A Coach’s Perspective: My Complicated Relationship With Innovation

As I reflect on my life to date, from my earliest childhood memories to my current experiences as a “newly minted” Medicare cardholder, I realize that I am riding quite an emotional roller-coaster when it comes to INNOVATION.  There have been times in my life when I have been excited and even passionate about creating new ideas and trying new things, and then again times when I have been fearful and indifferent to doing so. But why? What motivates us to be a “great” visionary in one moment, and what keeps us from challenging the status quo in the next? A bit of personal perspective combined with some research from McKinsey and Company will help answer these questions.

PLAYTIME

As a kid growing up in a small town in Northern New Jersey. I was fortunate to have a large group of friends who valued playtime above all else. It was amazing how many different games we created with just a ball and a stick. We also had the “benefit” (yes, I said “benefit”) of living within walking distance of the city dump. You can’t imagine the treasure trove of cool stuff that was there just for the taking.

One summer day, two buddies and I found a large Styrofoam piece, quickly transforming it into a Passaic Riverboat. We did our best to make it look like a boat, launched it, and all jumped on. The first ten feet of the trip were awesome. What came next was the three of us up to our necks in Passaic River water, laughing hysterically. Did that deter us? NO WAY! We dragged ourselves ashore, made some design improvements to the boat, and tried again. Our next voyage lasted twenty feet with the same result, but we made progress. We would have tried a third time, but we ran the risk of violating one of the universal neighborhood rules. Which was, “Don’t be late for dinner”.

As kids, we don’t tend to have the life experiences to know what works and what doesn’t. We have the playful curiosity to try new things in different ways, and in fact, we are often cheered for by our friends and family as we develop and grow. We use the limited resources available to us for multiple purposes just to see if we get the outcome we are hoping for. Our friends become that supportive, non-judgmental partner group that shares new experiences with us and keeps us motivated to try new things. To quote Steve Jobs, “Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity, not a threat”.  How do we take that kid-like mindset to see opportunity and nurture curiosity and creativity forward in both our professional and personal lives?

WHEN DID BEING INNOVATIVE BECOME A THREAT?

While I am not sure exactly when. The more my activities focused on results instead of ideas and skills instead of passions. The more I became intimidated by fear of criticism, uncertainty, and negative impacts on my professional career. Fear became a barrier to channeling my childhood curiosity as opposed to a motivator to act boldly. While it is clearly up to each of us to respond to fear as we see fit, that response is very much influenced by the culture that we live and work in.

Professionally, slogans such as “Fail Fast” and “Fail Forward” have become more prevalent in the past decade or so for organizations to show that innovation is an important value. The most innovative companies (e.g., ServiceNow, Workday, Salesforce.com, Tesla, etc.) go far beyond just slogans to create their company cultures. They prioritize innovation through dedicated events like Hackathons and Innovation Days. They recognize and reward innovative ideas, valuing both successes and lessons learned from failures. By embedding innovation as a core value, they drive company success and enhance employee performance.

According to McKinsey and Company, there are “five fundamentals of an innovative culture”, and they are as follows:

1. Believe and Value
   “The world’s 50 most innovative companies hold innovation as a central value three times as often as the remaining S&P 500”.
2. Frame and Champion
   “It is up to the CEO to build optimism and consistently encourage risk-taking by framing innovation as fundamental to the organization’s success.”
3. Signal and Symbolize
   “Symbols can be physical, verbal and action-oriented”, just make sure that there is visibility to valuing and expecting innovation.
4. Show and Ritualize
   Establish routines and norms to make innovation an expectation and not just the occasional endeavor.
5. Shield and Empower
   “By providing employees with psychological safety, an innovation-centric purpose, and explicit encouragement and rewards. Management can help them find the courage to risk failure in pursuit of creative ambition. Only by addressing the fears that hold people back from experimenting can companies build a true innovation culture”.

What Now? – Embrace the Opportunity

As I reflect upon the last 5+ years since retirement from my first career. I am trying to see my ideas and passions as opportunities and not threats. My goal may no longer be to captain my own “Styrofoam” boat down the Passaic River. But it is definitely to find that childlike curiosity and courage to motivate everything I do. These days, my relationship with innovation is much less complicated than it used to be. I just wish I had reconciled with innovation much sooner!

Reference:

“Fear Factor: Overcoming Human Barriers to Innovation” McKinsey and Company