Creating a Culture of Innovation - 2

Mal Fletcher Added 31 March 2011

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Russian Dolls and Vacuum Cleaners

In the aftermath of the information revolution, influence is no longer a product of how much we know. Influence and impact in any sector of society is about how much we can innovate with what we know.

The future is not simply about accruing more knowledge, but adding value to that knowledge.

How do we create a culture of innovation in our teams, churches, businesses and other enterprises?

In Part 1 of this piece, we looked at how an enterprise becomes more innovative as leaders learn to celebrate divergence and to make space for associations – between people and, therefore, ideas.

But this is just the beginning. Here are a few more pointers. I think I can guarantee that applying these principles will help your team respond more quickly to fluid situations, producing more with less.

Reward Fractal Solutions

If you’ve studied either biology or computer science, you’ll likely know something about fractals.

Wikipedia defines a fractal as ‘a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is (at least approximately) a reduced-size copy of the whole.’

As such, a fractal form possesses the property of ‘self-similarity’. Fractal forms can be found throughout nature. If you put them under a microscope and gradually increase the magnification, you will find a similar pattern at each successive level.

The same basic pattern is repeated again and again at different levels in the make-up of the organism. At each level that same organic pattern is solving a particular problem or meeting a particular need for the entity as a whole.

In leadership, I often talk about the need to unearth what I call ‘fractal solutions’ to problems.

Fractal solutions are those that simultaneously provide answers to diverse problems at different levels of a project or enterprise. They are multi-purpose solutions.

An innovative culture encourages solutions that answer more than one kind of problem within the enterprise.

I remember getting my first Meccano set as a boy. The wonder of this thing was that I could create almost anything that could be made using struts, nuts and bolts. The pieces were fractal – capable of many different applications.

These days, toys like Meccano parts are often far more specialized, to the point where the user is often restricted to making only what’s shown on the box. The pieces have become less fractal – and, in my view, the package has suffered as a result.

When Meccano lost its fracticality, it lost some of its appeal.

In a church, ministry, business or organisation, fractal ideas are very valuable commodities, because they allow you to do much more with less.

Finding multi-purpose ideas requires that you and your team learn to look at solutions in a fractal way. You need to develop the habit of looking for fractals in the ideas that come across your desk.

When presented with an idea, the team should ask, ‘If we strip this idea down to its nub, what is its essence? What core type of problem will it always address? How can we make use of that application in multiple settings?’

Finding fractal solutions also requires a holistic view of the church of other enterprise. You’ve likely heard the story of the traveller in the Middle Ages, who visited a city where many stone cutters were working. Approaching several of them, he asked each the same question: ‘What are you doing?’

The first stonecutter he met replied, ‘I’m cutting stone. It’s fairly dull work, but it pays the bills. It’s a living.’  A second stonecutter responded, ‘I’m by far the best stone cutter in the land. I’m an artist. Just look at the quality of this workmanship – you won’t find better anywhere!’

A third stonecutter, working with obvious enthusiasm, heard the question, thought for a moment and then pointed to a building foundation several yards away. He said, ‘What am I doing? I’m building a cathedral!’

This man understood his part in the larger context. He would be the first one you’d go to if you wanted to find a fractal solution on that worksite. Seeing the big picture would enable him to offer ideas that solved problems beyond his own level of the project.

Many companies, charities, churches and organisations are structured like Russian dolls.

You’ve no doubt seen these dolls, even if you’ve never visited Russia. Made of wood and brightly painted, these dolls are hollow inside and have a removable top.

If you remove the top from one doll you come across another, slightly smaller doll. Take the top off that doll and you’ll find there’s yet another and so on.

Each doll is separate from the one surrounding it; there’s no connection. Each doll even has its own unique, painted façade.

If you look under the surface at the internal structures of many an organisation, you’ll find that it doesn’t operate as a fluid whole. It functions as an assemblage of smaller, disjointed entities.

Each of those entities – or departments – works inside a larger one, but carries little connection and bears scant resemblance to its surroundings.

To find and utilize fractal, multi-purpose solutions and ideas, you need a culture in which people are regularly exposed to different layers of the organization.

In a company setting, have your procurement people sit in on marketing meetings from time to time. Organize for your HR team to spend quality time with the finance department. If you run a retail business, have your backroom, administrative staff serve customers in a store from time to time.

In a church environment, make sure your youth pastor spends some time now and again interacting with the children's ministry. Ensure that the worship minister is constantly involved with the general pastoral staff.

When people see how their part of the enterprise serves the wider interest, they’re more motivated. But they’re also better able to come up with ideas that solve problems on wider level, beyond their immediate task, project or department.

Welcome Strategic Failure

Truly creative cultures don’t frown on failure. They recognize that failure is a necessary precursor to eventual success or, more often, partial success.

Not all failure is what I’m calling ‘strategic failure’. Some is simply wasteful failure – it robs your people of motivation and your enterprise of resources.

Strategic failure is strategic because it can lead you to fulfil your strategic goals - and sometimes better than if you’d experienced first-time success.

Sir James Dyson is the famed industrial designer who invented the bag-less vacuum cleaner, which works using a process called cyclonic separation.

Late in the 1970s, Dyson became frustrated with his Hoover’s diminishing performance. Dust kept clogging the bag, so the machine lost suction. He wanted to invent a vacuum cleaner that would not lose suction as it picked up dirt.

After more than 5000 attempts over a period of five years, he finally found a design that worked on every level. He launched the now famous ‘G Force’ vacuum cleaner in 1983.

However, at the time nobody wanted to distribute his machines in his native Britain. They didn’t want to upset the lucrative existing vacuum cleaner market.

So Dyson went to Japan and sold his machines via catalogues. In 1991 his machine won an international prize at a major Japanese design fair. From that time on, his machines took off.

By 2008, Sir James had a personal net worth of £1.1 billion. I think he’d be the first to admit that his 5000 attempts were ultimately a huge part of his success. They were, in fact, strategic failures.

If it’s going to work for you, the notion of strategic failure must not be seen as afterthought, something you simply deal with ‘if and when’ it arises.

Strategic failure must be expected. You must make allowance for it in your strategic planning – yes, even in your budgeting and setting of project time lines.

How much have you allowed in this year’s budget for strategic failure? I’m not talking about ‘contingency’ or ‘miscellaneous’ columns in your budget. I’m referring to deliberate funding for those times when ideas don’t work first time around.

And what about your job performance metrics? Do you allow people to make a few strategic mistakes before they come good for you?

There’s one last thing to be said about strategic failure. You as a leader must be seen to share the responsibility when it occurs.

People need to know that you’re not a ‘bunker jumper’, who dives for cover at the first sign of gunfire.

There are few more powerful words in leadership that ‘we’. Sharing responsibility wins you the loyalty of people who have as yet unrealised potential.