We are caught in two states- a need for stability and a need for fluidity. We need to be adaptive, agile and responsive. Often we are trapped in the oncoming ‘headlights’ like a deer caught out crossing the road at night. The deer momentarily ‘freezes’ and we seem so often to be equally caught in this dilemma in our innovation’s creation capabilities
Today our organizations are still far too rigid, they are not adaptive or agile enough to really exploit innovation to the full, they are not responsive to the changes occurring constantly in fluid and dynamic markets.
We stay trapped in the established way of thinking. Organization’s struggle with this organizational constraint imposed by the singular, or dominating pursuit of efficiency and effectiveness at the cost of ‘fluidity.’
Organizations and individuals see change far to often in negative terms and not in the way innovation can bring positive change that seeks constant, ongoing adjustments to deliver the best, optimal solution.
How can both adaptive and fluid and exploitative and efficient work alongside each other? Many theorists have suggested, of having in place the ‘ambidextrous organization.’
The ‘dual’ thinking that we need to work between the two states of consciousness of deciding to be ‘exploitative or exploratory’ to see innovation in these two different lenses of opportunity.
This would require organizations to be often redesigned in their structures, people and processes, measurements and judgments, to either be focused on ‘being efficient’ or being ‘change orientated’.
I have been consistently drawn to this dual system of ambidextrous as it helps resolve one of the consistent stumbling blocks for innovation to ‘take hold’ and evolve.
For me, Innovation is constantly fluid, needing to be adaptive as we learn and adjust to new learning and this is constantly requiring a very change orientated approach. Often innovation comes up against a rigid system and for many “it just seems not to fit” and gets rejected as not appropriate to us. We lose out to opportunity as we are scared of what it might do to challenge what we have already got or achieved
It is a fact, innovation struggles as it often remains outside the prevailing system.
Innovation constantly challenges against the dominant mindset within organizations, who like the idea of innovation but are mostly measured to drive efficiency and effectiveness, keeping highly focused on the short-term performance as their role, reward, advancement, and a key to ongoing career success, so innovation ‘sits outside’ their domain of focus.
Something needs to change if innovation is really important and you want to explore all the potential that is ‘out there’ waiting to be discovered.
