holistic innovation - Building Your Innovation & Ecosystem Intelligence

The dark side of the innovation moon

@paul4innovating — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 10:48:30 +0000

Ever wondered what is on the other side of the moon when you look up towards it? Do we really need to look beyond our own horizons in our daily lives? Should we question beyond our existing horizons in how we go about innovating, to explore, to push ourselves into the unknown?
What about the other side, the darker, unknown side of the moon. Are you ever curious of what lies behind what we can see? I certainly am.
Innovation is perhaps like the moon. We only see a part of it wherever we stand, we appreciate that part and value what we see and work within. It is even better if we can repeat it again and again. It can even offer something reassuring and comfortable, we grow comfortable within our own known borders of innovation activity.
What happens though, when we suddenly face a crisis? Or our innovation activity that has happily gone on and on, is abruptly questioned due to some sudden changes in the market place? Then we often enter the unknown side, the darker, murkier side of innovation, where uncertainties lurks, this is like maybe the other side of the moon, out there but not part of our ‘seen’ world until now. It unexpectedly challenges what we know and leaves us vulnerable and uncertain. It also prompts us to be curious.
The issue becomes, what is the power of knowing that darker side of the innovation moon beforehand? Maybe it is the explorer within us all. Knowing whats actually out there. Understanding as much of the whole innovation moon would be good for many of us but we would like to do this safely within our existing comfort zone. What we would ideally love is not just a glimpse of the far side, that darker, unknown side, but a chance to visit it, just to see if it is something for us or not. How can we do this, can we prepare?
Visiting the dark side of the innovation moon
I think we all do need to gain a really good glimpse of the total innovation moon. It would help us to be better equipped to be ready for different eventualities that are more often than not, coming our way in unexpected ways.
What can be provided that allows us to move around innovation with more confidence, to experience it, to explore it and then become eventually more comfortable with it so as to work all sides of this innovation moon?
To orbit the innovation moon we do need to rise up and go beyond our day-to-day lives. We need to look at innovation in its broader context; we need to understand all of its inter-connected parts. So much of the innovation moon often remains in mystery, the side that faces away from us.
Part of my job is to encourage you to not only leave your comfort zone but to attempt to offer the framing techniques and approaches to equip you for deepening your journey onto the darker, less known sides of your innovation understanding.
How can we explore all the potential within innovation?
We should ask of ourselves, what does block out the light, the understanding of gaining a fuller understanding of innovation. Is it a lack of time, of incentive or it is not simply part of our job, the role expected by the organization we work for does not want us to be curious? We need a way to freshly connect, to relay and make exploration, to feel like we can make a safe venture. To do this we often need permission to go beyond our existing horizons.
Equally we each have to ask ourselves what and where are the dark sides of the innovation moon for us? Why are these differences on the side that faces away from us, the unknown sides of the innovation moon? We do need to open up and seek out far more.
This blog site was deliberately set up to help in this, along with my advising, coaching, researching and consulting work to help you in your innovation focus. I’m trying to add the ‘innovation fuel’ and essential frameworks and equipment to help you explore innovation with growing confidence and continued support.
The power and force of the dark side has growing attraction
The difference that can be made is distinctive innovation, breakthrough and disruptive innovation. This is the attraction of exploring the dark side of the innovation moon, it is what investors and your organizations are looking for, that makes you stand out and be different. You have pushed the boundaries.
Those creative forces, the unique breakthroughs, the distinctive products, services and different business models that allow us to break free of the pull of the gravity that often holds the majority back, that is the attraction of the dark side of innovation. This often require us to move out of our comfort zones, be pushed to explore the other side, the far side of our thinking.
We all are in need of making fresh moonwalks.
To understand the whole innovation moon we do need to make moonwalks. We need to explore, we need to map out the terrain. I think we need a new model that tackles innovation so it can articulate for all and becomes the innovation roadmap that communicates to us all in a way that makes clear connection. We need more help in reducing uncertainty and replace it with something that gives us all a feeling of being part of something bigger and more exciting, something we want to take part within.
We all need to visit the dark side of the innovation moon. I am more than happy to walk alongside you, actually I’d welcome it, as we all gain a new perspective when we do make any journey.

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Taking on the world; innovation as unfettered, different and holistic

@paul4innovating — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 12:03:43 +0000

Taking a little more time out to delve into the excellent articles provided by Europe’s top innovation on-line magazine, http://www.innovationmanagement.se one article caught my eye.

It compelled me to comment upon as it relates to Singapore which is dear to my heart. This was about the Singapore Management University (http://www.smu.edu.sg) and the new Presidents vision of its future place.
Inter-disciplinary research for equipping students for comprehensive solutions

Professor Arnoud De Meyer, the new president, recently made his inaugural address laying out the future of SMU. He stated “Inter-disciplinary research and teaching will be key to producing graduates who can give comprehensive solutions for a changing society”.
He was also recognizing one of the present barriers within Universities was the way promotions come about from peer review and publications of a single discipline within the faculty.

This rather ‘myopic’ view of expertise by many present-day academics is certainly outdated. We need more holistic, cross-disciplined research as the solutions in today’s world that are needed are more in complex than ever before.

If Professor De Meyer can help bring about this sort of the change in academic thinking it will certainly begin to separate SMU and distinguish it in a crowded field, and I think it certainly needs to establish differentiation, as it presently has little legacy to hinder it after only being ten years in existence.

Formidable academic barriers
The real challenge within this is to overcome some formidable barriers to academic change. SMU has the potential of cultivating an unbridled spirit of innovation on campus if they set about it correctly.

Within their broader community where faculty, staff and students interact with outside society so many connecting ideas can be ‘free’ to flow through this concept of cross-disciplinary research, and then through their teaching from this.

Why, well not just because SMU is a young, superbly equipped campus lying not only in the heart of Asia and Singapore itself. It is because it recognises it needs to be different and offer a paradigm shift in offering students not that silo focus based on old traditional management disciplines.

It is no longer adequate to answer the needs and challenges of organizations today with these outdated approaches and SMU needs to pioneer the way to differentiate so it can eventually rank among the top business institutes worldwide. It simply can’t by copying existing institutions.

Innovation lies at the heart of cross-discipline knowledge

New cross-discipline knowledge is certainly at the heart of innovation so as to drive future growth and delivers new solutions to more complex problems.

If we improve our academic institutions to provide different ways to see and solve problems it will certainly help us be an awful lot better to exploit this ‘combined’ knowledge.

We also gain a better understanding of ourselves, and how and where we fit in our society to make a contribution as we gain a broader perspective and reduce misunderstandings.

Education delivery has to change and catch up

There is many comments that education delivery systems has tailed off, and struggling to establish themselves to the changes going on around us. They are simply not catching up and this is why I welcome this initiative at SMU.

Can one university or a small, but growing group of like minded ones, take on the entrenched position by many academics and other institutions that simply refuse to change?

Professor De Meyer plans to encourage faculty to publish inter-disciplinary research and to acknowledge the higher level of difficulty in such research during promotional reviews.

I understand this point but this alone is not enough to complete his vision, it needs to be something that is part of a broader, bolder vision that benefits society and the students to ‘see the world’ in new and different ways.

Innovation enables new learning potential
I believe innovation lies at the core to rally around. Innovation can be the enabler of this cross-border encouragement through the emphasis on the study and teaching of innovation and how it links cross-disciplinary research.

To move beyond traditional boundaries and models, to embrace the potential of cross-disciplinary research you need to have leading-edge learning practice, where innovation is cutting across the old divides of formal education and silo learning

Professor De Meyer has begun a significant journey by making this issue of ‘Inter-disciplinary research and teaching as key’ to producing graduates who can give comprehensive innovative solutions for a changing society. He needs support and encouragement. How can we support this?

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