We need innovators to bring in fresh ideas and products

IBM once said that according to its past experience in the computer market, there was no market for the personal computer. Then came Apple. FILE PHOTO

What you need to know:

  • It is hard to let go of what is, to see the same old things as new, to see resources where others see nothing. That is why many people are committed to old thinking.
  • The more educated and expert the person is, the more he/she resists change. Educated people see what they expect to see, not what is there. Ancient astronomers once believed that the heavens were eternal and made of ether.
  • A major key to innovation is the ability to think beyond conventional paradigms and to examine traditional constraints using unconventional thinking.

New thinking is needed for innovation, but it is not easy to create new thinking.

It is hard to let go of what is, to see the same old things as new, to see resources where others see nothing. That is why many people are committed to old thinking.

That is, they use ideas that worked in the past but fail in the present and the future. To avoid becoming a dinosaur, you need to think outside the box and innovate.

Thinking outside the box means that one is an unconventional thinker. An unconventional thinker is a true innovator, willing to take risks and learn from failure. Everyone is born an unconventional thinker.

OLD DOGS
Remember how as a little child you thought that you were everything and knew everything? You formed the thought that there was no limit to what was possible. You were a risk taker, you had this bright, shining self-image and laughed and were curious about everything.

And then something happened. You went to school and were taught how past thinkers thought. You were not taught how to think. You were taught how to reproduce what past thinkers had done.

Indeed, you entered school as a question mark and graduated as a period. But this can be unlearned.

The more educated and expert the person is, the more he/she resists change. Educated people see what they expect to see, not what is there. Ancient astronomers once believed that the heavens were eternal and made of ether.

This theory made it difficult for them to observe meteors as burning stones from outer space. They pursued and observed only those things that confirmed their theory.

Many business people seek out only the information that confirms their theories about their businesses and markets. When J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly invented Univac (Universal Automatic Computer) in 1951, they refused to talk to the business people who inquired about it.

UNCONVENTIONAL THINKERS

After all, they said, the computer was invented for scientists and had no business applications. Then came IBM.

In 1968, the Swiss dominated the watch industry. They invented the electronic watch at their research institute in Neuchatel, Switzerland. It was rejected by every Swiss watch manufacturer.

Based on past experience in the industry, they believed that this could never be the watch of the future. Seiko took one look at this invention at the World Watch Congress that year and took over the world watch market.

IBM once said that according to its past experience in the computer market, there was no market for the personal computer. Then came Apple.

A major key to innovation is the ability to think beyond conventional paradigms and to examine traditional constraints using unconventional thinking. Unconventional thinkers stand out in the crowd.

They often use bits and pieces of simple concepts in unique combinations to craft innovative solutions to new or old problems.

They focus on the details that others overlook. Their talent for new thinking helps them propose unexpected solutions. Bold and full of the entrepreneurial spirit, they encourage others to break habits and try new products and fresh ideas.

BEING AN INNOVATOR

And when new ideas do not work out, they view this as part of the learning required to try new things, the cost of creativity, failures or mistakes. Remember Thomas Edison and the thousands of stabs before he perfected the light bulb?

Being innovative means thinking of new ideas that are valuable. This is the reason not all creative ideas are innovative. For creative ideas to qualify as innovative, they must be useful and valuable: a training programme that transforms people, a money-saving process, a new product that sells.

You might be innovating if: you have to customise the tools you need for work, you openly express what is on your mind, you do not know how to do what you are doing, you mix ideas from different fields, you are a sceptic, the establishment says that you will fail, the answers you need are not in books, you have insufficient experience, and you are willing to risk failure.

If you are always right, you are probably NOT innovating.