Editor’s note: This is the second column in our new TECK TALK column. Last week’s column talked about lower barriers to entry. This week’s column talks about the need for innovation relations to be mutually beneficial to be sustainable.
Because our author is also a musical composer (Juilliard-trained), he has provided a musical composition for you to listen to while reading this column. The piece is titled “Pirates.”
Innovation, a term often synonymous with progress, hinges on a fundamental concept: adopted insight. This basic principle, coined by the Silicon Valley International Innovation Institute in 2005, suggests that without insight, there can be no innovation; and without adoption, it remains merely an idea.
The moment you want anyone else to adopt your insight, you must provide value to others. Although the barriers to entry are now lower than ever before, it still takes more than that to get somewhere. The journey from idea to innovation demands collaboration; solitary pursuits yield limited results. You may have to learn to get along with a diverse array of individuals including customers, investors, distributors, colleagues, employees, supervisors, boards of directors, professional service providers, and specialized contractors.
The largest difference between a creator and an innovator is the presence of a business model. As soon as you have a business model, you have stakeholders.
The relationship between innovators and stakeholders transcends mere transactions. It demands mutual respect and value exchange; it requires you to acknowledge the opportunity cost inherent in everyone’s time and efforts. Successful collaborations thrive on mutuality, fostering civil discourse and collaborative problem-solving. The absence of such collaboration inhibits innovation, impeding humanity’s ability to adapt and solve problems effectively.
You might be tempted to think these are transactional relationships that can be paid for simply with money. Not so, because effective collaboration hinges on interpersonal dynamics. Excellent stakeholders have options, and only those innovators who can foster positive relationships, exhibit respect, and prioritize collective benefit will be able to command loyalty and attract high-quality stakeholders. Conversely, individuals who prioritize self-interest or adopt an anti-collaborative stance hinder innovation potential.
The best collaborations happen when both parties co-create with mutual respect. When this exists, contracts are less one-sided and more mutual. Boilerplate nondisclosure agreements are typically one-sided and will discourage high-quality stakeholders from collaborating.
Innovation is humanity’s superpower. It is what has allowed human beings to adapt to ever-changing circumstances. When innovators are deprived of the ability to innovate, the ability to solve problems is lost. An anti-collaborative stance is an anti-innovation stance.
Understanding the role of innovators, who generally emerge from the population of creative outliers, is crucial in this context. Their propensity to challenge the status quo and chart unconventional paths necessitates a nuanced understanding of innovation relationships.
It is very difficult to collaborate if you cannot get along with others. You may be able to dominate but not to collaborate and hence not to innovate. In the tech sector, I have experienced many tyrannical individuals who also knew how to be very charming when they wanted to be, especially, when they wanted and needed something from stakeholders. Not surprisingly, their charm often evaporated after they got what they wanted.
Those who generally got along very well with others were a pleasure to work with; they respected those around them and commanded the greatest loyalty and the highest-quality stakeholders. Sustainable operations require that everyone benefits from the interaction. Do not just ask what is in it for ME. Ask what is in it for WE.
Creators frequently create their own world and then go and live in it. They may be more comfortable not dealing with other people. In Silicon Valley startups, this is most often addressed by at least a two-person team, consisting of a tech person and a businessperson. The businessperson is generally the interface to the world, as the tech person is often unsuited for this role. In corporations this sometimes extends to the presence of a CEO (the outside facing person) and a president (the inside facing person). Managing investors is different from managing engineers. The CEO talks to Wall Street and the president talks to the staff.
Innovation is not just about having an idea, being creative, or having a unique insight. It is about making something happen in the world. Innovators are not very well understood by permission-givers and decision-makers because they have different priorities. Innovators are not so interested in preserving the status quo as the people who have to allow them to innovate.
Because it is impossible to invent by yourself without the benefit of a strong set of stakeholders, it is critical for innovators to learn how to have mutually productive Innovation relationships with their stakeholders.
In essence, innovation transcends mere ideation; it demands action and collaboration to effect change. By prioritizing mutually productive relationships with stakeholders, innovators can navigate the complexities of innovation and drive meaningful progress in an ever-changing world.
