We’ve heard the phrase before that “change is constant.” It’s true that from one moment to the next change has occurred. Solutions for specific situations in the past cannot effectively be replicated in the now or in the future. It’s like one person put it. History (in fact) does not repeat itself, but it does rhyme.
Change is the natural process that adjusts any system’s flow. Machine parts wear down. Bolts shake loose. One generation passes to another. Nature is waiting to take back the earth. Change is nature’s way of meeting her objectives, but what about yours? It isn’t very often that nature’s goals and an organization’s goals are the same (although they can be complimentary).
For people to make effective and meaningful system adjustments change isn’t enough. True adjustments require innovation.
Innovation is different than change. Innovation is to “make changes in something established, especially by introducing new methods, ideas, or products.” By definition innovation requires new methods, ideas, or products.
Innovation is sometimes the result of one brilliant individual. Nicola Tesla’s AC generator comes to mind. Thomas Edison’s lightbulb might be on the list as well, but Edison wasn’t alone. He had a team of engineers and innovators working in his shop when the code for the successful lightbulb was finally cracked.
The inventors of Tesla’s and Edison’s day had significantly more opportunity to invent miracles than those today. Today we are surrounded by a million miracles born out of others’ innovation.
Innovation isn’t normally just one brilliant person. There’s generally a pattern to the process. It starts with an environment of trust and continuous learning. In those environments collaboration can not only occur but thrive! You know collaboration when you see it. It starts as a conversation that discusses a WHY. While most of what follows my be prototyping the what to solve a need the group’s focus on why isn’t lost as the conversation evolves.
In collaborative settings no one walks away wishing they’d spent their time elsewhere. If you’re having a meeting where folks wish they could be someone else, or they regret having spent the time in that environment, then you’re not collaborating and you’re not likely to innovate–unless of course you’ve got one brilliant mind who can do it on his own.
In our home and professional environments seeking innovations (whether small or large) is possible and knowing that innovation is born out of collaborative settings gives us a better incentive to build and maintain trust and invest the time to talk about the why.
