If You Were an Innovator - What Would You Be Doing Right Now?

NEWS! atlanticbeachnc on Twitter is ranked among top 25 in the State of NC.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

In December of 2008, BusinessWeek published a list of the Best Innovation and Design Books for the year. The authors would have likely been writing their books at least a year before, so, I'm sure they had a clue about where our economy was heading. I wonder, however, if they had any idea that other historic events would create such a critical demand for innovation.

Who knew that Facebook would become a vehicle for a Governor to help her stay true to her promise of transparency in government? NC Governor, Beverly Perdue not only uses her Facebook and Twitter account to keep in touch with the citizens, but has a social media program in place for all of state government to do the same. Better think twice before laughing at people who "tweet."

The Internet is so key to how we're evolving with innovation. Just yesterday I used an online service to digitally sign a contract that was launched to the other party automatically for their signature. This was after the client and I had edited the contract using Google Docs. It's called "cloud computing." Most of us never even heard of "cloud computing" until recently, and many more are still clueless about real time information and networking. Just think about how innovators are using this concept.

Those of us who live on e-mail couldn't imagine a day when someone would tell us that it has become passe' - Gen Y thinks it is - they text. I've watched my daughter fly over her tiny little phone keys in "Veriza-speak" barely glancing down to check what she's doing. It's like we are all being retrained by some force beyond our control.

But I'm not opposed. Innovation to me is about finding a new way of doing something. Creativity and invention (even out of desperation) causes us to collaborate rather than delegate, reconsider all that we would have never before considered, break boundaries, relax stubbornness, and take big risks. It's that taking of risks that I think is truly at the heart of innovation...that's what makes it so wildly appreciated, when it works.

Being a highly creative sort that sometimes has successful innovations, I thought it might be useful to connect with one of those authors that BusinessWeek liked in 2008. So, I did. I asked this: What part of a business will receive the most benefit from innovation in 2010?

Stephen Baker, author of "Numerati" had this to say:

"I really think that innovators are going to have to hitch their imagination to the power of data. There's immense potential for discovery in data, everything from best practices in a company to drug discovery. I also think that data visualization will become increasingly important, because it's the only way we can come to grips with the stories these data sets tell us."

Data's not so much my thing, but it doesn't mean I don't get the value. Stephen makes excellent points, but, I have to admit, I think I had a preconceived notion as to what I thought might push innovation. Continuing the quest for advisors, I found Joe McKendrick's posting on what top CIOs are saying is now driving their decisions about innovation. If you are curious, here's the link. By the way, the blog is Microsoft sponsored.

That posting is closer to what I had rolling around in my head - but, I've learned there are no right or wrong thoughts here. How we choose to innovate is as much a part of the innovation process as the ideas themselves.

In a posting written by a guy for Idea Champions, a consulting and training firm that centers their purpose around innovation, we are delivered "50 Ways to Foster A Sustainable Culture of Innovation." The writer instructs us to "drive fear out of the workplace, embrace failure, and improve brainstorming standards." I like that. But, I really like "making your customers your innovation partners." Preached that to a client not long ago. This is some good stuff.

Actually, there's tons of good stuff out there that speaks to innovation, but when do you stop reading and talking about it and get moving? If you wait for the light bulb to click on, you could be sitting there a while. You see, I personally think that innovation doesn't just happen with a single innovator. It happens when real communication, collaboration, and idea exchange is elevated to a critical and practiced level. That means others are involved. So, if you believe yourself to be an innovator - start gathering your people resources...listen to hear...then act.