They always force me to unglue some of my preconceived ideas thankfully, and then I can stick them back together again into a whole new pattern.

To be honest, I still have not fully figured out why I keep pondering over Rowan Gibson’s “The Four Lenses of Innovation: a power tool for creative thinking”, which will be published in early March, and why it is forcing me to reconcile different thoughts in my mind.

Rowan Gibson’s previous book was “Innovation to the Core- a blueprint for transforming the way your company innovates”, which he co-authored with Peter Skarzynski. It has been one of my favourites since it came out in 2008.

I often dip into this book and refer to some of its thinking and frames that have emerged following its publication. One of those frames was the “The Four Lenses of Innovation”, outlined in Chapter Three, which became the basis for Rowan’s new book.
Here is the first thing that threw me

Rowan decided not to do a sequel to “Innovation to the Core”. In many ways he wanted to step away from what he calls “enterprise innovation” and make this new book simply a very different kind of book, delving a little deeper into the front end of the innovation process.

The “four lenses” tackle the subject of creativity far more than its predecessor; it explores how the human mind works and encourages readers to recognize their own creative genius. Rowan takes the reader on a significant journey, even going back in time to consider historical examples that show how we all can discover great opportunities.

The four lenses are a tool to provide us with the ability to find and explore fresh perspectives. He calls these “four perceptual lenses” and when he went back and studied successful innovation it uncovered and reinforced his belief in this tool for each of us to uncover insights and opportunities.

Without doubt this book reflects Rowan’s current focus

I decided to ask him a number of questions to clarify some of my thinking after I had been through the manuscript he sent to me for providing a review. He states “writing a book is an expression of what interests you personally at a certain point of time in your life and career” He believes he is “baring his soul a little bit” and looking to help people understand creativity and innovation a little better, by joining the dots between a few things. I certainly think he helps us understand him and how he has gone about this ‘creative process’ himself.

Rowan sets about to unpack the creative process a little more. Ideas are built within our minds. We collect many thoughts that initially may be random, but as these connect they become the kernel of a new idea. Rowan defines an idea as a “new pattern of thoughts”.

The book is about exploring and explaining the thought processes that lead to new ideas by mapping them through these four lenses back in history, from ancient times, through the Renaissance period, telling some stories of Edison, Einstein and bringing us more up to date with a host of contemporary ones of Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk in this exploration journey of how big ideas are actually built.

He is embarking to take us on a journey, a quest to discover the creative genius that is inside us all.

So what are the four lenses that the book is built around?
Four particular perspectives or patterns of thinking make up the lenses and they get fully explored in part one of the book – “the Mind of the Innovator”:

1. Challenging Orthodoxies: Questioning deeply entrenched beliefs and assumptions, and exploring new and highly unconventional answers
2. Harnessing Trends: Recognizing the future potential of emerging developments, and using these trends to open up new opportunities
3. Leveraging Resources: Understanding our limitless capacity for redeploying skills and assets in new ways, combinations or contexts
4. Understanding Needs: Paying attention to issues and frustrations others have ignored, and experimenting with new solutions to problems

Part two of the book turns toward “the Power of Patterns”

Here Rowan really starts to explore the neuroscience stuff as the place for us to understand some of the many mental barriers to innovation. It looks at why most of us are not using those innate creative skills that we were born with but seem to file away after childhood. The way we think – as “pattern recognizers” – often holds us back.

We are taught certain patterns of thought and behaviour as we grow up, and we recognize these patterns all the time, but we often don’t question them anymore.

As Rowan suggests, this is a cognitive condition called “functional fixedness” and often becomes the mental block that we have to unlock so we can regain a fresh perspective. He argues that many of us are running on a kind if mental “autopilot” and we simply stop noticing or questioning things.

We become blind to the changes, the new patterns and the new opportunities that are all around us.

Part three takes you into “Looking Through the Four Lenses”
This is the part that takes you through each of the four lenses of challenging orthodoxies, harnessing trends, leveraging resources and understanding needs. Each has brief “lessons to take away” within its dedicated chapters to help distil each of the framing messages.

This part of the book does really climb into current examples to reinforce the lenses and their value. Rowan introduces the 3R in the “leveraging resources” section but in many ways the question to keep asking throughout the book is “how can we repurpose, redeploy or recombine our skills and assets in order to open up to new growth opportunities?” and “how can we extend the boundaries of our businesses?”

Part four is all about “How Big Ideas Are Built”

There is a definite thinking process involved in constructing a breakthrough. Rowan provides views on Archimedes and suggests that Einstein provides us with an excellent model of the master idea-builder as he used his creativity to rethink the universe.

Then he considers Thomas Edison – perhaps the most prolific innovator of all time – describing his approach and then suggesting that in each of these cases “their genius seems to have followed a formula” and layers on many more examples to underpin this, bringing us back through the four lenses and describing Rowan’s eight-step model of the creative process.

The book keeps asking and raising questions about this creative process

As I suggested earlier, this is a personal journey of looking at creative genius through this four lenses framework. Rowan wanted to write a very different kind of book, and he wanted to project some of his own vibrancy, passion and excitement about innovation.

The finished book is in itself very creative in its layout, design and presentation.

It contains 304 pages of full-colour illustrations, really bringing the whole subject of creativity and innovation to life. I firstly read the manuscript, and then I received a copy of one of the finished chapters and went “Wow!”

What a transformation. The book’s design made that creative distinction. It complimented and really helped to break down this amazing journey in pursuit of creative genius.

So why does it leave me still with questions about the book?

I wrote to Rowan that I needed to firstly separate before I recombine. I was not a lover of his Preface – it is a little overhyped, overworked, it forced me to judge far too early and I have needed to keep peeling away at this and get deeper into the structure and messages to resolve this reaction.

I like to discover more as something unfolds, not to be confronted with it. In some ways, I’m not sure the preface and opener fit the journey of what lies within the book but that, of course, could simply be me.

I was reading in his Preface that the ‘four lenses’ has had such an impact on companies over the last two decades, with the result that “thousands” have already seen its value as a technique, yet with many people coming up to Rowan at his events and asking about the four lenses, he chose not to start the book with the “here and now” but significantly with the historical route and that equally threw me.

Was this a case of simply retrofitting or providing its real value through this growing recognition of applying these lenses across history and in this way, showing its underlying value?

In some ways, I wanted to immediately get my hands on the “here and now” stuff raised up in the Preface as proof, making it more contemporary, relevant and applicable to take hold of this technique in today’s world and why so many were adopting it as a creative tool.

But Rowan told me, “I wanted to give a more historical basis to the creativity and innovation thinking patterns, reflecting much of my thinking and research over the couple of years”.

Fair enough, he does make up for the contemporary stuff in later parts of the book significantly well, with plenty of modern examples, less of his own though, I felt a pity, as it was this demand that seems to have partly pushed him into writing this book.

Yet I did get to satisfy my need for ‘red meat’ but it was the promise within the Preface that raised my expectancies, perhaps forcing my “need to separate before recombine” remark as the book unfolded.

• Actually I really liked the Renaissance discussions – they form the heart of the book for me, they triggered my thinking. I think we are in need of a new renaissance period, especially here in Europe, so I welcomed that part.

• In many ways I think the book has challenged my own need to shift my mental perspective. Perhaps this was my struggle. If a book prompts this then it is doing its job. It is not just informing, it is raising your awareness within yourself. It stretched me and brought out some emotions as well.

• I would certainly have liked to see more depth in the summaries of each chapter. The “lessons to take away” were fairly short and lacked the ability to encapsulate much within the chapters. Again, I would have liked a little more meat on the ‘take-away’ bone.

• Rowan has researched and written a very different type of innovation book. You can be in danger of trying to box it with countless others, all offering their take on “how to”, but this book strives constantly to go beyond that.

• Then, as Rowan’s previous book, “Innovation to the Core” was so radically different, and for me, a consistent reference book, this had certainly influenced me when I was working through this “Four Lenses” manuscript.

• The two books stand at opposite ends of the innovation book spectrum and maybe I was not able to let go of one end to enjoy the other end, and I still cannot fully figure out why. It is good to appreciate different spectrums to alter your own perspectives.

It is a book I certainly recommend. It took me on my personal journey. It did its job. It challenged my thinking patterns. It broke some. It reinforced others. It helped describe the creative journey we all need to travel, which can be full of surprises and we do need to stay open to rethink everything.

Reflecting back through history does often open up the future. Can we have another Innovation Renaissance period please, this book reminded me of our constant need to be creative and keep pushing for breakthrough ideas to advance and renew?

** the book is released on March 2nd, 2015.

The post The Four Lenses of Innovation by Rowan Gibson first appeared on Building Your Innovation & Ecosystem Intelligence.

I have been lucky to see part of this taking shape in my 15 odd years being based in Asia until recently. For twelve years I was based in Singapore and it is still, like all of Asia, on my advisory radar. Innovation in Asia is quite different; here are some of the dynamics. Others will follow.

The combinations abound are ‘rich and heady’.

With the attraction of fast-growing markets, rapidly growing middle classes, rising education standards with millions of graduates emerging across Asia and plentiful state funding you have a powerful cocktail to ‘kick start’ innovation.

For many countries in Asia they are well passed the ‘kick start’ and more into the establishing and maturing of their specific ‘brand’ of innovation.

The West views Asian innovation through the wrong lens.
Cultures have a complex make up too and it does influence our thinking. Cognition works differently it seems, depending on your cultural background and upbringing influences.

Asia clearly ‘see’ innovation solutions in different ways. The generating of ideas, developed by different thinking approaches or modes is an interesting area to discuss further, but not here. One critical outcome leads to a more ‘collaborative’ approach in Asia, while the West would be more pursuinga  far more “open’ one.

The history of innovation is different

Most of the Asian countries have for many years (thousands) been heavily controlled by the state and it is only recently that the heavy hand of regulation has been gaining a lighter touch.

There is a present battles going on between market based outwardly looking approaches (for example in India & China) and those internal diehards, seen as solid nation defenders, wanting only a inward-looking set of approaches to solve many of the internal structural problems that still beset these countries.

This provides a lot of tension on where the ‘push’ for innovation should go. There is still enormous scope for the ‘pull’. This tug of control and deregulation creates many mixed signals of state or market driven to evaluate.

Asia has mastered much of the outsourced innovation, in many industries it is a world leader. Many of the countries have become technically adept and moving beyond fast followers into global outsourced leaders.

The West simply comes at innovation at a different point and ,yes, you can argue it is more advanced but you do have to careful on this generalised statement.

There are many emerging examples where the West is lagging the East and this will only increase unless a thorough, thoughtful analysis of the differences to give true ‘differentiation’ to focus precious resources behind them is made.

Western policies still are too generalized when it comes to innovation areas they support. This needs greater ‘rifle targeting’ not ‘shot gun’ approaches.

Everyone in Asia is snapping at each other’s heels

With so many knowledge parks, high tech zones and innovation centres of excellence springing up across Asia these are breaking down many past barriers of where innovation resides.

Nearly every global company has transferred some or even all of its R&D research to specific places in Asia as protection, quality of researchers and the availability of grants and incentives becomes overwhelming not to take up.

Knowledge is flowing East to the many hot spots and the airport connections simply accelerate this knowledge exchange. Scientists, corporate managers and serial entrepreneurs are connecting daily face-to-face or through all the available means open to them in technology and communications.

Going in reverse
We have been recently discussing reverse innovation, frugal innovation or appropriate innovation. All are well beyond ‘fads’ they are the outcome of products adapted for Asian markets increasingly finding new homes in the West, where many products are over-engineered, over-designed and over-spec.

Stripping away what is not needed for customers is going to be the winning play in the next few years and the Asian centres of innovation development are more equipped to manage this within their type of innovation methodology and ‘proving’ grounds close to the production sites, mostly situated with these countries. Appropriate innovation is going to become a key battleground.

The other type of reverse is still the flow of reverse migration. The returning Asians, picked out by their countries’ roving ambassadors were attracted back due to the ‘heady’ cocktail mentioned above.

Let’s be honest having your budgets cut, working through constant layers of ‘push back’ going on in the West (our famous red tape) or being fast tracked back into your natural society, with a more attractive package of money, contacts, feeding ambition and blending your Eastern and Western techniques, understandings and methods.

Of course, this is not always easy and many have found out the promise was not to their liking for many lingering inhibitors or obstacles. Many are staying and thriving.

Relationships- those are often not as ‘open’ as you think

Asian countries do have a real intensity. This can make for some really insecure relationships with external collaborators. If you don’t start on the same page, in harmony, you certainly will never end on that same page without enormous blood, sweat and tears.

The ‘prize’ within collaborations needs to be well worth it. All the Asian countries are as hungry as you can get for recognition as emerging equals to the West. Not only as it shows the virility, it does often shows the prowess and their adeptness. They still maybe weak on certain aspects but I don’t think the West can claim perfection!

Yes Asia is often accused of fast following, exploiting and sometimes stripping down innovation emerging from other places or organizations but as they strengthen the intellectual property regimes and have well qualified researchers this will take on a really different level of sophistication.

They will increase this type of ‘investigative’ innovation and produce many different and new products ‘schooled’ in reverse engineering or simply employing the latest skilled researcher, to break down the code, product or molocule and apply different intellectual logic bolted on to ‘sensing’ new value opportunities, exploiting the gaps.

Again, Asians do think and research differently often at a higher level of intensity of purpose and with different biases and ideas of potential value.

Exploiting their own intellectual property is clearly happening.

So there are more brains, more ideas, more innovation centres working in increasing connected networks in Asia. These are not just Asian specific but global in their intent and dissemination.

The West has to figure out what are its complementary skills to collaborate with this rising tide of innovation knowledge found in Asia. More innovation will clearly emerge from these collaborations but they are not going to be truly open, they are going to be open/closed, selective on what they bring.

There is an ever increasing flow of people, ideas, technologies, followed by money and chased by different organizations to commercialise. The pace of innovation is getting faster and faster to manage. The art of orchestration comes to mind and Asia is a networked environment of inter connected relationships.

It always has been in history, this time it is web driven making it even more ‘connected,’ fast and powerful.

One Asian country is certainly not another for innovation.

South Korea and Taiwan are both highly adapt at technology led innovation. They have highly connected networks of Conglomerates, Institutions and Government all drawn together on specific platforms to grow the internal competences of often the larger conglomerate operating out of these countries.

Often it is seen nationally as a struggle for survival so they have to innovation- it is an imperitive.  Yet state pressures and large companies often stifle new entrants or entrepreneurs through this extensive network- hence my open/closed analogy.

Korea and Taiwan still have difficulty attracting foreign investors due to this closed up approach unless you are brining the technology or processes that resolve part of their jigsaw for moving up the innovation value chain.

As for India, they are different, really different. They seem to stumble along but don’t be fooled by this. Their appetite for innovation is as big as it is for seeking food dependency. Indian have the premier networked system around the world.

Someone once said it is not an innovation system but an innovation networked class of global non-resident Indians embedded in social and business systems anywhere from Silicon Valley, to Australia, to Cambridge, UK, Singapore or Boston. Indians debate, then think, debate and think again even more, and then find ways to innovate, often to get around obstacles others would have given up upon long ago.

That is inbuilt within Indians who have had to navigate the roadblocks just to live in India on a day-to-day basis. They are really inventive. India is going to excel at many different types of innovation. India will become a real world centre for reverse or appropriate innovation.

Then we have China. They are mobilizing their amazing resource of people, both educated and partly skilled into a powerful innovating machine. China has such ambitions for growth over its different economic state plans.

Universities are ‘churning out’ more engineers than the West or near enough, it is attracting world class contributors to the education of the higher skilled and anchoring many multination innovation centres to build its momentum and depth.

Presently China focuses on the ‘hard’ of innovation, the more right brain, less on the ‘soft’ left brain, so engineering, research both flourish. Creativity, design and market empathy all lag behind. They are trying to move from their quantity to a more quality perspective but this is going to be a hard road for them to travel without some real mindshift to a more open culture.

The sheer power and commitment for making these ‘leaps’ in the global standing in many areas is frighening and innovation is in the centre of this determination to transform the Chinese society and be a global innovating powerhouse.

Many other contenders for parts of the innovation throne

When you look beyond these Asian innovation leaders you see Singapore constantly moving up the value curve. It has a unique model that attracts, employs and promotes innovation for its ongoing value creation. It stays fluid, adaptable and flexible in every way.

It is like the bamboo- strong, pliable, can bend when it needs too but is powerful in its ability to not break, it is a constant surprise. It is always fast growing and very versatile.

A place that keeps innovation in the forefront of its growth plans and systematically ‘picks off’ who and what it wants to anchor into its business in Singapore, to fulfil the growth plans of being a hotspot of ‘targeted’ innovation expertise. Singapore is famous for exploring boundaries in thinking and experimenting with lots of ‘seed’ money.

Then you have Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and the significant power of Japan- each has their own innovation model, one size or type does not fit all. Innovation in Asia is made up of many different models. I could dig into each but I will not for this blog. I’ve illustrated enough of the rising tide accelerating in Asia for innovation in enough ways. The innovation tide runs both deep and broad.

The changing landscape for innovation
Asian countries are remaking the innovation landscape. In the West, it is not best to dismiss this phenomenon and the West has to find imaginative ways to embrace these emerging innovation ‘tigers’.

Learning to collaborate and play to traditional strengths may not be enough and this thinking beyond needs a real clarity of mind, believe me.

Of course Asia is a fast learner and sometimes has incredible ‘blind spots. Understanding these and exploiting them takes knowledge and the tide is certainly coming in fast.

The post The Accelerating Innovation Tide Across Asia. first appeared on Building Your Innovation & Ecosystem Intelligence.