What Innovation Lessons did you learn in 2007?

Chuck Frey of the very good Innovation Tools newsletter and blog is creating a report about the innovation Lessons people learned in 2007.

It's not ready yet, but I'm excited to see what realizations people had about innovation.

For me personally, 2007 has been a great year.  I started this blog in May, and have had a wonderful time meeting new people, learning more about innovation, and challenging myself to keep looking for ideas, new connections to talk about, and fabulously-creative business ideas.

I learned that the more I challenge myself to come up with blog posts, the easier it gets.  Being creative is like that: practice makes it a lot easier.

But that wasn't the biggest lesson I learned about creativity and innovation this year.

The most important thing I really learned came from a short comment on an idea website! 

IdeaList is a fun site where people upload their ideas, and others can evaluate them.  There, I ran across an idea of a toy for children.  It was fun, and was an interesting combination of two things kids like (ice cream and soccer). 

Then I saw that the first commentator had slammed that idea down with two cruel words: "Try again."

It was vicious--especially since the idea wasn't bad!  It needed some development, but the concept was interesting.

At that point, I realized just how easy it is to put down someone else's ideas.

If we don't immediately like something, we pick at the flaws and do everything we can to make the other person realize that they're on the wrong track. 

Then the idea is vanquished, and its creator knows not to make that mistake again.

Since then I've worked really hard to find the good parts of every idea I come across, especially if I don't like the idea right away.

Doing that has changed my outlook on innovation because the impact of that decision was immediately noticeable!

Ever since I've started looking at every idea as a starting point (with potential), I've come up with better ideas myself, and helped a lot more people feel confident about being creative.

People are usually pretty hesitant to put an idea out there because they're used to being shot down or criticized.  They're just thrilled though when they hear a couple good things about their idea--because it tells them that they're doing something right.

Obviously, not all ideas will change the world, and some of them could definitely use "a little work".  But telling someone their idea stinks is no way to get them to improve it.  Then they're just discouraged.

Praising the parts of an idea with potential though... actually gets people excited about making it better.

This was just an amazing realization for me.  It's such a simple way to get people excited about being creative and working to come up with better ideas.

And it works!  Who would have believed that!

So, that's the most important innovation lesson I learned in 2007: Always look first for the good parts of an idea, no matter what!

What have you learned about creativity this year?

 

Comments

[Kare Anderson]

Kudos on the candid, helpful post.

For me, a companion insight to your "I've worked really hard to find the good parts of every idea I come across, especially if I don't like the idea right away" is to look to someone's positive intent especially when they appear to have none.

This is especially helpful when we know that our "fight or flight" brain wiring causes us to react sooner and more intensely and longer to what we fear or do not like than what we enjoy.

Thus we may spiral down into deeper conflict by reacting rather than choosing how we act. Often I've found that i mis-read a situation and, as you indicated, we often get our most creative ideas (and unlikely allies/friends) from unexpected places and people/

Happy to find you via Penelope T.
- Kare, "opportunity is often inconvenient"
MovingFromMetoWe.com

Kare, Your advice to look for someone's positive intent is really good! I never really thought of it that way before, but when you said that, I could immediately see the potential. By looking for someone's intent, it's possible to see what they're trying to accomplish--and then figure out if there are alternative ways to do that. Very smart!

Glad you could join us!

~Katie

[Andrea]

Being critical is easy. Being innovative isn't.

Short, sweet, and totally on target! Thanks for summing this up.

~Katie

[Tiffany Monhollon]

I took a big risk in personal re-invention when I launched my new blog last month. I learned so much about innovation in the process, but I'd say that the most striking is along the same lines as your point that your idea is a starting point - that innovation is a process, and that it's important to face the fear of putting yourself out there and realize that you can tweak things along the way.

Great post, thanks for a moment of reflection as we enter the new year!

[Nathan Snell]

Great, insight :)

I work with a lot of ideation (if that works...) and have been working to save any criticism I have till the point where the idea has been properly expressed so people don't think it was a mistake to think creatively. This is a great encouragement to keep at that!

[Adrian @ Path to Your Destiny]

It's about the same that you learned! Some ideas and innovations that I create don't work at all. As long as I can learn something from my mistakes and take the good parts from the wreck, I can make my next steps even better. :)