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Sea Change

'A crisis is a terrible thing to waste' so says Silicon Valley entrepreneur Vinod Khosla in The Economist's special report on innovation in 2007. Does that make stability innovation's worst enemy? Probably. In financially comfortable times there is no benefit to be had from rocking the boat, so it takes a crashing wave or a broken rudder to create an urgency to do something creative and fast.

In other words innovation only happens when companies feel they absolutely have to. When a crisis comes knocking strategic soundbites begin echoing through the corridors, the captain demands resources to be diverted to special projects, very important meetings are scheduled and company wide announcements from the top come thick and fast. Such innovation outbursts may be highly productive in the short term but they are also highly disruptive. Day-to-day business operations often grind to a halt as all hands are set to work on the next big thing, customers and suppliers find they slip a notch or two on the priority list and the company gets ready to launch a new improved product or streamline its operations, all this just to stay on course. Employee reactions to such interludes range from sheer terror through to wide eyed wonder as they revel in away days filled with creative adrenalin shots and impossible promises. But this sojourn is short lived, after the fanfare normal service is resumed and everyone returns to a routine, albeit at different desks with altered job titles.

Innovation outbursts can be invigorating, even for the most staid of companies. But a few months of frenzied activity may result in nothing more than a quick repair job, a reshuffle at the top and a fancy new logo, still everyone is revitalised, morale is temporarily boosted and a spike in productivity is recorded. But crisis management is not a 'normal' activity, so the intermittent innovation that results from crises can not be viewed as an everyday activity either, indeed it would be unsustainable and too disruptive. Instead these outbursts become a normal response to unusual events and situations, when the crisis passes innovation is relegated to the benches and complacency sets in.

So what is the alternative? Cultural innovation. It's not binge today and starve tomorrow and it doesn't come cloaked in jargon or inflated promises with eyepopping consultancy fees. Cultural innovation permeates the hearts and minds of an organisation and it's people, it is 'normal' business. Unfortunately, innovation, much like design, is intangible, as confirmed in the aforementioned report where a senior executive says innovation is 'like pornography I know it when I see it'. One would hope that executives are discerning enough to spot the difference between the real thing and cheap imitations. If companies, namely the people at the top, are really serious about innovation then cultural realignment is required. A good starting point would be to: listen to employees, customers and competitors; accept ideas from above, below, inside and most importantly out; analyse, execute and monitor ruthlessly. It sounds simple, but it requires a hefty dose of humility, foresight and objectivity from the upper decks.

For any organisation steering a steady course will be challenging and fraught with difficulties, indeed crises will still happen and unusual responses or measures will be required, but when the drama is over the everyday business of innovation will once again be the priority.

Originally posted as a blog in October 2007

© Kavita Copas 2007 All rights reserved