Is innovation scientific or intutive?

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Permalink Reply by PK Koduri on November 6, 2009 at 7:42am

Pat - Management Consultants have their place in the Innovation Process. They help establish what is ailing/working at the company. Without knowing how healthy you are as a business there is a good chance you will fail to execute any of the "new and innovative" ideas that come down the pipe.

The analysts and consultants can help you fill in the picture that I posted above. Once you know that you can bring in the creative/innovative types to help you solve for the top part of the revenue curve. Hope I am making sense.

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Permalink Reply by Colin Clark on November 6, 2009 at 10:53am

I'm really big on this philosophy. It's really a question of 'how much measurement do you really need to make good decisions?' It's probably the key question that determines success.

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Permalink Reply by Bill Bean on November 6, 2009 at 12:34pm

I suppose the lame answer is BOTH. Of course, innovation can occur as a result of sheer luck but as someone has said "Luck favors the prepared." My hunch is that most innovation happens in an environment of hard work (blood, sweat, and tears), even if that innovation is discovered accidentally.

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Permalink Reply by Robby Slaughter on November 6, 2009 at 2:10pm

Innovation is neither scientific nor intuitive. If it was scientific, it would be subject to experimental methodology. If it were intuitive, it would be immune to methodological analysis.

Instead, innovation is a perspective, not a practice. If you want to innovate, you have to believe the in the value of trying crazy ideas, learn to embrace failure, and recognize that the journey may be worth more than the destination.

Read The Myths of Innovation for more on this fascinating topic.

@robbyslaughter

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Permalink Reply by Marita Topmiller on November 6, 2009 at 3:00pm

I start with an idea, then apply methodology. I consider time and materials required to implement.
If I am still attracted to the idea - I try it. But then, I am a SMALL business - a Realtor. I'm not
afraid a piece of marketing will fail because I do not have the resources invested in it that some
corps do, ie retooling a manufacturing plant, etc.

There is much to be said about perspective as Robby noted. Gurdjieff said, to succeed one should
supply a need in the marketplace - sounds incredibly, logically simple, I know. But recognizing a
need is only the tip of the iceberg.

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Permalink Reply by Robby Cooper on November 6, 2009 at 4:30pm

I disagree. I see innovative ideas as being the result of a process that is both scientific and intuitive. They require a scientific methodology that includes observing behavior and testing ideas. Intuition gets involved during brainstorming, when multiple ideas need to be generated quickly.

All in all, I think that new and successful ideas come from combing different methods. This includes the analytical skills that are mentioned in the original post.

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