, articles, and comments.

"We're in a two-way dialogue, and over time, we're trying a number of ways to make that happen," Levine said. "It's a shift, and a balance."

On the Media

Transformation is in the air. Business leaders across industries are recognizing that “old school” management isn’t up to the task of nonstop innovation. As a result, companies that were once run from the top down are steadily shifting to a more networked style of management in which employees and customers play a greater role in driving innovation. Networked cultures tend to be more creative, more agile, and better able to anticipate the needs of customers.

How do you create a culture of innovation? By recognizing one simple fact: If you want to innovate, you’ve got to design. Design and design thinking are the tools that create new products, new services, new business models, new markets, and new industries. The best way to leverage innovation—as outlined in my latest book—is to build a “designful company”. (Buy the book.)

To find out where you are on the culture curve, take this simple test: Share a total of 10 points across each of the 10 pairs below. For example, if your company is more siloed than collaborative, you might score it 6 and 4. When you’ve finished, add up the two columns to measure your progress. If your totals come out to 60 and 40, for example, you could say that you’re 40% along the path to an innovative culture.

What we need to do is to apply the same rules to VC’s which they impose on their companies – force them to make tough choices and get their business models in order. And instead of giving the tax-breaks to the middlemen, let’s give these directly to the entrepreneurs who take the risks and create the innovation. It is the entrepreneurs who fuel the economy, not the venture capitalists or investment bankers.