The first syllable of the word “innovation”, describes how most organizations see the process. Look inside the business for better processes, better science, better customer service practices, better product offerings. Problem is, that way you are always seeing the world from within the boundaries set by the status quo that pervades the business.
Looking at the world from another point if view, from the “outside” is usually a better way to create something new.
Innovation thinking from outside requires new rules about collaboration, and where you can get ideas, and it requires a special sort of leadership to enable an enterprise to activiely seek those who “do it” better than you.
Procter & Gambles A.G. Lafley reinvigorated the company by actively seeking ideas from outside the huge P&G innovation machine, recognising that most of the great ideas will be elsewhere, and the skill of the organisation is to recognise and commercialise them.
The German philosopher Gottfried Leibniz noted “we observe everything from a point of view”, and like much of his other writing, he was centuries ahead of his time, as the really successful innovators remove themselves from the shackles of the corporate point of view, to bring the outside inside their innovation efforts.
