working with innovation - Building Your Innovation & Ecosystem Intelligence

Achieving a higher collaborative gear

@paul4innovating — Sat, 06 Dec 2014 08:32:43 +0000

For a big majority of us, open innovation is now well established, it is part of our innovation furniture. The quest for many, today, is the search for richer engagements, possibilities and exchanges. We need to move beyond the existing boundaries and go deeper into the collaborative space.
I regard collaboration as the active ingredient, the yeast that allows our ‘daily innovation bread’ to rise. Getting all the parties ‘gathered around’ puts increased vitality, energy and commitment into working together over a project or idea.
As we learn to reach out and collaborate, exchanging perspectives and our different thoughts, it is in these interactions, in the many exchanges on-line and off-line that we move towards a real sense of achievement.
Allowing outside ideas through our doors
Open innovation has literally thrown open the doors, many of our research and development activities are increasingly relying on the input from outside. Open innovation is changing our behaviours.

Yet it can be tough to shift our ingrained habits and patterns of behaviour to accommodate differences of opinion, acceptance that many of the answers lie outside of our building and domain of expertise. The more we look outside for answers the more we are getting closer to the truth, as the truth lies out in the market place.
We need to seek those “moments of truth” and be true to ourselves, in having open, honest dialogues; these strengthen sharing, confidence and trust – all essential to collaborations.
There are certain behaviours to avoid, certain ones to embrace.
I am sure we have all looked at collaborations as more one way, our way, and not made the progress we had originally expected. True collaborating is an art, not a science. It needs constant practice, a freedom to explore and express. You need to have a clear sense of purpose, on why you are talking; otherwise you wander and never get to the point of real value.
The work is around issues / challenges / problems that have the potential for mutual gain. No one enjoys those “black holes” or “long silences” of one way dialogues, those that often feel like “I think this person is sucking out my brain” and expecting that for free.
No, for me collaborations, good collaborations, can move up a gear from those past open innovation experiences. We need to make them human dialogues that appreciate and respect the others’ opinion, otherwise why bother with open innovation, if we already know the answer, we just want you to confirm it?
Designing our collaborative platforms with some suggested principles

I like the principles of “demonstrating, validating, sharing and discussing” as you ‘plug’ into each other so you can achieve active dialogue on ‘given’ subjects on a solid ‘give and take’ approach.
Often we constrain ourselves in working out the prescribed agenda of needs before we get into any dialogue, I think this is a huge mistake. We should make conversations creative, a rich mix of development techniques that generate good interactions and create that growing bond and identification.
We need to allow time to let discussions and exchanges grow and flow and sometimes they can move into unusual directions that lead to even better creative exchanges for value building.
We need to seek a bias for action, by simply keeping on asking the basics of “for whom, why are we discussing this, how can we proceed, when and what issues stand in our way?”
I like the idea to start off any potential innovation conversation with a belief of its change possibilities; it opens us up to what both parties can truly get out of the collaboration.

The need is for both sides to feel they are gaining from any collaborations

We should always start with the belief that we need to gain mutually, and often just simply recognizing that you might ‘just’ simply gain personal knowledge and insights that could offer value somewhere ‘down the line’.
Each side constantly needs to track back to a sense of worth and that comes from allowing time for feedback and open thinking. Take your time to really engage in mutual conversations, they prove to be increasingly valuable over time.
By the use of design thinking techniques can certainly help in providing a greater dimension to provide ideas to flow, makes exchanges and creative moves towards solutions. Learn the techniques and then try it as an alternative way to work and create together.
We need to practice “circles of conversation” where they loop around, move around the parties and you gain increasingly from the positive reinforcing loop of different conversation strands.
Lastly, we all bond, sometimes not so much with the problem but far more with the person explaining the problem, so mixing up the expected problem statement with personal experience and your values makes for a far more positive atmosphere, leading to fruitful conversations you might not have initially expected.

Why is collaboration so important to our future?
As we engage, we learn.
We can’t imagine what we don’t often see; others open our minds to new possibilities. We can stay anchored in what we see and do, or if we are prepared to let go and have this ‘freedom’ to look for mutual exchange we can scale new heights. Conversations, exchanges and collaborations give us the experience to learn.
The huge value of collaborative exchanges is how it opens up our minds as we sometimes realise that we were ‘vested’ in selective thoughts that were less informed than we expected. Opinions can fall away as better ones replace them.
We need to let go, unlock the knowledge that comes from collaborations. Just remember outsiders are not insiders, they have different perspectives and do not expect to ‘shoe horn’ their opinions into the one size fits all.
I’d argue to remain as open as possible, so as to allow yourself to simply open up in a world of mutual collaboration, it can lead to some powerful innovation ideas. Build trust, value your own instincts and permit judgement calls to be pushed off until you have allowed the other party to explain their potential contribution, and then jointly work towards the solutions.
Make your collaborative efforts move just beyond open innovation into relationships that continue the learning process for all sides. Make all your collaborating endeavours stimulating, then you move into that higher creative, co-creating gear and it is a far more rewarding place to be.
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Publishing note: This blog post was originally written on behalf of Hype and with their permission I have republished it on my own site. I recommend you should visit the Hype blog site where they have a range of contributors writing about a wide-ranging mix of ideas and thoughts around innovation, its well worth the visit.

The post Achieving a higher collaborative gear first appeared on 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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