Living in Peru : your everyday companion

By Jacqueline Saettone

What did the fellowmen of the Wright brothers think of when they saw them trying out their flying machines? Who would have thought in those days that human beings would be flying from one part of the world to another or that we would go to other planets? What is natural today, often appeared as something crazy in the beginning. To Galileo, saying that the world was round meant spending the rest of his life in prison, although he was right. Innovations always break the status quo – something that can be disturbing even today – but they are necessary for progress.

In the business world, the same thing happens. Deciding to systematically develop the capacity to innovate, means that we have to break away from conventions. Many companies place their R&D facilities away from their corporate offices because those conventional practices that work so well for a corporate environment, are not adequate for innovation. For example, if we want to solve a problem in a company, we look for those people who have the most experience solving that kind of problem. But the logic that works so well to manage day-to-day issues, is the opposite of what we need to do to innovate. It is easier to find new ways of doing something if we are not attached to the old ways of doing them. In this sense, it is better to be ignorant to innovate. For example, Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin group, which is involved in the airline, beverage and music businesses among others, asks brilliant young people, who have recently graduated from college, what to do with his businesses. And CNN was created by Ted Turner, an outsider to the media business.

There is another important difference and it has to do with how we view failure. To innovate, we need to view failure as the other face of success. Every time something does not work as we expected it to, is a learning opportunity. In this respect, the innovation arms of companies must do exactly the opposite of what they do to perform routine work. While in performing routine work we prize success and punish both failure and lack of action, the innovation arms of many successful companies prize both success and failure and punish lack of action, given that innovation depends on the number of ideas which are generated.

To innovate, we don’t only need to be capable to see things differently, but we need to organize the company in a different way, taking a step away from conventions. This may be difficult, but it is necessary if we want to create world class companies and organizations. If we want to stop being followers to become leaders. And if we decide to do this, we must inspire in ourselves and in our people, some of the spirit of the Wright brothers.

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