Where does innovation come from?

Is the belief that innovation usually comes from the outside a justified one?  In The Innovator’s Dilemma, ClaytonChristensen suggests some very successful companies have failed because theydon’t have the internal capabilities needed to adapt to disruptiveinnovation.  Armies of frequent-flying consultantswould probably agree on the value of an external perspective.

Another well-known book on the subject, Scott Berkun’s The Myths of Innovation, debunks manycommonly-held assumptions about innovation, for example “Good Ideas Are Hard toFind,” and “The Best Ideas Win.”  Often,the answer was staring you in the face all along; how often we’ve seen inferiortechnology “win” (Beta/VHS; Netscape/IE; Xbox/Wii).  

 “The Best Ideas Win”is an important myth for IT professionals to heed.  Diffusion of innovation is organic andunpredictable.  Important forces at playinclude network effects (the first fax machine?), complementary products (an iPhonewithout apps?), blind luck, and circumstance—and, in the book of (Steve) Job(s), thecustomer not knowing what they want.

If the prospect of being a “trusted advisor” seemsintimidating amidst the uncertainty of customer adoption and the ceaselesspounding of disruptive waves of innovation, then try assuming a position ofprovocative leadership!

Eric Topol’s CreativeDestruction of Medicine illustrates how important a role technology innovation may cometo play for life sciences.  Advances ingenomics, wireless sensors, internet access and computing power—what Topol calls“superconvergence” that will precipitate “the great inflection of medicine”—alreadyimpact how we discover and develop new cures for serious disease.

I must pause and acknowledge the primacy offunctional innovation over IT services innovation.  In the biopharma sphere, discoveringa cure for cancer trumps enabling an exec to run instant messaging on heriPhone.  Even so, if the reason twopreviously unacquainted scientists cross silos and collaborate to produce thatcure lies in inspired innovation in internal social media, wouldn’t that be cool?

Whether scientist or technologist—or both—there may beprinciples of innovation we can all draw upon. JonahLehrer’s New Yorker article on Groupthink provided grist for themill, illustrating (among other things) the role architecture and neighborhood canhave in generating innovation.  Breakingdown silos doesn’t have to be virtual. Sometimes the answer may really be right in front of you—on the otherside of your cubicle wall.

But let’s not ignore opportunities farther afield.  While superior resources and market demand willsupport the continued spread of new technology in the developed world, themother of invention—necessity—is everywhere in poor countries.  A CDC smartphone pilot in Kenya cost just $60,000, an amount most pharma's technology budget could afford  many times over.

Does innovation have to come from the outside?  Probably not--but it does seem to be important to keep an open mind about possible sources of inspiration.