Spotlight on innovation: pure magic or plain hard work?

The first question economic and business pundit Evan Davies put to entrepreneur Martha Lane-Fox, inventor James Dyson and Adrian Ringrose, CEO of facilities giant Interserve, in a recent BBC Radio 4 programme was whether innovation is a question of magic or hard work? The answer, of course, was ‘a mixture of the two’.

This led me to ask myself whether it is possible to help the seemingly serendipitous nature of innovation along by creating the perfect environment in which innovation will thrive? In fact, can such an environment be created? How do you foster that elusive combination of creativity, experimentation and risk-taking that results in something totally fresh and ground-breaking? And where might I find such an innovation-conducing place already in existence? In the industries that are synonymous with creativity, I imagine...

Generally, when Government ministers reference the ‘creative industries’, they mean the arts, media, design, advertising and such like. I’m always surprised and disappointed that disciplines such as engineering, manufacturing and construction (not forgetting software engineers and computer programmers) are not included under this banner. Yet the men and women who work in these admittedly less glamorous sectors are natural problem solvers: creative, inquisitive experimenters and risk-takers. These are the places where new ground really is broken – often daily.

So, what is innovation?

Innovation is about doing things differently – but for a reason. In broad business terms innovation is a highly-desirable yet all-too-often optional asset that can lend an organisation competitive edge. In fast-paced industries such as technology or engineering it can mean the difference between sinking or swimming – a matter of survival.

The benefits of innovation are often incremental. It’s about becoming:

Bolder...reaching further than competitors and beyond existing, accepted knowledge to stand out from the crowd.

Faster...either in terms of getting to market more quickly or satisfying customers by servicing their needs at speed.

Cheaper...bringing costs down – out of necessity or good practice – can lead to better margins, increased market share and greater profitability.

Smarter...doing things differently, challenging the status quo in order to gain more through less effort.

Better...improving products and services, or even their method of delivery, to the extent that sales and market share are positively affected.

And what sparks innovation?

The way I see it, innovation is borne of any number of haphazard events serendipitously colliding. Take your pick from:

Anger or frustration > thinking ‘there must be another way’ and actively pursuing alternative methods for doing things

Courage > being bold and having the confidence to give anything a go, regardless of being sure of the outcomes

Creativity > seeking stimulus from a variety of sources, and encouraging the people around you to do the same

Incremental steps > letting small events lead to bigger discoveries - innovation doesn’t always have to be about profound ‘lightbulb’ moments

Establishing connections > picking up inspiration from the world around you, learning by plagiarism: copying, simulating and making connections

Taking risks > focusing on the end game rather than the rules, favouring risk-and- reward over playing it safe and arse-covering

Making mistakes > going wrong but learning the lesson and not giving up (the revolutionary cyclonic Dyson vacuum cleaner was the result of no less than 5,000 prototypes!)

This article was written on behalf of Trevor Meadows. To discuss ways of releasing a spirit of innovation in your team or organisation please contact Trevor Meadows on 01647 221360.