Want innovation? Stop talking about it.

The problem of innovation is ...well ... the word "innovation"
Ed Bernacki

My first job involved marketing communications for a large soccer association in Canada. Our members ranged from 6 year old girls playing mini soccer and retired Italian men remembering their glory days to the soccer moms and dads who volunteer their time. Their needs and demands varied tremendously. We learned that our messages had to be focused, concise, precise and engaging.

I recently read an article promoting the virtues of innovation. In about 500 words, the term "innovation" was used 13 times in the context of change, solving problems, creating new options and technology. This is not a precise use of language. It's lazy writing and hinders understanding. My point is this: if we are taking about change, then talk about change, not innovation. Here are some sloppy expressions I have read over the past year.

An innovation failed.
In this case it was a poor solution to a problem. The solution failed to be innovative. Innovation did not fail: people failed to innovate.

We are working on three innovation projects at the moment.
This company was working on three new projects. To call them 'innovation' was very presumptuous. If people are innovative in the way they develop and deliver these projects, perhaps their customers will see them as an innovation. Mostly likely they will see the as a modest improvement.

We invested in new technology to become more innovative.
This makes as much sense as saying, "I invested in new running shoes to become more physically fit." It's not the technology that makes you innovative: it's the use of the technology - when it leads to new and better solutions - that makes you innovative.

Here are some ideas to 'dejargonize' innovation.

The word 'innovation' is often used as a catch-all to reflect these processes. I suggest you drop the word 'innovation' and use the expression that captures the true intention.

1. Improve decision making: Alex Osborn saw people often found it hard to make high quality decisions on behalf of the clients of his advertising agency. He created a process to 'harness the brains to storm through a problem'. Hence, the term 'brainstorming'. The original intent of brainstorming was to improve the quality of decision making by creating better quality options.
2. Enhance problem solving: Innovative solutions will not happen in your organization if you do not focus on problem solving. Research tells us:
   • We generally define the problem wrong in the first place,
   • We jump to solutions that have worked in the past (without exploring other options) and
   • We fail to anticipate the consequences of the solution.
   If you solve problems and avoid these thinking flaws, your solutions will be stronger.
3. Dealing with change: Every one accepts some change and rejects some change. Whether you accept or reject a proposed change is related to how you view the problem and the proposed solution. If you agree with it, you will accept the change. If you disagree with it, you will resist it. The sad part is that we label those who disagree as "change resistant". This is wrong. They simply resist your change.
4. Creativity or 'Crazitivity'? Some people think being wild and crazy makes you creative. I prefer the insights of Edward de Bono, one of the most original writers on creative thinking. He recently wrote,
   
   "The English language does not distinguish between idea creativity and artistic creativity. If you create something which was not there before, you are creative. Because of this failure of language, people are reluctant to accept that idea creativity is a learnable skill. Once we have separated idea creativity from artistic creativity, then we can set about learning and developing the skills for new ideas. This is what 'lateral thinking' is all about."

These are communication challenges for every association and company. I have helped to write and shape communication tools for clients ranging from a guide on innovative thinking for the Singapore Prime Minister's Office to being the innovation writer for the past 8 years for New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.

An Association that gets it right!
I am speaking at the upcoming Human Resource Institute of New Zealand conference. Its theme this year is "Innovation @ work". It provided a 2500 word overview to all speakers to define what its CEO means by innovation. This overview is now part of the conference description. This is a short out take:

"Innovation, if you use the dictionary definition means "something newly introduced", which is in itself interesting, as whatever you do doesn't have to be absolutely brand new; it's just something that is "newly introduced". Most good ideas and new ways of doing things are sitting right under our noses - it's all in the application and interpretation. We've identified three areas of interest which are part of innovation:

• Creativity: It's needed in all aspects of our organizations as it improves our ability to solve the problems and challenges we face.
• Diversity: While we tend to think of diversity in terms of ethnicity or race, it's also about how people think in different ways.
• Productivity: By developing our creativity and diversity, we can create organizations and a climate that encourages better quality decisions that we add to the bottom line of our people, our customers and our organizations."

This was created by Beverly Main, Chief Executive of HRINZ. It is focused, concise, precise and engaging. That is good communication.