Innovation Network: Wake Up Brain Weekly Message: September 18, 2000

One of the business writers we most admire is Gary Hamel, and his latest book, "Leading the Revolution," is terrific except for the title which makes you think it's about revolution when it's really about innovation. Even Hamel states in the preface, "This is a book about innovation - not in the usual sense of new products and new technologies, but in the sense of radical new business models."

And, of course, it is about revolution and the radically new ways of thinking required to survive and thrive in the future. As we have watched successful, and not-so-successful, innovation initiatives for the past several years, we've noticed some fundamental truths:

Innovation is a mindset of openness to ideas, all ideas, regardless of the source of the idea, plus a masterful ability to implement the best ideas.
innovation requires more than a one-time training or motivation event (or even a series of events).
innovation is not something that can be delegated to one department or group of people -- it's an organization-wide responsibility.
innovation requires a consistent commitment (one that does not change when the "champion" moves on)

Rather than being a "thing" - a tool, technique, model or process; innovation is more like a climate, a culture, an environment which supports people in a way that allows them to be smarter than they thought they could be. We especially like Hamel's following statement:

To institutionalize radical innovation, companies will need to build highly effective electronic markets for ideas, capital and talent. As they do so, it will no longer be the knowledge management function that constitutes the leading edge of corporate IT (information technology), but the innovation marketplace.

Hamel asks, "Are you ready for this?" And that seems to be a good question for us to think about. As briefly as possible, we'd like to hear what your organization is doing (or could do) to create a platform for supporting the primary resources required for innovation: ideas, capital and talent.

Send your comments TO: ideas@thinksmart.com; SUBJECT: IDEAS