Stop Lying, Innovation Is Not A Core Value
innovation, liars, values
This post stems from thoughts and notes from "How Innovation Works" By Matt Ridley
Innovation is mysterious. We don't fully understand how or when it happens until after it happens.
Some Fun Examples:
- Tech leaders commenting on the iPhone
- A Nobel Prize winner on the internet
- Anyone who paid for med school instead of buying bitcoin
Many companies claim innovation as a core value but usually have "little or no systematic idea of how it occurs." [0]
The things that qualify as innovations are diverse. A thought, an iPhone, the particular shape of a bird beak all qualify as innovation.
There are many accurate definitions of innovation. Things that are new, or useful, or a step in the right direction can all be innovations.
Fundamentally, innovation is the ordering of matter in improbable combinations that prove to be useful.
Innovation is easy enough to define, but hard to plan for. You can load a room full of smart people and tell them to innovate on a certain topic. They might be able to, they might not.
Edison claimed to have figured out the lightbulb before he did. Theranos claimed to have a robust blood test before they did. Edison made good on his claim, Theranos didn't. Point being, innovation is difficult to achieve.
So how can so many companies claim to be innovative given how difficult it is? They probably aren't innovative at all.But If they were, the would likely have the following:
- Dedicated time for a team to run experiments.
- Success metrics based on input, not output.
- Money set aside for materials and resources.
- Time for teams to share what they've learned.
Edison and his lab tested more than 6000 plant materials to try and find a material that could work as the filament for a lightbulb.
Edison and his lab ran over 50,000 experiments while developing the nickel-iron battery.
"Failure is often the father of innovation." [0]
So, the next time a company mentions innovation as a core value, make sure to ask how they innovate.
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Footnotes:
- "How Innovation Works", Matt Ridley.