ARTICLES
& REPORTS
Organizational
Innovation
About
Innovation Network
- O r g a n i z a t i o n a l _ I n n o v a t i o n -
By Jane Jacobs
In the business of innovation and creativity, so much of what we strive for is the "new," while so often the people we work with or for want to hold on to the "old." Is there a place of real value for the "old" in our work? And if so, what does it look like?
The term I've recently coined is Wheel Knowledge -- the knowledge gained from a person's own hands-on experience in inventing, re-inventing, or improving a "wheel" (a product, process, service, solution, etc.). We've all heard the term "re-inventing the wheel", usually as an expression of resignation, frustration, or even criticism. We know in our gut, as well as our intellect, that huge amounts of time and money are wasted every day when people unknowingly rebuild existing successes or tested failures. Meanwhile, sometimes people invent "new" wheels or genuinely improve existing ones.
I believe there's an important role for all forms of Wheel Knowledge to play in innovative thinking and creative problem solving. I also believe that acknowledg- ing and incorporating Wheel Knowledge in our work may be one key to bringing currently reluctant wheel "owners" along for the travels we offer.
My handy reference books tell me that to "innovate" is to make changes, modern- ize, revolutionize, transform, metamor- phose, remodel, recast, or renovate. As a classic movie once illustrated, there has to be a "there" there to begin with. We must have a base from which to bring about change. People's own knowledge and experience, from the wheels they have chiseled into being themselves, provide many of those bases.
"Creativity", as we know, is the ability to make connections -- unexpected, unusual connections -- which result in inventive solutions. Often, however, a creative result comes from the uncommon connection of existing, common elements. The best of these solutions are so simple they're called "elegant," or so obvious after they're lucrative commercial successes, that we hear "Why didn't I think of that?"
Wheel knowledge can provide a wealth of material for innovation and creativity. Even when an old way is not working anymore, there are nuggets worth saving and the lessons to be learned from the "failures."
The value of wheel knowledge increases exponentially when it is shared. Like group thinking skills, composite wheel knowledge contributes more than the simple sum of its parts. How many times have you started to grapple with a business or personal problem and wondered how someone else in a similar situation has already dealt with it? How many chronic societal problems are mirrored across communities and states? Somewhere people have highly relevant stories of success and failure to share, and from which to innovate and create true progress.
Especially intriguing in this Inform- ation/Internet Age is the unexploited opportunity to share human Wheel Knowledge through the bold harnessing of technology. Electronic databases abound with data, but not typically with "Here's how I solved the X problem." Internet lists and chat rooms are filled with experiential knowledge-sharing; but it's rarely collected and made available in an easily-accessible, cross- referenced format. Web pages may be a start, but not enough are intake and collection sites as well as output sites.
My own work toward a community- based innovation/creativity center includes a planned technology-based shared knowledge system to help capture Wheel Knowledge. Corporations and organizations could have their own Wheel Knowledge systems and interface at common areas with others. Finding ways to capture and honor old knowledge is a natural partner to generating new ideas.
All wheels are welcome, as we travel on toward innovation together.
Jane Jacobs can be reached at (301-340-2266 or 301-279-2855), fax (301-340-2241), or e-mail (jjacobs@cpcug.org).