Perspectives on Innovation

Bruce Hannon is known to many for his weekly email digest highlighting interesting articles, published in various well regarded complexity sources, that span the gamut from all areas of research and inquiry, from the life sciences to the social sciences.   What all the articles have in common is that they celebrate interesting findings, provocative theories, and the complexity of the world.  Bruce has graciously agreed to allow InnoCentive to repost his “Complexity” Digest from time to time.  Thank you Bruce!

Below, you will find Bruce’s “Complexity” Digest #2, we hope you enjoy.   Please let us know your feedback and feel free to respond to the blog posts and share your thoughts and reactions with others.

The Hidden Fragility of Complex Systems: Consequences of Change, Changing Consequences, SFI Working Papers

Abstract: Short-term survival and an exuberant plunge into building our future are generating a new kind of unintended consequence – “hidden fragility. This is a direct effect of the sophistication and structural complexity of the socio-technical systems humans create. It is inevitable. And so the challenge is, How much can we understand and predict about these systems and about the social dynamics that lead to their construction?

• Source: The Hidden Fragility of Complex Systems: Consequences of Change, Changing Consequences, James Crutchfield, DOI: SFI-WP 09-12-045, SFI Working Papers

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Economist’s The World in 2010 Conference

I recently participated in a panel discussion as part of the Economist’s The World in 2010 event in Washington D.C. Facilitated by Mathew Bishop, Business Editor of The Economist, the panel included: Dean Kamen (Founder, Segway), Kai Huang (Co-Founder, The Guitar Hero), and Rob Carlson (Principal, Biodesic). The panel focused on the state of innovation and predictions for the year. The conversation was both timely and lively. C-SPAN has repeatedly rebroadcast the panel. Worth a watch.

My Innovation Prediction for 2010? That policy makers would finally promote innovation to the forefront of their agendas, in the US and around the world. I noted that overhauls of the entire system are necessary in areas including patent law, immigration and work visa policy, education (particularly in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Medicine), grant making and funding.

We have incredibly important work to do and profound problems to tackle, from curing diseases to climate change, and now is the time for governments to “get it right,” particularly in terms of the structural elements that enable and empower true invention and meaningful progress. Have we created a “land of opportunity” for scientists, inventors, universities, companies, and entrepreneurs? Do we have a culture of collaboration and information sharing? Or have we created an expensive and divisive system of trade secrets, laws, patents, and inefficient investment? The problems exist in academia and other areas as they do in the commercial space. Fresh and bold thinking is crucial and policy makers have an opportunity to offer real leadership.

Epilogue

Now, more than a month since the World in 2010 predictions were made, everyone’s attention is squarely focused on jobs and budget deficits. Clearly governments are faced with difficult choices. I sense that boldness and a willingness to champion a desperately needed innovation agenda will not be rewarded in Washington. Privately I hear that now may be the worst time to push change. Status quo.

In my opinion, courage and focus around innovation is absolutely vital. We need to invest heavily in planting the seeds of recovery and a vibrant future.  Innovation has always driven short and long term growth, INCLUDING jobs growth and GDP expansion. Now is precisely the time to implement a bold and strategic innovation agenda (investment and meaningful policy reform) in the US and around the world. Budget deficits notwithstanding, the “Inconvenient Truth” is that this is the only prudent and sustainable path forward and lawmakers need to step up now more than ever.

What do YOU think?

Last week our CEO Dwayne Spradlin issued a challenge on Twitter (he’s InnoCentiveCEO) asking everyone for their “best ever innovation one liners/quotes.” So today, I thought I’d ask all our blog friends for their “real world pearls of wisdom” on innovation.

Tell us in the comments!

Looking for more than just our good word and that of our community on how open innovation is changing the world for the better?  We hope you’ll be impressed by our announcement this week about the findings of Forrester Consulting’s study, “The Total Economic Impact of InnoCentive Challenges.” Results? A  $15 billion global consumer goods company, SCA , achieved a Return on Investment (ROI) of 74 percent (saving the organization more $1.5 million) with payback in less than three months as a result of posting innovation Challenges to the InnoCentive Global Marketplace.

With 52,000 employees in 60 countries, SCA was challenged to find an effective way to expand its R&D capabilities. The global economic crisis is inspiring companies of all sizes, in all industries, to innovate- many are realizing that relying solely on their internal R&D dept. costs too much, takes too long and results in too little. SCA and others are quickly learning that by using the internet (crowdsourcing) to ask the world to help them innovate they can speed up their research process at a lower cost than using either internal resources or employing outside consultants to find solutions.

What’s the larger implication here?  There is limitless potential for companies, government organizations and non-profits to use open innovation to develop better products and cure diseases faster. Read Matthew Bishop’s article “A market for ideas”about the TEI study in The Economist. Download the Forrester Consulting study, “The Total Economic Impact of InnoCentive Challenges” for free. Tell us in the comments what you think.

Jackie Bassett is founder and CEO of BT Industrials Inc., where she helps companies design innovation into their business strategies and processes, turning problems into profits.  Jackie is the author of “Drawing on Brilliance”, of which InnoCentive CEO Dwayne Spradlin said:

“Drawing on Brilliance is a guilty pleasure for aficionados of invention everywhere.  Packed with stories and hand drawn diagrams from patent filings for many creations we now take for granted, I found myself immersed.  Ever wonder where some of those famous ideas came from?  The comments in the margins from the inventors only help to bring a historical excitement to flipping through the pages.  How did Edison and Bell visualize their own creations?  This book is not only for inventors, but for those needing a constant reminder that creativity and problem solving are inherently human processes.  With the right creative spark, we all have the ability to change the world in remarkable ways!”

Can one person, with one crazy idea really change the world? Or how about just two people?  Or how about – just you?  What does it really take? Let’s take a look……

Two bicycle shop repairmen from Ohio solved a problem that no one else could: not even DaVinci or Galileo.  They weren’t even engineers. Yet their idea spawned an entire new industry that created millions of jobs:  Wilbur & Orville Wright.

How? Controlled flight was not a weight and balance issue like so many for centuries before then believed.  Increasing power only added to the weight, which required more power, which just added more  weight and so on – making the problem seemingly unsolvable.

Controlled flight was an issue of pitch & yaw: something bicycle shop repairmen understand better than anyone else.  They spent years reviewing every prior attempt at flight before they saw what the real problem was.  They then went on to solve the right problem!

Make The World A Much Cooler Place

W.H. Carrier, was raised on a farm and had to mow lawns and do lots of odd jobs to pay his way through college.  He started his company, Carrier Corporation, on a shoe string budget. His inventions enabled man-made control over temperature, humidity, ventilation and air quality soon raised the standard of living around the world forever!

Josephine Cochran thought she was married to a successful grocer but only discovered after his death that she was an impoverished widow.  Needing to support herself she took her idea for an automatic dishwasher to the world, toiling for several years until she found a market for it.  With no formal training she went on to win awards for “best mechanical construction”. Her company was eventually acquired by what is now known as KitchenAid, owned by Whirlpool.

Think Differently!

John Atalla, worked in a lab where three Nobel laureates were already hard at work looking to solve a complex problem. He said to his bosses, ‘Why don’t you let me look in the other direction where nobody’s looking?’  Looking in the opposite direction led him to create (PIN), the personal identification code and encryption system that permits us to access our bank accounts and make purchases without cash. He has always said ‘I attribute almost all my inventions to the fact that I will look in the path that people aren’t traditionally going in.’”

This is an economy where everyone can make a difference. So look at the masters of innovation for answers, drawing on brilliance.  Everyone can and must make their contribution – and change the world in remarkable ways!

Jackie Bassett
Co-Author, Drawing On Brilliance
jackieb@btind.com