And let’s stop overcomplicating our solutions – which I’ve done myself in the past when designing systems… more features, more features! No, no, no… less features, more work done, more problems solved, more goals accomplished.

Waste is everywhere, let’s stop doing all of the things that are not adding to our business, and get back to business – the REAL business that we’re built for, not the grunt work or busy work that keeps us from creating the next great transportation method, or the next health-changing innovation, or whatever it is that YOUR business or organization does.

Indeed, it’s time to get to work!

Let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work.
twitter name: Dotsworld

I appreciate the article. It was very well written and inspired.

I can tell you that, from my experience, innovation is an absolute necessity. The hard, cold truth of the matter is that if you don’t innovate, your competitor will.

One of biggest lessons I have learned is that in order to drive innovation, you need two things:

1. Use of all resources

2. Systems

I would like to elaborate on these two points.

The first one involves looking to all workers in an operation for inspiration (in your example the receptionist and the machinist) for idea-generation. Often, this is an untapped pool of talent that is disregarded. In these situations, it is the ego and arrogance of management to assume that the “lowly” front line workers are not capable of providing bottom line results. Often, management is a “third party” dictating innovation downwards to their subordinates.

In Engineering this often results in inefficient designs that ignore practicality and ergonomics because a machine was centrally planned on an engineer’s CAD station without input from the people actually using the equipment.

A truly innovative organization would look to the people involved in a process to dig out the BEST ideas. I believe this is the example you are talking about.

Similar things happen in economics when policy makers try to protect the poor through rent control and minimum wage laws (things that actually hurt all of society including the poor).

If workers are not engaged and encouraged to innovate you get subpar “solutions” designed essentially by “third party” observers with good intentions.

How do you encourage innovation? SYSTEMS.
There is no such thing as a company culture. There is no such thing as a collective culture in an organization because companies are made up of INDIVIDUALS. I am always wary of managers that claim superior results are a result of some sort of “culture” contained only under the company’s banner.

This is Malarky to say the least.

Innovation is fostered and encouraged through SYSTEMS.

Systems to Monitor Quality
Systems to Monitor and Improve Customer Services
Systems to track ideas (a big part of Six Sigma)
Systems to drive cost cutting measures
Systems to discipline poor employees
Systems to discipline poor management (the current economic crisis is a breakdown of this)

etc., etc.
Not Culture.

Final Word:

We are all individuals. We do not respond to a collective way of thinking and acting because our pay cheque comes from the same expense account.

Companies that ignore this fact will innovate slower or, not at all.

Companies that recognize individuality will win in the world economy.

“I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.”