Columbuses in your organisation

LEGEND has it that Columbus was at a dinner in which some jealous peers began scoffing at the admiral's success in finding the new world. The basis of their scorn: that anybody could sail across the ocean, and anybody could coast along the islands - it was the simplest thing in the world!

In reply, Columbus took an egg from a dish and said to the company, "Who among you, gentlemen, can make this egg stand on end?" One by one those at the table tried to do this. When the egg had gone entirely around and none had succeeded, all agreed that it was impossible. Then Columbus took the egg and struck its small end gently upon the table so as to break the shell a little. After that there was no trouble in making it stand upright.

"Oh, that's so easy, anyone can do it," cried the watching crowd.

"Yes," said Columbus, "it is the simplest thing in the world. Anybody can do it — after he has been shown how."

This is why a true innovation strategy needs to go beyond emphasising creativity and idea generation. Stretch goals can make innovation an explicit focus, resource allocation can signal strategic intent and an experimentative culture will encourage courage and persistence. Experiments are not punts or gambles. They are pilot efforts, which are evaluated with a spirit of scientific testing, funded according to results, with the learnings from hits - and indeed, flops - fed back iteratively into the innovation process.

The link between innovation and creativity is obvious. But to take an innovation through to disruption, you also need the courage to take on the associated risk. Are you supporting the Columbuses in your organisation?