Innovation Means Agency

Innovation is an overused buzzword. Many groups I work with have a healthy dose of skepticism when it comes innovation. In my estimation, this suspicion comes from four different claims.  

First, innovation claims to be disruptive. The premise of innovation seems to be built on disrupting (or destroying) the current way of operating (hello, Clayton Christensen). To be sure, creative destruction is an important part of a normal life cycle. Unfortunately, too often we glorify destruction without offering anything meaningful in return.

Second, innovation claims to focus on maximizing value. If you can digest the business euphemisms here, you’ll see that innovation is framed in purely market terms. Innovations are good when they make (more) money and bad when they don’t. Maybe we need a different measuring stick?

Third, innovation claims to be a force for progress. To be clear, new ideas and innovations do move society forward. One of the incredible things about humans is our drive to create. But when the pursuit of progress benefits the few and not the many, we should check our calculus.

Lastly, innovation claims originality. In this case, innovation functions as a shortcut, signalling “new” and “different” and implying “better” – conditions which may or may not be true over time. Perhaps we should check our short-term assumptions on this one.

I was speaking to a management class at Dalhousie this week and the conversation turned to innovation. In the end, I landed on the idea that innovation is really about agency. It’s about giving yourself permission to imagine possibilities and to create a different future.

For me innovation is not tied to disruption, or market value, or large-scale progress, or even originality. It’s about taking personal ownership over a problem you are facing and finding solutions that make things better.

In the end, humans are incredible problem solvers. Skip the grandiose claims and empty labels. Just dig in on personal agency. See a problem. Find a solution.

Inspiration

Kennedy, P. (2016). Inventology. New York: First Mariner Books.