How to innovate really badly

I once asked my friend Wikus how to impress girls, which was probably a bad idea as Wikus was not the best person to ask.

However, he and I shared a high school biology class with a very lovely girl named Sandy. Earlier that afternoon, Wikus had decided that declaring his undying love for her would unwisely expose him to the risk of rejection, embarrassment, humiliation and teenage girl giggling, erupting into raucous laughter every time he walked past.

As Wikus rode home on his bicycle, he mused on his quandary. Soon after, he happened to pass Sandy and an idea entered his head: the way to win a pretty girl’s awe, admiration, adoration and (last but not least) physical affection, is to impress her with a wheelie while trying to turn a corner.

A wheelie is a manoeuvre in which the front wheel comes off the ground due to sufficient torque being applied to the rear wheel.

A smooth operator

Accordingly, the manoeuvre got her attention. Sandy had been deep in thought as she walked home but glanced up just as Wikus, having run out of energy, brought the front wheel down. Unfortunately the front wheel was still turned, which was not a clever move. The result, although awe inspiring, did not inspire a similar sense of admiration. In that moment, Wikus discovered that an air bike is really quite different to an air guitar (an air guitar is the instrument you play when you think nobody is watching). By then, the manoeuvre also had Wikus’s full attention and, with a goodbye slap to the crotch, he and his bicycle went their separate ways.

So the question is how do you innovate great ideas?

Studying innovation in the business environment is rather like watching a teenage boy trying to impress girls. Despite the contestant’s best efforts, the net result is so often the exact opposite of what had been intended.

All good intentions

The truth is that no company sets about trying to fail – even though it might feel that way to people working there. Why are some companies so ineffective at innovating creative ideas? To answer this, it is important to understand that those companies are sincerely trying to achieve better decision-making by punishing bad decisions and limiting the decision-making to the more trustworthy staff.

In theory, this ought to work brilliantly. By limiting the decision-making to the most senior staff, companies can be sure that the decisions are being made by people with a proven track record and who are better informed.

In practice, this is often not what happens. Instead, the company is faced with a decision-making bottle-neck that has a cascading effect throughout the organisation. This is often aggravated when decision makers face a hostile review when their decisions are analysed with the benefit of hindsight. Their unease seldom improves their decisions and simply serves to slow the process even further.

Go with the flow

So what is the alternative? Should we cast control to the wind and cry every cowboy for himself?

A far more effective management style would be to empower people at every level and to combine that flexibility with smart accountability. Smart accountability focuses less on the outcome of the decision and more on the way in which the decision was made.

The following questions might be relevant here:

• Were all the facts (reasonably at hand) considered? This includes talking to other stakeholders and getting their views before making the decision.
• It is okay if others disagree with the decision? The issue is not whether people disagreed, but whether, in the final analysis, a decision was made objectively taking all the facts into consideration.

It is only when people know what the rules are and do not fear unexpected reproach that their creativity starts to flow freely.