Innovators live between the cracks

Have the large monolithic organisations in which most of us work had their day? Is blindness the inevitable consequence of too much history,  certainty and success.  I think so.

We all have blind spots.  Some of us work hard to see past them.  Science and data can help.  As a physicist I remember the huge effort needed to believe in quantum mechanics when this ran counter to my lived experience.  The first step was to let go of everything I had previously learned about the way objects behave in the world - a deep knowledge that I'd acquired from my first breathing moments.  It was deep knowledge and had served me well but it turned out to be wrong!

In the same way, organisations have blind spots.  They too have deep knowledge which stops them being open minded and emotionally ready to accept other truths and other ways of doing things.  They can't let go.  They can't see themselves from an 'outside in' perspective.  They can't innovate. 

This makes me wonder if the innovators of this world are going to run to the open spaces - the cracks between organisations.  Here there are no ingrained patterns of behaviour to overcome.  There are no revenue streams to be protected and new ideas can flourish. (Necessity is the mother of invention as they say.) Perhaps it's easier to see things from an 'outside in' perspective in when you live outside yourself between the cracks. 

Think of the CEO!

He's the leader of a great organisation but people tell him he's got to digitalize his business.  What does this even mean? 

Things still seem OK.  He understands his customer and the market.  He knows and loves his products.   He's run a tight ship and kept his shareholders and auditors happy for years.  Assets are assets and make him feel invincible.  The view from the top floor is still impressive!

But there are signs of change.  Tiny businesses are popping up from no where.  They are breaking the rules.  They don't have 'assets'.  They don't own buildings, or SAP systems or have a huge workforce.  They move like lightening. They make crazy mistakes and bounce back. They seem to employ kids and people who do things for free. They are more about 'art and feelings' than 'science and processes'. 

And our poor CEO is feeling uncomfortable.  He doesn't get tech or the way young people use it.  He's too busy to play with this stuff himself.  He's too scared to invite youth to join the board but he wonders if 30 years of experience and wisdom counts for much these days.

How vulnerable must this feel? For his organisation to change,  he must change too but he doesn't know how.  It's easier, so much easier, to deny the evidence, surround himself with people just like himself and keep turning the handle on the same tried and tested processes.  There is still money coming in and no one will blame him for missing this particular revolution…yet!