I came across this video that features a bunch of apparently smart people at an innovation conference looking into the camera and offering their definitions.
What do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? Personally, I didn’t find something that jumped out at me and made me hit “Pause” so that I could listen again. At that point, the little man inside my head said, “Okay, smart ass – what’s your definition?” So I tried to come up with a definition of innovation that was drop-dead brilliant and worthy of motivating you to grab your wood-burning set to make a plaque for your desk.
And what happened? Well, have you ever had a client say something like: “I don’t know what I want, but I’ll know it when I see it?”
Innovation is like that. I may not know exactly how to define it, but I do know it when I see it … or hear it … or read it. Okay, how about this? Innovation is that thing – a song, a story, a poem, an ad, a play, a movie, a whatever – that pisses me off because I wish that I’d created it.
Most of you have probably heard of Tom Peters. For those who haven’t, Tom is a management guru who’s been around for years, has appeared before countless live audiences, and written quite a few best-selling business books. There’s no denying that Tom is an excellent live speaker. I’ve actually hired him on several occasions and he’s never failed to mesmerize the audience.
My favorite Tom Peters quote is this:
“The old saw ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ needs revision. If it ain’t broke, you haven’t looked hard enough. Fix it anyway.”
It’s fun to think about what “it” is. In my experience, “it” is often the Big Idea … or at least the idea that the client bought. While working to transform the Big Idea into a reality, we would inevitably dream up nuances, wrinkles, gags, etc., to help make the idea even bigger, even better, even more memorable. It used to drive me crazy when someone would say: “They’ve already bought it. Leave it alone!” My own philosophy borrows from Tom Peters: If it can’t be improved, you haven’t looked hard enough. Improve it anyway.
Finally, for all of us who have spent hours, months, years and entire careers tramping through endless jungles of mediocrity in search of the next big idea, here’s a sobering fact: According to Tom Peters, we were wasting our time. Paraphrasing Wayne Burkan, author of Wide Angle Vision, Tom claims that innovation isn’t that hard. It is easy.
Although it makes me squirm a bit, I love Tom’s notion that certain types of individuals can inspire my creativity.
Disgruntled Customers. “Frankly, I don’t see anything here I like.” Even worse: “Larry, I was expecting something more.”
Off-the-Scope Competitors. “We went with Agency ABC. They showed us stuff we’d never seen before.”
Rogue Employees. “I did my own research. Everything we’ve got on the table right now has been done before. So I came up with my own ideas and bounced them off the client.”
Fringe Suppliers. “I don’t know if you could possibly use this, but I thought I’d show it to you, anyway.”
What I believe is this: If I know immediately how an idea will be executed, then it’s been done before. I like ideas that scare the hell out of me. My wife Marnie is a classic Capricorn, totally pragmatic. I’ll come home and tell her about what I think is a great idea. She’ll listen politely, wait until I’ve finished and then say, “How are you going to do that?” When my honest response is, “I honestly have no idea,” I know I may be on the right track.
Until next time …
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